The Best Office and Mobile Work Setups (According to a 30-year IT Veteran)

This article is going to be a little different. I’m Heinan, Optimal’s Founder & CEO, and I have LOTs to share with you about the equipment I use to stay productive. 

Optimal, like many other organizations, has embraced hybrid work. For me this means splitting time between the office, my home, and fairly frequent trips out of state. And as you might guess, I’m a bit particular about my technology. 

Over the last several months I’ve been researching and experimenting with all kinds of gadgets, and getting lots of help from the team on testing and ultimately perfecting both my mobile and office setups. Now, I’m excited to share the final products with you! 

Mobile Setup  

When it came to building my mobile work setup, I had three top priorities: 

• Portable. My travel regimen has me on trains, in cars, and walking. I needed a full setup that can fit into a backpack without weighing me down or getting damaged.  
• Video-Ready. I place a lot of importance on all parties being fully seen and heard during video calls. So much importance, in fact, that I’ll sacrifice some degree of portability in the name of effective communication.  
• Moderately Ergonomic. I can’t very well bring a desk chair with me on the road, but I can take measures to keep my wrists, back, and eyes as comfortable as possible. Strain and injuries tend to be detrimental to productivity.   

I managed to check all of those boxes with the setup pictured below.  

Here’s what you’re looking at: 

1. Anker power plug 

2. MacBook (yes, a Mac!) 

3. iPhone (for the camera) 

4. Magsafe phone mount 

5. iPad Pro (as my second monitor) 

6. iPad stand 

7. Nulea foldable keyboard 

8. Adjustable, collapsible laptop riser 

9. Jabra speakerphone 

10. Apple trackpad 

Oddly the Jabra speakerphone is the bulkiest element of all, but the audio quality is worth the fuss in my opinion. AirPods are a solid alternative here if you don’t mind the look and feel of having the buds in your ears.  

Combined, all these elements set me up with a fully functional environment (complete with crisp audio and video) that is easy to pack up and take anywhere.  

Office Setup  

I like my mobile setup a lot. But I LOVE my office setup.  

These days I spend roughly three days in the office each week on average. Most of those days are filled with either heads-down work or—more often—on Zoom. With that in mind, my priorities were a bit different: 

• Webinar-Ready. At the office I need to be more than video-ready—I need to be fully equipped to engage anywhere from one to 40 or more people at a time. That means having video, sound, lighting, and framing all carefully curated and controlled. 
• Always-Ergonomic. I alternate between sitting and standing and needed my setup to allow for comfortable and safe postures in both cases—and with a seamless transition between the two. 
• Versatile. Whether I’m hosting a webinar, speaking with a client, catching up on Slack messages, reviewing documents, or having an in-person meeting, my equipment needs to make my job easier, not harder.  
• No-Fuss. I don’t have a lot of patience when it comes to technology. I’m not satisfied with a setup unless I can simply walk up to it, dock my laptop, and immediately get to work.  

I could tell you what I have in my office to achieve these goals, but I’d rather show you! Take a tour with me. 

Hopefully that gives you some useful ideas on how to make your office a place you’re excited to work in. If you’re a client of ours and want to give your space a makeover, let’s make it happen.  

To your success!