Productivity Hacks! 5 Pro Tips For A Work From Home Desk Setup \\ Anker KVM Switch
When it comes to my job, I’m finding that motivation and productivity are getting more and more important as my business grows. As a solo content creator and a woman owned business organization and quick setups are the key to quickly producing videos. I’m always looking to increase productivity but not burn out and having a clean and organized desk setup is a major component of this. Even though I can’t really speed up my hair and makeup routine, I can speed up how long it takes me to edit, or how long it takes to get a video loaded onto my PC to start uploading. I can have control over the network speeds I have access to. So these are my top pro tips to increase my desk productivity and minimize distractions or barriers to work.
Tip 1: Minimizing distractions has been a crucial part of this studios success. That includes anything that has notifications, and removing anything that could switch my focus. Even though I have a Pixel Tablet docked on my desk, I mainly use this as a music device. My phone is only allowed on my desk when I’m taking a break. All tech devices are set to Do Not Disturb at my desk so they won’t make me lose focus on the task at hand. And this brings me to
Tip 2: Cleanliness. I can’t work if my workspace is messy. It’s distracting and causes me to feel some anxiety. My mind can’t even get into work mode if there’s a mess on my desk because I’ll glance at that pile of papers and think “oh I should put those away” or “oh I should go through those”. Also if I can’t find what I need due to disorganization, that slows me down and causes delays in my job. My rule of thumb with this is to not introduce anything to my desk that covers up the hardwood desktop on both sides of my deskmat. I also use reasonable but not minimalistic cable management. I do switch out products to review often, so having some cable accessibility and not zip tying and hiding them all away allows me to work faster and exchange tech at a quicker pace. I’ve hidden away the cables that are in my view when I’m at my desk, while not permanently sticking them to any surfaces in order to allow for easy replacement. That also ties in to my next tip:
Tip 3 is removing barriers to entry. I introduce products that increase my speed to “get ready” to work. When you first sit down at your desk, you might need to raise your chair or desk to the right placement, turn on your computer, wait for it to start, plug in an SD card and wait for file transfers, connect to the internet, yadda yadda. All these little things just to get you started and you haven’t even gotten anything done. I use smart Assistants to automate tasks, I set my desk to two preset height adjustments for sit and stand, and my computer is always on unless I’ve restarted it to reset cookies or update. The Anker KVM Switch Dual 4K for Desktop and Laptop is the newest piece of tech I’ve introduced to my desktop because it allows me to switch between my laptop and my main PC without having to switch wires back and forth. KVM stands for Keyboard Video and Mouse and it functions as a switch to control and switch between multiple devices.
It’s very easy to setup - you just plug it into power, then add the included USB C cable for PC 1 (that would be your laptop), and plug in the PC tower using the included HDMI and DP cables from the back of the PC to the ports in the PC 2 section. The two monitors are plugged into the Display Out ports, then you can add your keyboard and mouse and any additional peripherals to the front of the Anker KVM Switch. From there, plug in your laptop to the USB C PC 1 connection, and you can use the magnetic button to switch between PC 1 and PC 2.
The Anker KVM Switch also has fast charging ports on the front, and it is compatible with my two higher resolution displays, so it works at my full resolution, which is 3440 x 1440 widescreen. So, one of the ways I can use this is by switching to my laptop and editing footage on the two big monitors that is locally stored on my laptop. That way I’m not stuck using my lil keyboard, a touchpad, and the little laptop display. That speeds up my workflow a whole lot.
Tip 4 is upgrading tech. If you take a look at the tech on my desk, all of it is current and fairly future proofed. For example, my PC tower has USB C inputs, my Kingston card reader has fast speeds for file transfers. And my computer monitors are both high resolution. This increases my workflow as I don’t have to sit around and wait for file transfers. And for this section, I also want to mention upgrading ethernet or home internet connections so you spend less time waiting for spinning progress bars. I’m kinda impatient and if I am feeling productive, I don’t want that mindset to disappear while I’m waiting for something to load.
Tip 5 is to create a healthier space. For me, that included a standing desk, a better chair, and introducing stress relievers and products that promote a happy, cheerful mindset. For me, that’s a candle that smells like the current season, it’s greenery, or something that makes me feel creative and brings some part of my personality into the workspace. I’ve never been a minimalist and I like having lots of color in my surroundings, so I’ve brought that kind of visual cue into my work environment.
