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Ask HN: What is your remote working office setup?

by tylerpachal on 2/25/20, 8:04 PM with 4 comments

I am going to be transitioning to fully remote role (woot!) and am interested to know what other folks do for their setups. I am going to have a dedicated room in my home which will be office, but my "canvas" is completely blank with respect to what I will putting in there.

I was hoping you folks could share what office furniture and peripherals (chairs, monitors, desks, lights, microphones, keyboards, plants, watercoolers, art, etc) you use, along with any hacks related to them.

  • by ShakataGaNai on 2/25/20, 9:25 PM

    I have a home office where I work remotely regularly. Some of the items like chair and keyboard are personal presence.

    Wish I had a standing desk, but for now I just stick with the old Ikea desk I've had for years. Though I will say if you're doing video conferencing, get a desk that's solid. Four legs preferably. Mostly because then your screen/webcam/etc don't wobble when you type/touch your desk.

    If you do a lot of video calls, invest in a good setup. Get a headset of some kind. They don't have to be fancy, I have a Corsair HS70 wireless set which are relatively cheap - but still WAY better than bluetooth. Get a good camera, Logitech BRIO is super nice if you're willing to spend $150+ for the camera. Lighting is another important aspect, so you're not in a dim hovel. You can do Elgato Key Lights for the expensive route or many cheaper alternatives. Lastly - your background. I got an Ikea pegboard for the wall behind me, I keep it fairly sparse so there isn't too much visual clutter, but I put up a few personal things so people get some feel for my personality (like if they looked at my desk in an office). But I also only have internal calls, I'd keep it basically totally clean if they were external parties.

    Make the space comfortable but dedicated to work. Whatever you need to be your best. Personally beyond the video call lights I have one meh lamp - but a south facing window (so lots of sun if I want it). Also I have some sonos speakers so I can keep quiet jazz/lounge music running.

  • by ktpsns on 2/25/20, 9:20 PM

    Obviously it really depends on your need.

    I find an elevatable/height-changable desk, sufficient screen space and a silent area/computer a minimum for an ergonomic workspace. If frequent (weekly is frequent) video calls are on the agenda, any 40€ HD webcam should do it. Make sure you have a clean background behind your chair. I dislike video calls where I look into crowdy private rooms of other people -- it often looks misplaced in professional contexts.

  • by matijash on 2/26/20, 9:30 AM

    Go for a clicky mechanical keyboard (e.g. blue switches), now you can finally click all you want without distracting anybody (but yourself :D).

  • by julieplec on 2/26/20, 9:05 PM

    My friend over at team.video works mostly from home and swears by the Roost Stand.