In Part 1 of my desk setup series, I’m starting with the most important (and most misunderstood) part of any productivity setup: the desk itself. The mistake I see all the time is people buying a desk based on whatever space they have, instead of what they actually need to do every day. In this video, I walk you through how I plan a desk properly—by writing down your requirements first (monitor(s), speakers, chargers, accessories), figuring out what must live on the desk daily, and then working backwards into the right desk size. I break down desk dimensions in a practical way: length comes from your gear footprint (plus a bit of wiggle room), and depth is where most people get it totally wrong. Standard 60cm desks are usually not enough if you’re using a monitor and want to type comfortably—I recommend aiming for around 80cm depth, with 70cm as the bare minimum. I also talk materials (I prefer real wood like my American walnut top over laminated options), and the DIY vs readymade decision—because sometimes you simply won’t find a desk that matches your criteria. Finally, I cover what goes underneath the desktop: why I ditched a wobbly frame, why drawers make organization easier, and how reducing friction (like not needing to get up to grab cables) keeps your workflow smooth. If you get this foundation right, everything else in your setup becomes easier.