My job is 100% fully remote, so I kinda felt like I owed it to myself to make my working environment feel less like a home/office compromise and more like a private members club. I used to subscribe to sitting on the sofa, laptop overheating on my actual lap, surviving purely on instant coffee and anxiety. It was grim.
These are the bits of kit and routines I’ve adopted that together make my working day feel easier and better.
The Morning Coffee Commitment
My partner and I decided that if we are saving £5 a day not buying coffee en route to the office, then we can treat ourselves to a Breville Barista Max. The upgrade in our at home coffee was huge. I’m giving Starbucks Barista Boy at any given moment. That first sip of coffee from a freshly ground bean, while the sun is still barely up, is my personal, non-negotiable ritual.
All-Day AI Playlist
I’ve become utterly dependent on Spotify’s Daily Drive playlist - if you have a Spotify premium account and haven’t tried it out before, PLEASE do so immediately. It’s one of the recommendations I make to friends and they message me a couple of days later saying I changed their lives.
It’s brilliant. It’s a seamless blend of news, podcasts and perfectly curated new songs. It literally feels like having my own private, hyper-personalised radio station running from 9 AM until I finish cooking dinner. Genuinely improved my life.
Arzopa Monitor Second Screen
I spend half my life rattling around in planes and hotels, and the second I open a spreadsheet or attempt to edit something on a single laptop screen, I want to weep. The Arzopa is the solution for me. It’s thin, plugs in with one USB-C cable, and instantly more than doubles your desktop real estate.
Burning Incense
Scented candles are great, but sometimes I need something with a bigger, more immediate punch. I wrote about this in my ‘Invisible Upgrade’ article: the right scent can define the work space. I switch between the Earl of East ‘Jardin de la Lune’ Incense Sticks for a heavier, woodier start, or the lighter, almost smoky paper of the Aesop ‘Kagerou Aromatique’ Incense.
A Handwriting Combo
Pretty much my entire life is digital, buttttt I love taking handwritten notes throughout the day - although, I refuse to use basic office supplies. I’m a huge fan of Muji A4 Planted Tree Paper Notebooks - they’re simple and aesthetic. The real luxury, though, is the pen. I spent ages curating my collection of Tom Dixon pens from auction sites. He’s one of my design heroes. The weight, the balance, the barrel. Holding a well-designed pen makes writing a simple ‘Reply to ___’ notes feel more like drafting a manifesto.
Hydration
I keep the biggest, most absurdly oversized Black Stanley Cup on my desk. You can call me basic, sure. But you can never call me dehydrated.
MOFT Z Stand
This is sold as a ‘stand-up’ desk converter, which I instantly ignored, because tbh, it would work for that at a push, but I’d have an insanely stiff neck after 10 minutes and it would give the absolute worst angle for a video call. But, I love it and use it everyday. Its real genius is as a sitting-down riser. I use it purely to lift my Mac up to eye level. It solves the two biggest WFH problems in one foldable unit: neck pain (because I’m no longer staring down at your lap) and bad video calls (because my webcam is now flattering, not looking up your nostrils). Non-negotiable now.
