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10x your productivity with this boring desk setup (The “forced flow state”)
Ark
November 18, 2024
Transforming My Workspace: A Minimalist Desk Setup for Maximum Productivity
Join me as I unveil my new office space designed for deep work and creativity. From my favorite tech gear to stylish accessories, see how I’ve optimized my setup for focused work sessions.
Since beginning my one-person business journey roughly two years ago, I have worked from literally anywhere, including coffee shops, a van in the woods, apartment couches, apartment kitchen tables, and everywhere in between. Last summer, my wife and I even lived in our van for a couple of months, so I was literally working from everywhere. I do enjoy the adventure of the digital nomad lifestyle; however, I’ve finally come to learn how important it is to have a designated workspace and office, and something that can double as a studio for filming videos like this one.
What’s up? My name is Eric. Today, I am here in my brand new office space, which I’m super stoked about. This video is going to talk about my new minimal desk setup for productivity and deep work. If you’re new to the channel, thanks for being here. My name is Eric, and I am a professional photographer and videographer turned online creator and writer. About a month ago, I honestly didn’t even plan to have an office space anytime soon. I was kind of cool with working from wherever I needed to just because I’m a naturally minimal person and don’t like having big spaces that end up just getting filled with junk and clutter, so I wanted to keep it simple.
Previously, I did work at an agency for about five years, and there I did have a designated workspace for my spot alone. However, it was hard to focus in this space just because there were other co-workers around and other distractions that would always pull me out of focused work. So when designing this office space, I wanted to focus on minimalism and simplicity. I truly believe that productivity is more about saying no to the wrong things than saying yes to the right ones, and I wanted my office space to be a reflection of that belief.
Rather than investing a whole bunch of money into my first-ever office space, I wanted to start with these basic items. First up, we have the Inovar sit-stand desk. To be completely honest, I didn’t put a whole bunch of research into this; I just found something on Amazon that was affordable. I liked the colors of it, and I really did enjoy this top layer of the desktop, which is one solid piece of bamboo. I’ve had previous desks in the past that come with two separate pieces, so there is a seam in the middle, and that just got a little bit weird. So I really do enjoy the solid top piece of wood, and so far, this desk has been great. I will say I decided to go for the 48-inch desk, and I probably wish I would have gone for the 55-inch. This one is a little bit cramped; it’s not too bad, but having that little bit of extra space would be nice.
The workhorse of my entire workstation is my 2021 MacBook Pro. This MacBook has an M1 Max chip, and it’s basically fully specced out. In 2021, I decided I was going to invest an unfortunate amount of money into my laptop, and I have not regretted it ever since. This laptop is my workhorse for video editing, animation, photography, and any other creative projects that I have going on. Although it is a few years old, it never skips a beat. It’s still extremely fast, and I plan to use it for years to come.
The next thing is my laptop stand, which I have my laptop sitting on top of. I don’t remember what the brand is on this; I will put it on screen here, but this is just a simple and functional way to have a more ergonomic office and desk setup. It just raises my computer up to a more ideal height for viewing with my neck and back and all of those fun things. Honestly, this is the first time I’ve used a laptop stand with a designated keyboard and mouse, and I do have to say it’s a pretty sick setup. I’m really enjoying it so far, and it doesn’t feel as awkward as I thought it might.
For my keyboard, I decided to go with the Logitech MX Mechanical Mini keyboard. This is my first-ever mechanical keyboard experience, so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but I am loving it so far. The sound of it is really nice; it’s honestly really easy to type on, and I think I’ll get used to it a lot faster than I expected I would. I’m feeling super stoked about this video; hopefully, it turns out sick! I’m typing on either a MacBook Pro keyboard or just one of those other flat Apple keyboards. I don’t even know what they’re called, but I’m used to a more flat and simple keyboard. However, this one is a little bit more raised, and it’s already a lot easier to write on than I was expecting. I also enjoy that you can lay this keyboard flat or raise it up with the legs in the back. I personally have been using it in a more flat style, and it’s been pretty comparable to typing on a laptop, for example. Also, I really enjoy the size of it. I didn’t need a full-size keyboard, and therefore I went for the mini, and I do not regret that decision as of right now. It’s super clean and super stylish, and I love the simple and minimal look of it.
For my mouse, I decided to go with the Logitech MX Master 3S mouse, and it has also been super awesome thus far. I’ll start by saying that it feels really comfortable. It’s not super bulky, heavy, or anything like that. It’s super easy to use, it fits my hand nicely, and I think the customization is going to be the best part. Again, I’m used to using an Apple Magic Mouse or just some other junky mice that I’ve used in the past, and this is going to be a total game-changer for my productivity and just my overall desk setup. I’m mostly excited for the customization of the buttons on the mouse and the options that it has for buttons. I think this is going to be especially nice when editing videos, and I’m excited to set up some shortcuts for DaVinci Resolve when I’m editing my videos and working on various creative projects. I’ve already set it up for working with my laptop specifically, and there are a few things that I already know are going to speed up my workflow significantly.
