What's On My Desk
A work area is a very personal thing. Everyone likes their desk organized a little bit differently and everyone has their favorite tools to help them be more productive. My personal favorites are listed below. These are the things I use every day to make my work life a little bit easier. (Links to these products can be found at the bottom of this article.)
Docking station
I use a laptop because it is easy to pick it up and take it with you if you need to work away from the office. Except it's not so easy when you have external monitors, speakers, ethernet cables and other accessories. Unplugging all those items when you leave and plugging them back in when you return is an unnecessary hassle. With a docking station, you just need to remove one cable between the docking station and the laptop and that's it. I recomment not attaching external storage to the docking station because open files may get corrupted when you hurriedly disconnect. I use a Caldigit Thunderbolt docking station because it was highly rated, and was reasonably priced at the time I bought it.
Logitech MX Master mechanical keyboard and mouse
I love this keyboard. I got the "clicky" version and positively enjoy the tactile and audible feedback from every key press. It's backlit for working in the dark (what programmer doesn't like to work after dark?) and can wirelessly connect to three computers using a USB dongle or bluetooth. The keys are labelled for both Windows and Mac. Accompanying software can allow you to switch between computers by just moving your mouse cursor from one screen to another. This feature isn't available for Linux, but you can also use dedicated keys to switch between computers.
The MX Mouse has an equally satisfying feel. It conforms well to my hand, and I love how the scroll wheels can be configured to spin freely or have electromagnetically controlled stops that you can feel. In either mode, I can scroll through thousands of lines of code very quickly and stop right where I want to.
Both devices last at least two weeks on a charge and can be charged using included USB-C cables. If I had to find a fault, it would be the lack of a Linux version of the logi+ app used to switch between computers by moving the mouse sursor off the edge of a screen. I would also like to see the keyboard and the mouse switch together when using the dedicated computer switching keys on the keyboard.
Dell 4K monitor
A big monitor will let you fit a lot on your screen at once, especially at 4K resolution. Two monitors are even better for many workflows. I recommend a monitor that measures at least 27 inches diagonally. 27 inches seems to be the sweet spot in terms of price and pixel count at the time I'm writing this. An upgrade to 32 inches is really nice if you are willing to spend more money. I chose the Dell P2715Q because at the time I made my purchase, this monitor had great color gammut, a matte display (reflections really annoy me, and I don't usually work in the dark), three display inputs, and a USB 2.0 hub at a very reasonable price. The hub is good for plugging in wired input devices or USB speakers. For a while, my monitor was my "docking station."
External speakers
I'm no audiophile, but one thing I can't stand is music played through tiny laptop speakers. Laptop speakers have gotten a lot better over the years, but when you turn up the volume at all, it becomes obvious something is just missing. External speakers don't have to be big, just a little bigger than the quarter-sized speakers found in most laptops. The Dell speaker bar attaches directly to the bottom of my Dell monitor so it takes up no desk space and offers a physical volume control and headset input. It also looks good and that's important to me, too.
Privacy filter
The Kensington Magnetic Privacy Screen is just fantastic! It fits my Macbook Pro's screen perfectly, easily attaches and detaches, and is matte on one side and glossy on the other. This is great for those times when you want a matte screen and your computer has a glossy one. It's also great for when you're travelling and you'd rather not have your seat mates watching everything you're doing on your laptop. In order to see the screen clearly, you must be inside a cone of about 60 degrees directly in front of the screen's center. For the price, it's well worth it.
Yubikey
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is how you pretect your online accounts from misuse. Even if the pasword is cracked, the hacker will still need your 2FA token in order to get into your account. Yubikey works with many, if not most, websites that support two-factor authentication. Just keep your yubikey plugged into your docking station and touch your yubikey when asked to during authentication. No getting six-digit codes and typing them in. It's very convenient and saves a lot of time. Make sure to get two so you have a backup. If you only have one and you lose it, you may have to jump through some hoops in order to get back into your accounts, if you're able to at all.
Laptop stand
Since I primarily use my large monitor when at my desk, I like to keep my laptop out of the way while taking up as little space as possible. I use the Omotion dual laptop stand because it can hold both my personal and work laptops in a very small area on my desk.
Qi phone charger
Gone are the days of cables that break after a few months of use. Added to my day is the time I used to spend plugging and unplugging devices. (Do yourself a favor and get a Qi charger for your car, too.) My phone predates the magnetic attachement popular on the latest iPhones which makes alignment super easy. Once you start using it you won't want to deal with cables again. It's so nice to just grab my phone and run out the door, and now I always know where my phone is since it has a designated spot.
(Pro tip: if your phone doesn't have wireless charging built in, you can buy a wireless charging adapter that can fit inside your cell phone case.)
Ethernet switch
Not everyone may need this, but when speed really matters, wired is almost always better than wireless. Wired is also better when you have lots of computers in one place, like me. An 8-port gigabit switch is so cheap these days, it was best for me to forget the flakey WiFi connections and just go wired to get the fastest connection beteeen all those computers on my desk.
Quality VoIP speakerphone
Try as I might, I simply could not find an analog speakerphone that worked well that also cost less than $200. Then it dawned on me why not just get a VoIP phone? They cost about as much as an analog desk phone when purchased used, and since they are typically disgned for business use, they usually come with decent speakerphones. I had good experiences with Polycom speakerphones at the office, so I opted for the same brand when purchasing a speakerphone for my desk. I wasn't disappointed. People tell me they can't even tell I'm using a speakerphone. It also supports mutiple lines and all the features you might expect from a business phone, so if you have multiple businesses, you can tell at a glance which one is being called.
In my area, POTS (plain old telephone service) costs about $70 month, which is way more than I think telephone service should cost. Fortunately, there are many good VoIP service providers that offer more features for a lot less money than your local landline carrier. I don't use the phone a lot, so I use a service called VoIP.ms that costs only $1/month plus about 1c/min. It's worked well for me so far.
What Do You Think?
Is there something on your desk that you can't live without or that really increases your productivity? Please share in the comments section below!