my new desk setup (2025)
Just in March 2024, I changed my desk setup and talked about it here. I have an L-shaped desk and used to have two stations on it, one for personal use and the Steam Deck, and one for work. I wanted to simplify it space-wise so only one side of the desk has computers with their external screens on it. The details are in the post.
Now, the setup was great initially. Having three screens for personal use and fitting my work docking station in so I could use 1-2 screens for work, with simple switching of outputs and 2 USBs (mouse and keyboard) was practical. But at some point, it just felt like a lot - a bit crammed, a bit intense with too much going on. Like those videos that also have a Subway Surfer and slime video section so users used to a lot of stimulation can pay attention. I talked more about my feelings on that here. I wanted my setup to be visually smaller and lighter, and to encourage focused work instead of multi-channel non-stop entertainment. I came to this conclusion partially because my health took some dives this year and I was only able to work on my work laptop or personal laptop in bed for many weeks, no external extra screens, and I enjoyed the "quiet", so to speak.
With three screens, I was encouraged to click here and there, and then set the song on Spotify, then check Discord, then start a game, oh the game has a loading screen, check Discord again as long as the game loads, getting distracted, realizing the game has been running for 20 minutes in the background while browsing Bearblog... I don't usually have these problems, so it's not an issue with my attention. It just has to do with all the choice constantly projected at me and making switching and overviewing everything all at once too easy. Of course the answer could be to not open multiple things at once, but then what are the extra screens for? I could get rid of at least one of them. Coding, art and university assignments only need a maximum of two screens in my case.
So I did. The extra screen is now in the basement in case I need it again. The main remaining screen can also be flipped vertically for coding. I also removed the work laptop docking station because we're getting new laptops in January that need no docking station and I have to return it, plus I've been growing comfortable not working on a desk or not working with an extra screen at home. Having that big horizontal thing out of the way cleared a lot of space. Instead of the work docking station, I integrated my Steam Deck dock with the same cables, so I can now easily use the Deck in Desktop mode at my already existing station.
In my old post, I said I wanted to get a screen holder. I still want to, but I'm always putting it off. In the meantime though, I have gotten better at managing and tidying up all the cables. I don't think I will get a KVM switch anymore, I'm fine switching keyboard and mouse manually if I ever have to; it just happens too rarely to justify the expense and extra thing on the desk. I also wanna give an update on the Wayland situation: Was completely fine and happy with Wayland until the past few weeks, since Plasma 6.2, actually. Since then, it's a mess for me with multiple screens and games, especially with Proton, so I'm happily back at X11.
My work laptop now rests on the other side of the desk again, so it's split up. I found out I prefer when work and personal use are a bit separated. At least the laptop is small and can easily be moved or put away, especially without an extra screen and peripherals. It's often there just to charge or when clocked out, and I freely set it where I need it when I work.
And if you think this maybe was the wrong move - don't worry, I won't ....
... run out of screens any time soon.
yes, that's a plushie of an inflamed large colon on the screen :P
Published 21 Dec, 2024