Current work-from-home setup

If you have worked from home for any amount of time you probably already figured out that your work setup is one of the most important areas of your home.

It’s not only where you spend most of your day but it is also a space that needs to be comfortable, quiet, and a place where you genuinely enjoy spending time.

One clarification that I feel like I need to do before showing me everything I’ve purchased through the years is that you don’t need all of this. If you are looking to start your freelance work from home all you need is a good, quiet corner in your home, a reliable internet connection, and a computer that won’t crash every 2 hours.

With time IF you feel like it you can slowly make changes to your setup to fit your likes and needs. This setup has taken me 16 years to refine which I know is a bit slow but, I’m not the kind of person who likes to get a bunch of things to just TRY. I like to wait to see if I feel like I really need them.

My current setup and the fact that I have an office/workout room in my house is far from how I started. In the beginning, I would work from my mom’s dining room with a dingy old laptop that my dad had gifted me so I could do my high school and then law school homework.

Anyway! Enough back story.

What I have and LOVE

Adjustable height desk - I hate sitting for hours, it makes me feel bored and distracts me. So having the option to stand every once in a while has helped me be more productive and comfortable. I feel like my posture is getting slightly better too. Another quick disclaimer here, no, I don’t stand all day every day it won’t make you the super active person some sellers claim, it is just a nice option to have if you also don’t enjoy sitting for 6 to 8 hours a day.

Reclinable office chair - I’m so thankful to my boyfriend for nagging me for a whole year until he finally went ahead and bought me one. For some reason, I had the idea that it was a dumb expense. I never realized how bad my posture was getting and how uncomfortable the old chair was. If this one breaks, there is no way I’m going back to a regular chair, not for work.

Macbook - As I said before unless your computer shuts off from overheating every time you open up more than 2 apps and 3 Chrome tabs, any computer is perfectly fine to get started. However in my case, as time passed, I started to notice that my computer wasn’t as stable, and even after buying a couple of other more modern laptops, they would always get slow in about a year and start heating up.

My brother kept nagging me to get a Macbook and I kept being like “I refuse, they soo are overpriced “. Turns out, the best computer I’ve ever had, 3 years later it still works as new, the battery is amazing, and I have never heard the ventilator go off even when working with graphics and videos, it is so fast the actual structure of it even though a bit scratched still feels sturdy. I love it so much! I don’t know when I’m going to have to get a new one but I’m getting another one of these for sure.

Laptop Stand - My back and posture love this thing. I love being able to see my computer’s screen at a higher level. It has made working a lot more comfortable.

Cable adaptor - It is widely known that MacBooks only come with USB-C slots and that can get annoying if you are doing anything other than sending a few emails, or if you want to connect to any other device.

Thin keyboard - I know, I know, chunky and noisy keyboards are trending but as someone who still grew up back when taking a course for typing in a mechanic typewriter was mandatory at school, I hate that feeling and the noise. I love the smoothness and silence of simply gliding my fingers over a thin keyboard.

Apple mouse - Again, I love the smoothness and how plain it is. Other than that, I just prefer using a mouse over a mouse pad.

Additional monitor - This was another thing that my brother hooked me up with. I kept complaining about the amount of tabs and apps open at the same time and how to manage them. And he kept nagging me about what an amazing thing it is to have two monitors and to have the big one be the main one. At first, I resisted because I didn’t want to have to spend more money but he eventually just walked into my home with one. and now I love it so much.

Small microphone - For someone constantly having to be on calls, webinars, and in contact with clients it just makes sense. However, it took me a while to figure this out. It wasn’t until a client asked me for some recordings that I noticed just how mediocre they sounded so I ordered one that was relatively cheap and with good reviews.

Large desk mat - Now my complete desk is a mouse pad and I love the freedom. It also makes the dusting, and cleaning process of my desk a lot easier.

2 notebooks - I used to love planners, but at this point, I feel like notebooks are way more practical. I use one for work and any meetings, reminders, and notes, and the other one for my personal projects. These are my lifeline and have also helped improve my sleep. As long as I write down any tasks and important notes for the next day I stop having nightmares about not delivering my tasks on time.

Ceramic thermic insulator - Because I can’t live without coffee. Plus I got these cute and unique handmade ones a couple of years ago during a trip to Croatia and love them so much.

What I had and discarded

Ventilator for laptop - Threw it away as soon as I got the Macbook and never looked back.

A planner - I used to love these until I stopped being able to fit all my daily tasks and notes in them. Then on vacation, I leave a ton of empty pages that get wasted. So I switched to cute diary-style notebooks, It is as easy as writing down the date and it works perfectly.

Monitor stand - I saw some influencer videos recently on YouTube and some like putting their monitor on top of a stand that comes with drawers and I thought it was so cute and practical. But no, not for me, too much, too high, not comfortable.

Tons of cute, colorful stationery - I was the girl with the thousand colorful pens and markers at school and it was perfect for that stage of my life. However it is too much clutter on my desk and when you add it to the rest of the things I already have on it, it started feeling too disorganized.

Chunky keyboard - As I said above, I tried to get into the trend but it just wasn’t for me.

Keyboard handrest - I get that a lot of people think of these as comfortable but I just couldn’t get that. On the contrary, I feel like it restricted me too much.

What I want but don’t really need

Mini speaker - Whenever I get bored, my solution is to play some music or a recent murder mystery podcast. Sometimes I think that working would be much more entertaining with better sound quality.

Better camera - Out of all the amazing things that come with having a Macbook, a good camera isn’t one of them. sometimes while joining clients to assist as a moderator on their webinars I notice just how different the resolution of my camera is. I might treat myself to one at some point.

Walking pad - I love my standing desk so much that I keep thinking that one of these would also be right up my alley. I get so bored just sitting there at my desk. But having the opportunity to get in a few steps and move my body so that my blood starts pumping doesn’t sound bad at all.