Published 2026-04-19
tag(s): #random-thoughts #overblown-minor-annoyances
It seems my Emacs setup is more or less at
a stable minimum. Or at
least, a usable minimum.
I am at the point where if I don't have my config, I can use the editor perfectly well, but of
course I prefer my little tweaks.
Anyway! This post isn't about Emacs, but about my new desk setup.
Content warning: it is filled with details about how I arrange stuff in my desk, and my
reasoning to use one or the other amount of monitors.
I don't find it exciting, and I am not even sure it is interesting. But, it is the kind of
thing that is important to me, I think about it probably more than I should,
and if I don't write about it in my blog, then where else? 🤓
Way back, in like 2006 or so, I read a blog post about using dual monitors at work (was it Coding Horror? Joel on Software? Scott Hanselman? who knows). The logic about having more screen real estate and minimizing focus switching read very solid. I was sold!
Dual monitors, at least in Argentina, didn't become the norm for quite some time. I couldn't
help but thinking companies were missing out by not giving the smart and relatively expensive
employees, some big productivity gains with some relatively cheap monitors!!!
Eventually dual screens become common enough.
At home, the biggest setup I had was here in the US (biggest in screen sizes, and volume of
crap on the desk). It was an extremely cheap 24" monitor paired with a 27" one that someone
gave me. And I somehow made it all fit on
a 30"
Varidesk[1], using a small wooden box to prop up smaller monitor to be
level with the biggest one (and also to hide cables).
It was...certainly nothing like the setups at [webpage I can't remember nor find now, that
shows photos of nice desk setups - but I will add it here later. Oh and if you are reading
this on RSS, sorry for all the updates that I push where I correct grammar mistakes and
improve phrasing on things I write really late at night the next morning, but you never really
get because I am not sure how to update the RSS feed properly...].
When COVID restrictions started easing, I was working once or twice a week with a friend who's
family was also far away, so we really weren't in contact with anyone
else.[2]
And I noticed two things of these "work socials": first, that I really enjoy working
with other people (this will be sadly relevant later), and second, that whenever I was working
away from my desk, I was missing having my second screen. I was just so used to it.
And that planted the seed that maybe having two (or more) screens is not a good idea if you plan to work only from your laptop with any regularity.
Then I started another job, working full remote. This made me notice two things: first, that I
eventually felt miserable not working with others in person.
Yes, I know, in our trade everyone hates people, the office, the commute, and casually
socializing. Or, at least that's what I used to read on reddit every time the topic of working
in an office popped up. But I enjoy both the socializing, and having a clear cutoff between
work time and personal time, and when I really need to focus I wear headphones both at home
and the office. Also I use my commute to read....where were we?
Oh yeah...and the second thing I learned, is that once working from a coffee shop or someone
else's house becomes more common, the idea of giving up the second monitor maybe had even more
merit than I thought initially.
It was around the tail end of this time of fully remote work that I got a roost laptop stand to pair with the external keyboard and mouse, and make the on-the-go setup pretty ergonomic.
I am too lazy to try and find photos (I know I have some) of the disaster that the Varidesk
setup was. But over time I got a proper standing desk at Costco, ditched the 24" screen, and
achieved a saner and cleaner desk setup.
It didn't take that much time to adjust on the software side, honestly. My secret sauce is
the Win+# shortcut that I've been using since forever in Windows, and
configured similarly in i3, and use nowadays in Gnome. If you keep all applications maximized,
doesn't matter if in the same workspace or not, it is very easy to quickly swap between them.
I've had the same numbers assigned to apps for a really long time. 1 is my
IDE/editor (yeah, used to be VS), 2 browser, 3 file manager, 4 Lync/Slack/Teams, 5 email, etc.
But there was still more to remove....
For the last couple years I've been using a 27" 4K monitor (also a hand me down, I've been
lucky like that). And it looks great! Except that a number of apps in both Windows and Linux
don't deal very well with the scaling changes between 4K and laptop screen/work monitor.
Yes, it is very much a first world problem.
So about two months ago, I tried for a week ditching the monitor entirely, and use my old
remote setup at home. Roost + Dygma Raise + Logitech Lyft. It worked ok-ish, except that the
laptop screen sat too far to read comfortably. And if I pulled them closer, then I didn't
have room for the mouse, which is fine because I almost don't use it...but! almost
don't use it.
Also the cables for the USB-C hub (another "hand me down", from the office) got
tangled, since they go on opposite side on work and personal laptop. Oh the horror.
So after a week, I bailed.
A few days ago I read this ounapuu
post[3] about giving up your monitor, and figure I could give the idea
another go myself.
And this time, it seems I got it just right 😎
I remembered that back then, instead of a mouse, I used a Kensington Orbit trackball! Going with the trackball on my current desk, let me move the laptop closer to the keyboard halves. And then I can place the USB hub behind the laptops, so no matter on which side of the device I have to plug in the USB connection, the cables don't get tangled.
I already achieved, with a single monitor, some of the focus benefits from the post linked
above. What do I get from not using the monitor?
In terms of desk space and look (and again, lazy to get photos), I have a cleaner and less
cluttered setup. The roost is not exactly eye candy, but still.
I get to stop dealing with the resolution changes. Which I could have solved by getting another monitor, but I really didn't want to buy another device.
And that's about it. The satisfaction of "needing" less things to work
comfortably?
Not counting the expensive programmable split keyboard. 🤡