Ah...
A Desk setup video ready for Spring in 2022...
I love watching and making these desk setup videos, I hope you enjoy them too!
It’s been long overdue, my last desk setup video was over a year ago and... since I’ve
moved to a new space, it felt like the right time to do an update.
To be perfectly honest, the setup is never finished, there’s always something I want
to improve, that I want to tweak but this is how it is right now and I am really happy
with it.
I lie...
I am about 85% happy with it.
The world has changed.
Our workspace has changed and most of our homes have morphed into an extension of an
office.
So the question is... how do we stay productive, how do we stay motivated to do work?
There’s a quote in this book I was reading that really hit home for me.
MOTIVATION IS OVERRATED.
ENVIRONMENT OFTEN MATTERS MORE.
Let’s keep that in mind as we go through the video.
Every bit of this setup is designed to make me feel ready to work and to create.
I am not sponsored by any of these companies by the way.
**FRISKA desk**
The main desk I’ve been using for about 2 years is this other standing desk here from
Jarvis, but we will get to it in a moment.
After many hours researching and scouring the internet...
I found this Swedish company called FRISKA who do a much better job at keeping the desk
stable in the standing position.
Not only that, for about the same price as the fully desk, what you get... is of much
better quality.
The frame is better and the choice of desktops... in my opinion is FAR superior.
I do like the control options you get with the fully desk but I much prefer the more
minimal approach in the FRISKA controls here.
And unlike Fully they were able to deliver next day and offer installation too.
If you are North America though, I’d check similar brands - I am not sure it would be
economical to use FRISKA for North America as I don’t think they have a presence over
there.
But I have seen fairly similar brands over there.
**FULLY JARVIS**
My second desk is from fully.
they have not sent me this by they way!
If you’ve watched desk setups on YouTube you probably heard of these guys.
But here’s the thing...
I don’t like this desk anymore.
It’s been ok but I wish I’d done more research on them beforehand.
(Awkward face) And I will probably never get sponsored by Fully after this.
I don’t care.
I’d rather tell you that there are issues with it.
Because that’s the sort of video I wish I watched when I was looking for a desk.
Do see how this wobbles?
It’s really distracting.
Especially when it’s extended.
And it kind of annoys me that I bough this desk from Fully.
And yes, they are great, they do a fantastic job at getting you to work whilst standing
up.
But yes...
What none of the reviewers out there seem to tell you is how wobbly this thing is (mainly
—- and this is my opinion by the way —- is because fully sponsored their videos)
I’m not even that tall but... as you can see here it really moves about in the standing
position.
It actually moves a lot even when sitting down.
I am not hammering the keyboard or anything, in fact, I am very soft on the typing!
And the monitor is wobbling like crazy.
It’s still a ... DECENT ENOUGH desk but if you are likely to be annoyed by this wobble,
then maybe it’s better to look for alternatives.
And listen I am not trying to blame other creators for not pointing this out!
I know how this works.
You get sent a product and immediately after…
you are being chased to produce a video.
So they are not given enough time... to really review it.
My main point here is, don’t believe the hype of the fully desk because those sponsored
reviews don’t seem to mention the main issue with it!
**SAIL CHAIR - HERMAN MILLER**
Moving on then...Can’t talk about the desk without mentioning the chair...
This is the Herman Miller SAIL chair.
Not the most expensive chair from Herman Miller actually.
But when it comes to our health and wellbeing, it’s money well spent.
I am not in my 20s anymore ( I know I don’t look it thanks!) and I really need to look
after my back.
This chair is really ergonomic and extremely flexible.
One of the most comfortable chairs I’ve ever tried.
Plus...
I think it looks awesome!
We spend so much time at our desks and sitting down, so I really believe it’s good to invest
in a comfortable and.. ergonomic chair.
**Computer**
With the computer, I am in the middle of a transition right now.
I will cover this in a different video, but I lost a MacBook Pro on a train to Belgium.
So right now, I am actually using an M1 Mac Mini for most of my work and my wife’s M1
Pro when I am allowed anywhere near it.
Stay tuned for the M1 Max which will hopefully... complete my setup.
According to Apple, that’s only a few days away now.
**KEYBOARD - LOGI CRAFT**
Something that I bought recently that made me really happy is my keyboard.
This is the Logitech Craft.
This keyboard is sooooo comfortable to use.
The fact that it’s so low profile, means your wrists are not having to travel a lot.
And each key has this inward curvature which fits your fingertips perfectly as you rest
your hand on the keyboard.
I find it really helps with touch typing and I get to type much faster and with less mistakes
than before!
It senses the proximity of your fingers and illuminates the keys automatically which is
really cool.
It has this knob which is meant to be the main point about this keyboard but to start
with I didn’t really use it but there are some apps like photoshop and the Microsoft
apps that take advantage of this knob for customised actions.
Even Google Chrome, you can move between tabs by simply turning the knob in the direction
you want.
It’s something I could definitely live without but...
It’s nice to have.
It has a numeric pad too, which I really like.
I am old school and I used to do a lot number typing at work so having the numerical keys
takes me back to those days and... yeah I dont know, it’s probably just a nostalgia
feeling but I do like using the numbers on that rather than the top of the keyboard.