So that is already the bulk of my desk setup: the laptop, the keyboard, and the mouse. However, I do have a couple of stylistic things that I’ve added that I’m really excited to share about. First up, we have the Welsh Mountain Leather mouse pad, and this was gifted to me by Welsh Mountain. I’ve used their products for years, but I’m really excited to be working with them, and you can now get 10% off any of their products using the code ERIC10. Welsh Mountain is an awesome small-town brand of handcrafted leather goods in Pennsylvania. Everything is made in the USA, and I genuinely enjoy their products. This mouse pad is already a great addition to my setup. I love the way that it looks; it adds a nice leather aroma to the new office, and it’s super smooth and works well with my mouse. I do think having little things like this adds a lot to a desk setup, especially when you have a super minimal setup like I do.
The other thing that I decided to add from Welsh Mountain is the A5 journal holder, and this is going to be an awesome addition for my daily to-do list, random notes that I’m taking, and different things that pop into my head throughout the day. If you enjoy A5-sized journals, this is a really good way to keep everything in one spot and do so in a fashionable and cool-looking way. I will have a link below to the Welsh Mountain products, and again, you can get 10% off with code ERIC10.
So now I’m going to talk a little bit about why I decided to go with such a minimal and simple setup for my desk. A majority of the work that I do at this desk includes writing, video editing, learning, and self-education. With these three things in mind, I knew I wanted to keep my setup simple, and I wanted to keep it focused on those lever-moving tasks. When it comes to writing, I typically shoot for 60 to 120 minutes of writing per day, and this is just part of my content creation process, and it is the foundation of everything that I create.
For video editing, I create one YouTube video per week, and then I’m also constantly working on various client projects that I edit for myself and other filmmakers. And then finally, learning and education is something that I’m constantly doing, whether it’s a course that I’m taking, a cohort that I’m a part of, or just jumping on meetings with my friends, my brothers, or other people that I’m collaborating with at the time.
Other than these three main tasks, most of my other work happens outside of my office and away from the desk. Most of these other things happen while I’m on a walk, while I’m at the gym, while I’m at a coffee shop, or just somewhere else in the apartment. Especially while walking or at the gym, I love consuming educational content and generating ideas from those pieces of content. And then I also love going to a coffee shop just to write or edit videos. It’s just a good way to get out of your normal environment, grab a good cup of coffee, and hang out for a couple of hours.
A big part of this new office setup was to have a designated space where deep work happens. Again, this typically includes my daily writing session, my building work blocks (which includes creating my new course, generating content ideas, and connecting the dots between different ideas that I have), filming videos (which includes filming videos like this one that we’re watching or B-roll that I also include in my videos), and then finally editing videos that again go out on my YouTube each week or go to clients that I’m working with. Nearly everything else that I do can happen outside of the office.
That way, I can focus on being in the flow state and having deep work sessions while I’m in this space. This is something that I’m far from perfect at, but it’s something that I’d really love to work on now that I have a designated workspace. And this is a great way to condition yourself to get into a forced flow state, as I like to call it.
There are a few different things that I love to do in order to make this a reality. Number one is to have no distractions in your office. Again, this is why I kept my desk setup so minimal and simple. I didn’t want to have anything that would take me away from focusing on deep work. The second thing is to turn on do not disturb mode on your phone and computer. The third thing is to have a clear goal or task that you’re working on during your work session. I cannot emphasize the importance of this step. If you don’t have something that you’re working towards, you’re not going to be able to stay focused. You need to have something that you’re excited to do and that you know you need to get done in order to stay focused for an extended period of time. And then finally, number four is to make your setup as ergonomic as possible. That way, you don’t have fatigue, whether it’s in your body or even just in your mind, when you’re working at a setup that is uncomfortable.
This is something that I’m super excited about with this new setup. I wanted to create a space that is super easy to just sit down and work in, and I’m actually excited to come in here and knock some tasks out. If it’s not fun for you to do work, you’re probably not going to make it happen. So make it as fun as you possibly can, whether that’s by creating a new setup, changing it up every once in a while, or just having a space that you feel good in and allowing yourself to work hard in it. I don’t really know if that made sense, but hopefully you understand what I’m saying.
I decided to talk specifically about my desk setup in this video. In the near future, I’m planning to create another video that talks about my studio and filming setup for my YouTube videos. If you have any questions about either of those things, make sure to leave a comment down below, and I will answer them and/or include them in the next video. Thank you so much for watching. My name is Eric. Peace.