A straight monitor arm made the setup look cleaner immediately

My old monitor arm had USB ports and audio jacks built into it, which sounded great when I bought it. In reality, I’d literally never used the audio jacks, and I very rarely used the USB ports either. Add the extra cable management those ports required, plus the angular look I never fully loved, and it was time to simplify.

I ended up going with the Amazon Basics single computer monitor stand because it was the only straight arm monitor stand I found that lets you route cables through the support pole. That makes so much sense because the pole is hollow, and visually it looks significantly cleaner than what I was using before.

Under-desk mounts did most of the cable-management work

Since switching to the M3 Ultra Mac Studio full-time, I had to decide whether to keep it on the desk or keep the sleeker under-desk setup. I went under the desk, mainly because it redirects all the various cables away from the desktop, which is exactly what I wanted for cable management.

I also moved my Stream Deck Plus under the desk using a custom-made 3D printed articulating desk mount from Etsy. There are plenty of mounts that slide in and out, but this one also gives me side-to-side and tilting functionality, which means I can access my switches and knobs when I need them, then slide the whole thing completely out of view.

The only downside is that if I had my own 3D printer, I’d probably prefer to print something like this myself. Getting it shipped to Australia was not exactly the fun part.

The 100 W retractable USB-C charger replaced on-desk power

My approach to on-desk power has changed a lot. I went from a beefy on-desk power clamp, to an in-desk power solution, to a smaller power brick. The setup that finally made sense was the Pezots 100 W retractable USB charging system, because the USB-C cable is built into the unit and retracts from a fixed point.

Installing it took a bit of fiddling. Mounted flat under the desk, the cable didn’t pull out naturally and had too much resistance. I ended up using two plastic pieces from an under-desk laptop mount so the charger could sit upright, which leaves the USB-C cable just slightly out of view while still being easy to pull out when something needs charging.

The Swonska wireless charger solved my Oppo Find X6 problem

Most of the time, the retractable USB-C cable lives plugged into a Swonska wireless charger. This one is niche, but it matters for my full-time phone, the Oppo Find X6, because it does not have magnetic wireless charging built in and its wireless charging coil sits slightly lower than on most other devices.

The Swonska charger includes a little silicon mat that props the phone up just enough for the wireless coils to line up properly. It also has a low-power digital clock in the base, charges headphones at the rear, supports a compatible smartwatch on a flip-out section, and folds into a tiny unit, which makes it seriously great for portability.

The NuPhy Air 100 V3 keyboard pulled me back in

I’d previously switched to the Lofree Flow 2 keyboard, but I’ve since moved again to the NuPhy Air 100 V3. There’s just something about the design and feel of NuPhy keyboards that has always held a soft spot for me, and the customizable control knob at the top was enough to make me want to try this one for myself.

It is an absolute joy to use. The keys feel incredible, the keyboard looks amazing, and the little control knob is just as fun as it looks.

A tiny USB-C microphone is perfect for Siri and transcription

One accessory you can’t see at first glance is a little USB-C mini microphone that permanently lives in the back of my Mac Studio. Desktop solutions like the Mac Studio, and my previous PC, generally don’t come with a built-in microphone, so this is a simple way to add one without taking up desk space.

I don’t use it for video calls because it sounds pretty muffled from where I’ve installed it. For talking to Siri or using voice transcription apps, though, it does the job beautifully, and there’s no funky setup involved.

A metal MagSafe mount keeps my short-form phone ready

Away from my main editing desk, I’ve been using a metal MagSafe phone mount on the side of my Apple Studio Display. I featured a similar fixed mount before, but this one supports different tilting angles and has wireless charging built in.

I paired it with a mini right-angled USB-C cable so the cable more or less manages itself and runs neatly into the back of the monitor. It is a very sleek way to store my iPhone 17 Pro and keep it juiced up, especially because I occasionally use it to film short-form content.

The Ryobi battery inverter is indulgent, but brilliant for a sit-stand filming desk

The Ryobi battery inverter is absolutely indulgent for what it does, but it solved a problem I’d wanted to fix for years. It has an AC power connection, so if you have a Ryobi 36-V battery, you can mount the system under a sit-stand desk and adjust the desk height without a power cable ruining the vibe.

I don’t use it at my main editing desk because that desk is constantly plugged into a wall. It lives under my top filming desk, which also doubles as the table for slider shots, and it makes adjusting heights so much less painful because I don’t need to plug the desk into anything.

Blackzero replaced my full-size drill for most small jobs

The Blackzero screwdriver kit has been my go-to weapon of choice anytime screws have been involved over the past 6 months. I still have a proper drill, but it needs huge batteries and separate drill bits, and in tight, hard-to-reach areas, a full-size drill is often more effort than it’s worth.

The Blackzero has a built-in battery that charges via USB-C, keeps the various drill bits inside one kit, and includes an inbuilt torch. That torch has been a real life-saver while installing cable-management accessories in the darkness underneath my desk.

From Sam Beckman