What with all the moving I’ve done as an adult, my desk setup has changed dramatically over the years. I wish I had a comprehensive album, but I’ve still scrounged together a good set of pictures of various desks, culminating with my first dedicated desk space in a room separate from where I eat, sleep, and/or socialize.
Sophomore Year of College
I eventually rotated the desk on the right so that it faced out toward my door. However, the setup is what you see here: my 17″ Lenovo Ideapad, which I got at the end of high school, and an external mouse. I also bought a printer in my freshman year and eventually passed it on to my dad. This setup is no different than my freshman year, except for the relative location of the desk itself. Barebones, though I also had an unseen rotating cast of tablets for notetaking.1Before switching to an iPad and Notability in my junior year, I used an Android tablet and an app then called Papyrus, now apparently rebranded Squid. I also bought a Lenovo Yoga Book, a wacky piece of technology that I think could still have legs.
Junior Year of College
My IdeaPad computing core did not change, but I slightly upgraded my ergonomics by setting the laptop upon my printer, adding an external keyboard to complement the mouse. After I took this picture, I toyed around with stick-on chalkboard material for a quick place to take notes while working on math homework.2The blue book shown here is the infamous Baby Rudin; it was and is a real piece of work for many a math major.
The futon I had as a sophomore was originally from my older sister. This year I passed it onto my younger sister which opened up the space beneath my lofted bed for this cozier desk setup. Pioneer Hall was in its final year before renovation, and rather worse for wear, but I made it work.
This was also the desk at which I recorded several initial episodes of OHAC.
Internship at AoPS
When I arrived, my new coworkers for the summer told me it was good that I was “tall” since they had guessed at the monitor height. As it happened, the monitor height was great, but the desk height was abysmal. I was never brave enough to ask for a lifted keyboard tray, but when I eventually started my full-time position and moved 20 feet from this location to a new desk, I used a tray for my laptop and a stack of books for my mouse pad.
San Diego
I did a decent job with my desk setup in my apartment. I switched between a laptop and a desktop, and also used my monitor for a Roku and a Nintendo Switch. It was an all-in-one spot where I spent all my time if I wasn’t eating or outside. My dad made this desk—it actually folds up—for my senior year of college. I don’t have a picture of that desk setup, but this was a natural evolution once I moved into my own place.
San Francisco
For the first few months living together, I used my setup from San Diego and Erin had a sit/stand desk in the living room. Once she mainly went back to working in the office, I adopted this desk as my own and shifted its location in the bedroom. I had a three-panel room divider behind me for meetings, and it was always a bit cramped and dusty beneath. This picture is my desk at its messiest—normally, my laptop would be on the riser, and if I weren’t journaling, that notebook would be neatly tucked elsewhere. It was cramped at times, but I don’t have a better image available. Its best feature was proximity to an ethernet point for fast and stable internet.
New Haven
Yet another step forward: we have a second bedroom, and I’ve turned this corner into my office space. I hung up the corkboard last weekend and have added two framed pictures around the area since. The shelving unit allowed me to keep my desk tidier, with only a few papers and a couple of tchotchkes I like in front of me.
The other part of the VESA mount is unseen to the right, and it has a laptop stand that hovers in front of a walking treadmill. Farther to the right is another small shelving unit with a printer, a speaker, postage, and notebooks ready for use. Where I’m standing as I take this picture is open space that’s good for a yoga mat. This room has proven quite multifunctional, but I’m mainly happy I have a comfortable spot where I enjoy working each day.
- 1Before switching to an iPad and Notability in my junior year, I used an Android tablet and an app then called Papyrus, now apparently rebranded Squid. I also bought a Lenovo Yoga Book, a wacky piece of technology that I think could still have legs.
- 2The blue book shown here is the infamous Baby Rudin; it was and is a real piece of work for many a math major.