Desk Setup Accessories: 10 Minimal Upgrades Worth Buying
The best desk setup accessories I’ve added lately are the ones that either disappear completely or make daily friction disappear with them. My whole mission over the past few months has been to make the setup even more minimal, which is slightly ridiculous because it was already pretty minimal, but these are the upgrades that actually moved the needle. Some are simple cable-management wins, some are niche problem-solvers, and a couple are accessories I now reach for constantly.
A straight monitor arm made the whole desk look cleaner
My old monitor arm had USB ports and audio jacks built into the front, and when I first bought it, I loved the idea. The truth is, I literally never used the audio jacks and very rarely used the USB ports, so all those extras just meant more cables to manage. I also don’t love the look of angular monitor arms visually, which gave me a pretty good excuse to hunt for something simpler.
Believe it or not, I ended up with the Amazon Basics single computer monitor stand. No matter how hard I looked, it was the only straight arm monitor stand I found that allowed the cables to route through the support pole, which makes so much sense because these poles are hollow. The description says it is meant to support monitors up to 30 inches, while my ultra-wide monitor is 34 inches, but it definitely has the capacity to support the weight and I haven’t had any issues.
There is one trade-off. The support pole is not quite as high as some other monitor mounts, so my Pixel Tablet only just barely fits underneath it. Still, the final result looks significantly cleaner than the previous arm, and that was exactly what I was trying to achieve.
Under-desk mounting fixed the Mac Studio cable mess
Since switching to the M3 Ultra Mac Studio full-time, I had to decide whether to leave it on the desk or keep everything tucked away underneath. I went with the under-desk approach because it suited the rest of the setup, and the accessory that made it work was a fairly inexpensive under-desk Mac Studio mount.
There is not much mystery to this thing. It is a well-built bit of metal that lets you mount your Mac Studio under the desk. The real benefit is that all the cables get redirected under the desk too, which is really helpful when the goal is cleaner cable management.
The Stream Deck Plus is better when it can vanish
I also moved my Stream Deck Plus under the desk using a custom-made 3D printed articulating desk mount I found on Etsy. There are a heap of mounts that slide in and out, but this was the only one I could find that also offered side-to-side movement and tilting at the same time.
That combination matters because the Stream Deck Plus is now more convenient when I need all my switches and knobs, but it can also slide completely out of view when I want the setup to look more minimal. If I had my own 3D printer, I would probably prefer to print something like this myself, because the shipping to Australia was not exactly fun.
My favorite power upgrade is having no charger on the desk
the ultimate on-desk power solution, which is not having one on the desk at all
— Sam BeckmanMy on-desk power setup has gone through a whole evolution: a beefy desk clamp, an in-desk power solution, then a smaller power brick. What finally clicked was moving the power off the desktop entirely, which is where the Pezots 100 W retractable USB charging system came in.
The reason this works better than a normal power brick with a retractable USB-C cable is that the cable is built into the unit and retracts from a fixed point. I did have to get creative with the mounting, though. When I first mounted it to the underside of the desk, the cable was not running in its natural direction, so pulling it out created an uncomfortable amount of resistance.
The workaround was using two bits of plastic from an old under-desk laptop mount to hold the charger upright. It is probably not the best possible solution, but it lets the USB-C cable sit just slightly out of view when nothing is plugged in, while still being in the right orientation to pull out and charge whatever needs juicing up on the desk.
The wireless charger solved a very specific Oppo Find X6 problem
More often than not, that retractable USB-C cable is plugged into a wireless charger from Swonska. I needed this particular style because the Oppo Find X6, which I’m using full-time, does not have magnetic wireless charging built in, and its wireless charging coil sits slightly lower than on most other devices. That means it does not work properly with standard wireless chargers.
The Swonska charger includes a little silicon mat that props the phone up by the right amount so the wireless coils line up and the phone actually charges. It also has a low-power digital clock in the base, can charge headphones on the rear, has a flip-out section for a compatible smartwatch, and folds into a tiny unit for portability. It is a pretty niche charger for my specific phone, but if you are in the same boat, that niche is exactly the point.
The NuPhy Air 100 V3 keyboard was a surprise switch
I had previously switched to the Lofree Flow 2 keyboard, but I have since moved again, this time to the NuPhy Air 100 V3 keyboard. There is just something about the design and feel of NuPhy keyboards that has always held a soft spot for me, and the version with the customizable control knob at the top made me want to check it out.
It has been 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. It is not one of those accessories that hides under the desk, but if something is going to live front and center, it needs to earn that space.
A tiny USB-C microphone fixed desktop voice input
The USB-C mini microphone is one of those accessories you cannot even see at first glance because it permanently lives in the back of my Mac Studio. Desktop machines like the Mac Studio, and my previous PC, generally do not come with a built-in microphone, so a tiny plug-and-play USB microphone is a simple fix.
I do not use this for video calls because it sounds pretty muffled from where I installed it. For talking to Siri or using voice transcription apps, which is all I use it for, it does the job beautifully. It takes up next to no space, requires no funky setup, and solves a boring problem cleanly.
The magnetic phone mount is perfect for a filming station
Away from my main editing desk, I mounted a metal magnetic wireless charger to the side of the Apple Studio Display in my short-form content station. I had used a similar fixed mount before, but this one adds tilting angles and wireless charging, which makes it much more useful.
I paired it with a mini right-angled USB-C cable so the cable basically manages itself and runs neatly into the back of the monitor. It is a sleek way to store my iPhone 17 Pro and keep it charged, especially because I occasionally use that phone for filming short-form content.
The Ryobi battery inverter made my sit-stand desk cable-free
The Ryobi battery inverter is absolutely indulgent for what it does, but it solved a problem I had been trying to fix for years. On the side, it has an AC power connection, so if you have one of the Ryobi 36-V batteries, you can mount the system under a sit-stand desk and raise or lower the desk without any janky power cables ruining the vibe.
I do not use it under my main editing desk because that desk is constantly plugged into the wall. It lives under my top filming desk, which also doubles as the table I use for slider shots in basically every video. I do those slider shots a lot, and being able to adjust the standing desk height without plugging anything into it has made that whole process so much less painful.
The Blackzero screwdriver replaced my full-size drill most days
The Blackzero screwdriver kit has become my go-to weapon of choice any time screws are involved. I still have a proper drill, but it needs huge batteries and separate drill bits, and when I’m working in tight or hard-to-reach spaces, a full-size drill is often more effort than it is worth.
I have honestly hardly picked up my drill since getting this. The Blackzero screwdriver has a built-in battery that charges via USB-C, all the various drill bits are contained within the kit, and the built-in torch has been a real life-saver when installing cable-management accessories in the darkness under the desk.
Which desk setup accessories are actually worth copying?
If your goal is a cleaner desk, I would start with the monitor arm, under-desk Mac Studio mount, Stream Deck Plus mount, and retractable USB-C charging system. Those are the accessories that most directly remove visual clutter from the main setup.
If you are solving a specific workflow problem, the answer depends on the space. The Swonska charger makes sense for phones with awkward wireless charging alignment, the USB-C microphone is great for simple voice input on a desktop computer, the Ryobi battery inverter is a luxury fix for a sit-stand filming desk, and the Blackzero screwdriver is the practical DIY tool I keep coming back to.
From Sam Beckman
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