Sometimes the highest amount of creativity and productivity comes from the most minimal
of beginnings. In the age of RGB everything, a simple and clean workspace might just be
the solution. If you’re a student, office worker, developer working from home, or you
just want a nice setup to do work on, this video is for you.
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I’m going to show you my minimal 2021 Mac desk setup. How I made the desk, why I chose
these particular devices and accessories, and how I set everything up to remove clutter
and be free of distractions. Everything I need to run 2 Youtube channels, an online
business, and also study at the same time. The brains behind this setup is a base model
M1 MacBook Air.
There’s nothing quite like sitting down to a desk setup you love while just outside,
the sky is overcast and cloudy and the rain is running down your window. The soft sounds
of falling rain outside is one of my favourite things to listen to, and who needs a blanket
when you’ve got a wet cat sitting on your lap anyway.
The first step to creating a great desk setup is choosing a location for the desk. Now,
this might be more difficult for some, especially if you’re living at home or in a share house.
But for me I wanted my desk near a window for natural lighting and to give me something
to look out at to give my eyes a break from the screen.
At this point you should also consider the shape and size of the desk you want to use.
I'm lucky enough to have this entire spare bedroom to myself, so I went down to Ikea
and purchased a fairly large wooden table top. This table top was originally meant for
a kitchen so I had to sand it, prep the surface, and finally stain it. I chose a dark stain
that I thought would match the rest of my accessories and devices because most of them
are either black or are a dark shade of colour. If you want to see a separate video on this
process let me know in the comment section below.
Next, I decided I wanted to re-use my own adjustable height desk that I’ve been using
for a few years. This was easy to install to the table top.
For me the next most important step was the screen. I planned on staring at this screen
for over 8 hours a day, so I wanted to make sure I was using a high quality panel with
a lot of options and adjustability. If you’ve been watching this channel recently, you would
have seen my review of the Dell U2720Q, which is a 27 inch, 4K, USB-C hub monitor. This
allows me to plug any devices I need to use on my MacBook directly into the monitor, and
then attach my Mac to the monitor with a single cable. This also charges my MacBook at the
same time.
By the way, all the products and items I discuss in this video are linked in the description
down below.
To raise my monitor off the desk to give me more room, I used an old monitor stand from
Amazon I had laying around. It’s relatively cheap but it’s a solid design and has lasted
me over 6 years. It also gives me a really good level of adjustability.
This next part is optional, but I find it personally helps me a lot in dark environments,
and helps prevent eye strain. It’s called bias lighting, and it’s essentially providing
light behind a bright screen. This simple solution improves contrast ratio through balanced
white accent lighting and reduces eye strain caused by changes in picture brightness from
scene to scene in games, videos, and browsing the web. I used an old Philips hue light strip
and simply draped it across the monitor stand at the back. You can get proper bias lighting
kits or even a cheaper LED strip from Amazon, but I like the Philips hue brand as I already
own several Hue bulbs and love the ecosystem. This also allows me to change the color to
either cold or warm white, or even a funky RGB color if I’m feeling particularly adventurous.
Now if you want to go with a proper bias lighting kit, I’ll link one from Amazon down below.
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Next we have the stereotypical fake IKEA plants. I find this adds a touch of color and helps
break up the wood and dark metal theme slightly. I prefer fake plants on a desk over real ones
because they’re obviously a lot less maintenance, and won’t spill dirt and water everywhere
if the cat knocks the pot over…
Moving on to accessories, I use the standard Apple Wireless keyboard as my keyboard of
choice. I use a mechanical keyboard on my gaming PC but I really love this one because
it’s so minimal and the bluetooth works so well with my Mac devices. I personally
find the keys comfortable to type on but some people may not. The beauty of this keyboard
is that it charges via lightning port, so you can just use the same cable as your iPhone.
I use the MX Master mouse from logitech. Just like the keyboard, it’s super comfortable
to use and the bluetooth works flawlessly. I’m a tall guy so have bigger hands, and
the larger size of the MX master is a welcome change from some of the small and oddly shaped
mice out there. If you get the MX Master 3 it comes with a USB-C port for charging which
is great, unlike the MX Master 2 I’m using in this video which is Micro-USB. One feature
I love with the MX Master Mice is you get 3 profiles you can easily switch between.
I switch between my Mac Mini and my MacBook Air often, and with a single click of a button
I’m connected to a different computer.
This laptop stand is also an inexpensive Amazon product, although I was surprised at the high
level of quality and adjustability it provided. You can easily change the size to fit almost
any laptop design. This is a really sturdy piece of gear and your laptop won’t fall
down or get knocked over easily.
I’m using the cheap Amazon basics leather desk mat on my desk in this video. There are
much higher quality ones out there but I didn’t need anything fancy. This is mainly to use
my mouse on otherwise I would use a smaller mouse pad.
I like to keep a notebook on the table too. I try to digitise most of my life, but sometimes
I just need to write things down or scribble some notes, and it’s much nicer to use a
pen and paper for these things every once in a while.
The desk chair is nothing special. I uh, acquired it when I left a previous job and it’s comfortable
enough. The big requirement for me is adjustable arm rests, because I rest my arm on them when
I sit at my desk. It keeps them level and prevents wrist fatigue.
Lastly, night time is when this setup really comes alive. The bias lighting in the background
is a great addition to my desk, and I did notice less eye strain after hours of editing
or using word docs. Bonus points if you steal your significant other’s scented candle.
I have a cheap IKEA lamp in the corner and this features a Philips hue bulb. I can change
the color to a cold white with a bluish tint when I want to stay awake and work, or a warmer
hue when I’m getting ready to wrap up for the night and go to sleep.
Anyway, that’s it from me for this video. I hope you enjoyed it and perhaps I gave you
some ideas on how to create your own perfect minimal Mac setup. As always, all the links
to products mentioned in this video are in the description down below. Apart from that,
thanks for watching and I’ll catch you in the next one.