I am starting a new article series here: My Home Office From A Different Perspective.

This is where I am coming from: there are two, or maybe three different ways to set up an office. It all depends on what values you put in front.

First, I have seen offices that have been set up for maximum comfort of the user, and most of the time this is all about getting out more and better work results in less time. Technician mindsets tend to that. And they are right.

Second, I have seen offices that have been set up for impressing visitors, and that means that a certain style is strictly followed. Anything from classic mahogany or oak furniture to posh designer furniture works. Plus expensive accessories.  Entrepreneur mindsets tend to that style. And they are also right.

Manager mindsets are probably somewhere in-between. If they are good managers then they will probably not care about their office because they care about their people more than about themselves. And they are right, too.

Where are you in this coordinate system? What value do you put in front when designing your own office?

Before Covid-19, I did not care much about my own office. I am clearly carrying a technician gene, I am entrepreneurial by family background and upbringing, and I am responsible for keeping a large number of people on their toes, workwise. I have never spent much time designing my own office in my entire lifetime.

That is now very different.

Covid-19, The Technology Pusher

New standards came with Covid-19.

We work now from our home offices, most of the time.

Meetings are today done over video conferences.

A good non-artificial background and a good lighting system impress others more than a big and posh office: it can happen that you have to record an instant short video message that is broadcast to 10,000 people, within one hour after you having been notified that you need to make it. There is no time for sending your raw recording to a technician for compiling it into something decent. You have to be able to do everything yourself.

Your recorded sound must not have an echo. Otherwise, it does not sound professional.

If you are still relying on your naked laptop only, forget it. You need a separate webcam and an external microphone.

You need to push the envelope and to extend the limits of what is possible when it comes to audio and video recording.

 

I Let You Look Over My Shoulder

In my new article series, I let you see how I do things.

I start with a small and empty room that I will convert into a semi-professional audio and video recording studio.

My equipment is not cheap but it is low budget. I am very sure that you can afford it.

I start with setting up:

• a desk
• a swivel chair
• a laptop
• a video connection cable between the laptop and an external monitor, with adapters for various video connector standards
• an external monitor
• an external keyboard
• an external cable mouse with a mousepad
• an extension cord/power extender
• a USB hub
• an external webcam
• a USB lapel microphone
• a pivot arm for the USB lapel microphone
• an external loudspeaker
• a magnifying glass lamp with a pivot arm
• a drawing tablet

I have recorded a video about setting this up, here

In the upcoming articles, I will add more equipment to my home office and also describe each component in detail so that you know what you need for yourself.

I have also set up a Q&A forum for this where you can post questions here

 

Martin “Home Office” Schweiger