The battery life on this is great.
I don’t know what size battery they put in here but it lasts over a week for me, and
trust me...
This keyboard sees a great deal of action.
Finding a keyboard that you like is super important and I am over the moon with this
one.
**MUSIC**
**LOGITECH MX 3 MOUSE**
I know you’ve seen this a dozen times already so I will keep it very short.
I capital letters LOVE the Logitech MX Master 3 Mouse.
Yes, the hype on this one is real and it’s definitely a very comfortable mouse to use.
Super ergonomic and when you use the Logitech app there are lots of buttons that you can
customise for each application that you use.
**DELTAHUB CARPIO II**
And talking about ergonomic...
I recently I got the Deta Hub Carpio II.
Which at first I thought it was a bit of a gimmick, but now I can’t live without it.
It really does help with keeping your wrists in a comfortable position.
Using this means you are not moving your wrists as much... from side to side which is what
can cause pains...
This is much more comfortable.
I got a black version and a white one, mainly for aesthetics, depending on which desk or
desk mat I am using.
**Desk Mat**
The desk mat is this beauty from Grovemade.
This is their felt model.
I just really love their style, they haven’t sent me this, I just really like their stuff.
I have a couple of their items in my basket which I am sure will end up in a future video,
but for now this is the only product I have from them.
This other mat here serves multiple purposes, it’s actually a cutting mat, which I bought
from Amazon and I love the way it looks for product photography and b-roll shots and it
protects the desk top too.
**MUSIC**
**SPEAKERS**
I love that tune.
Which takes me to the speakers I am using.
Oh and if you are enjoying this video, give it a thumbs up and if you like my stuff, it
would really mean a lot if you subscribed to the channel.
On my desk I have a pair of Creative Labs speakers.
They sound great, they work with Bluetooth or directly connected.
And they sound great for video conference calls.
I spend a lot of my time in Zoom and Teams meetings so having a good set of speakers
really helps me, it doesn’t make me feel fatigued...
Because trust me, some of these long calls when someone is on the other side talking
with a really bad laptop microphone can be really painful to listen to.
They are not music producer level monitor quality but they are quite sleek, don’t
take a lot of space and are priced reasonably well.
**GRAVASTAR**
And I also have these speakers here which I am sure you want to know more about.
These look fantastic!
They are purely bluetooth speakers and they sound awesome!!
It’s from a company called Gravastar and they did send me this model to try out.
Gravastar have other models which look great by the way!
This one is the Mars Pro model.
Not gonna lie, I would normally say no to these things but come on...
Just look at this thing!
I had to try it out.
And...
they do not disappoint!!
They have a very strong bass-y sound.
For my liking I prefer less bass-y speakers but if you’re looking for something that
packs a punch these don’t disappoint.
They are also bluetooth speakers and work great with the iPhone, Android or connected
to your computer.
Once you are connected, you can customise the little accent lights here and they flash
in synch with the sound.
Really cool!
you can change the colours or if you prefer turn the lights off.
I also have Alexa and HomePod Mini on my desk which is handy I suppose but I think I might
move them elsewhere eventually, for a less cluttered look.
**Monitor**
The monitor I have is great.
It’s funny how initially I thought it was massive but now I am so used to it and am
thinking...
maybe I should get an even wider one.
But I think this is fine for now.
I’d like it to be more colour accurate but for what I do, this is more than enough.
I am able to run effectively, 3 different businesses using this setup and I don’t
think I need to upgrade just yet.
**BenQ light**
This light is from BenQ which I reviewed before on the channel.
I was sceptical at first but they REALLY help.
during the day or at night, it is so great to have that light!
It doesn’t reflect on the monitor because of the design and it really helps reduce the
fatigue you get and eye straining issues...
**OWC Hubs**
This is the Thunderbolt 3 dock by OWC
And this little guy here is the Thunderbolt 4 Hub…
Also from OWC.
These are EXTREMELY popular accessories, and extremely capable too.
With this little guy here, 5 additional Thunderbolt devices can be daisy
chained to the Hub.
They are so powerful…If you are using it with a single display,
Thunderbolt 4 supports resolutions up to 8K @ 60Hz or 4K @ 120Hz.
If you are connecting two monitors, this will support up to 4K @ 60Hz which is amazing.
As always I will leave links to all of this gear in the description for you.
I am really happy with the performance on these hubs, how compact they are...
So it won't clutter your setup.
I have reviewed them in detail so I will leave links up here in the cards and in the description
for you.
**SSD drives**
Attached to the hubs I am constantly using these SSD drives.
They are probably not the fastest options out there but I am able to edit entire videos
like this with them and they help keep my main computer storage to a minimum.
I have to be honest, they have done a great job getting me to this point but I think I’ve
outgrown them now.
When you get to 10 or 15 Terabytes of data... is probably best to move to a bigger solution.
And that’s where I am right now.
I could keep buying more SSDs but I think I will upgrade to a NAS storage soon.
So I’ve ordered a desk shelf, which is very similar to the one from Grovemade.
But I will show you that in a next desk setup video.
I love making these videos and there’s plenty more to come I am sure!
Since you are here, have a look at these other videos!
I will see you and your smiling faces over there!
Bye!