If you do not know gear, I apologize as I am going to write this with those that are somewhere down with their equipment and workspace journey. If you have questions, feel free to reach out.
My 'white whale' is my workspace. It is the greatest tool for my productivity.
It is also, when not 'primed and read' my greatest distraction. That may be more about me than my workspace but it is part of my pursuit.
In the end for me, and your mileage may vary, it is about the information incoming as well as data about my workspace.
It requires maintenance every morning to reset, meaning cleaning up from the day before of the things I don't police during the day. It also means getting things out of there that I don't need.
The struggle has been over the years of where is my workspace.
Currently I am in a loft in the second floor. You would say, as I do sometimes that it is not optimum. People can come in and bother me or more importantly when I am working on something 'confidential' that I have potential exposure to non-work personnel (i.e. family and friends). The reality is that it is actually better than at brick and mortar places. I don't have to worry about multiple people with differing agendas and "need to know" issues on initiatives.
For me the optimum issues are about interruptions which is more behavioral conditioning than not. At a work from home situation this is typically better than worrying about anyone that can come and interrupt my concentration or inadvertently be heard on a call. Again it is about conditioning and communication.
Data
For me the most important data to deal with is time. The other is regarding comfort. I wonder what the weather is like outside and what the environment is like inside.
Clocks are available in pretty much every direction with every screen there is as well as specific informational devices that add a bit of nerd cred into my space. I have a thermohygrometer that also has the particulate count via a laser particle counter. It interfaces with a HEPA filter for the space.
I keep a pomodoro timer handy when I get really distracted.
Data also includes lots of screens incoming but I can get into that separately.
Screens
The amount of screens I have is purposeful or at least that is my story and I am sticking to it. I have a 55 inch ultra wide curved monitor that is then bracketed by two 34 inch panels in portrait. Yeah. I know. The main monitor is on its own stand because it is heavy. The other two are on desk mounted arms. This is because they are mounted to a standing L shaped desk.
There is of course my phone which remains on my desk in typically 1 of 3 positions. Face down on my desk or in one of two chargers, one that is on my right in a MagSafe quick charger and then on a slow charger off to the side. The slow charger is to keep it out of site and typically out of reach to focus. The right hand charger is both functional and for when I know I will be interrupted.
I also have an iPad Pro and Mac Air on my left side. The iPad Pro is my grab and go system when I have no time to get ready. I can do most things with it and it is portable. I also have my MacBook Pro 16 inch that is in clamshell running everything.
The iPad is my main media system. It carries my audio books, a bit of my music, and movies for when I travel. It is my background noise and personal assistant.
The Air is so that I can grab and go with a bit more power and go find a place in the house to get things done. Even a coffee shop. My road bag/EDC will be a different subject as that is absolutely bonkers. My MacBook Air is mounted on an arm attached to to the desk. It usually has chats and other feeds coming in on it not related to work.
So yeah I am an Apple fanboy. Just for full disclosure I also have a desktop computer (mounted on the wall) that is windows based. Just because I use the apple ecosystem for simplicity does not mean I don't understand and know how to very proficiently use a windows system (among other OS). I just do not want my gear to get in my way. I do that enough on my own.
I have an Apple Watch that is my most personal screen and I look at it all the time. I notice when it is not on me.
Inputs
It would be an easy thing to say that I have a standard mouse and keyboard setup but I would be underselling my struggle. I have settled on Keychain keyboards. They are quality. I won't get into the battle of switches. I recently took my friend down the rabbit hole on keyboards and hours later I felt bad. He now has a keyboard he loves (until he does not) and we will get him through that as well. I have several Keychrons, the K2 and K3 are my main keyboards. Why multiples. I have one for my Pro, and then one for both my Air and iPad. I use the bluetooth switcher to go back and forth as needed. But the amount of time I need to interact with my iPad is minimal as I set it and forget it. If I am fiddling with it, I am getting distracted. Audio books and music playlists are clutch.
Audio and visual inputs are next. I am an audio snob. I have purposeful speakers for different tasks. Yeah I KNOW!!. I have a pair of edifier speakers and then 2 pair of Razer speakers on pedestals. They are all marginal. I have a surrounded myself with studio monitors as well but those are not always plugged in. They may get eliminated from my setup. I use a nano for my air as all three of these but consolidated. Still lots of customization to work on.
I also have a soundbar under my main monitor for movies and gaming (when I don't use headphones).
Mouse wise I am a Logitech MX Master 3S devotee. I also use the anywhere on the go. They all have macros and buttons customized to my workflow. This helps with my other input devices as the obligatory stream decks (yes multiple) with 3 on my main computer. One is my mail profile (an XL) and then a separate one for Omnifocus. My Plus is my app launcher and monitor manager. I also have a foot pedal version for stream deck which I am setting up for muting and cough buttons as well as other automations. I also have a ShuttlePro V 2 for video editing. Mousepad is a razor pad with RGB because I am a nerd. Also for inputs I have 2 xbox controllers for the xbox behind my monitor and the gaming computer plugged in.
I have one main mic that I use but I am setup for podcasting. I use a share sm7B with my Rodecaster Pro 2. I have it on a Yellowtec M!ka arm for a production studio. It is a fantastic solution albeit pricey, but I do not regret it. I also use a MuteMe switch for most calls. I have a physical cough button wired in as well but that can be a pain.
Cam wise I am using the Insta360 cameras, one for my air and one for my pro.
Desk wise, I am using an uplift L desk. It was an investment as was my chair which is a Steelcase chair.
Storage is a whole different thing. I will leave it at this. I have a rack mounted NAS solution in my office. It is big. It needs lots of file love, but it is absolutely wonderful.
Lighting for cameras includes two lume cube lights and an overhead light. I also have a monitor light for eyestrain. That is pretty good.
For my overall flow my chair sits on a tempered glass chair pad. I am a big guy. It does fantastic. It is a bit small but works for 95% of my movements.
My struggles have been around organization, power and wire management. It is getting better but still a constant struggle. I have lots of useable things on my desk for different projects.
Oh yea...screens. I have a very large TV in my office. It serves a purpose when chilling out. Not much more. It used to be used for gaming but that is not a thing anymore.
I am paperless, or at least I try to be. I have a Scansnap scanner (IX 1500). Totally worth it. I should upgrade eventually and will.
Lighting and Automation I use different sensors to turn my lights on and off both through Siri and through presence. I have cameras in my office for when I am away which is REALLY helpful. I can tell someone where something is by looking around with a pan/tilt camera. I don't have memory cards in them and they are not saved to anywhere. But I can always say I am always in my office.
I just put in a glass whiteboard for notes and planning. That is fantastic. Lastly, I have drink fridge and a massage chair which are very helpful to keep me on task and relax respectively.
Those are the big ticket items. I will publish some pictures of the entire office when it is clean.