Behind the scenes of my home office set up

I am a sucker for home office porn. No this doesn’t involve nudity. It involves tech. Super sexy.

I get asked a LOT of questions about my set up.

“Is that a virtual background?” No, it’s a real one.

“Why are you so clear but your background is blurred? Is that a Zoom setting?” No, it’s my camera.

“Do you record your podcast from home?” Sometimes (and always, during the “Melbourne lockdown era”).

As context, my company Inventium is remote-first, which means my home is my office. Also, as part of my work, I host a podcast (How I Work) and deliver a lot of virtual keynotes - so investing in the set up makes sense for me.

However, I think that too many organisations don’t invest enough in their employees’ home set up. Given more meetings continue to be virtual than face-to-face, the way you appear on screen has a big impact on your credibility, your likability, and your ability to communicate and have an impact.

At a minimum, it makes sense to invest in a decent webcam (Logitech make good ones, such as this webcam) and microphone (this one is around $100 and very popular with podcasters). And perhaps consider using Krisp to cancel out background noise.

Set your camera up at eye level (nasal cam is not a good look). And if the lighting isn’t great, invest in a ring light (there are many decent quality ones around for sub $30, such as this one).

If your work involves a lot of meetings and presentations and other activities where you need to look and sound great, it might make sense to invest further.

So let’s get into my set up (which, I should add, has been slowly built up over the last five years). It has seen me through recording 500+ episodes and reach around 6 million downloads. And it’s also helped me deliver 100+ virtual keynotes too (shout out to Mmhmm software for letting me have my slides in the background and me in the foreground).

Computer: MacBook Air, 13” (M2 chip)

I was using an iMac 27” for the last few years, but now that I am back to travelling quite a bit for work (especially for keynote speaking), I’ve gone back to the MacBook Air. It’s powerful and portable (and also has a decent battery life).

Dell 27″ 4k monitor x 2

My main monitor (and secondary monitor) are from Dell. Having a three screen set-up (my MacBook is my third screen) allows me to have notes or a web tab open on one screen, but have the “main thing” (e.g. a document) on the primary screen. This leads to a lot less ALT-Tabbing. And it’s also handy for virtual keynotes so I can have the Chat box on a separate screen.

Sony 6400 digital camera

I’ve experimented with a few webcams this year such as the Logitech Brio (which was pretty good) and the HuddleCam HD Pro (which I found impossible to get the colour mix right). And then, after being inspired by Job van der Voort’s set up, I asked my dad if I could borrow his Sony camera which he wasn’t using anymore. I think it’s been a game changer. I love that I can be in focus while the background is blurry. Looks super profesh.

Logitech MX Vertical Mouse

I am in love with this ergonomic mouse - so much so that I find it incredibly difficult to revert back to a traditional one. It took some getting used to, but it was worth it for how much better it feels.

Elgato Cam Link 4K

This is the device that turns the video camera into a webcam. Boring, but necessary.

Shure KSM8 dynamic microphone

I own two of these beautiful microphones, which I purchased over five years ago when I started the How I Work podcast. If you are looking for a high end-ish microphone, I recommend going to a shop and trying out a few. I learnt that different microphones sound better for different voices. There were some mikes that came highly recommended but I just didn’t like the tone they produced with my voice. But I do love this one.

I should add that this mike is overkill if your only use for it is meetings. But if you are looking for something in between the quality of the inbuilt mike in your laptop or on your AirPods, I did love the Blue Yeti which I used for a few months before I merged my home podcast studio with my “work” computer.

Focusrite Scarlett2 2i2

This is the device that connects the mike to the computer.

Sound Devices MixPre-6

I learnt my lesson the hard way about recording backup audio for all podcast interviews. Yeah, that wasn’t a good day. Since then, I have used the MixPre-6 as a backup for all podcast recordings. The MixPre-6 is also great as a portable recording device. It’s amazing at cutting out background noise and is super simple to use.

Lights – Elgato Key Light Air x 2

I’ve experimented with a few various ring lights, which ended up being tricky to position and annoying to look at. A great solution was getting these two Elgato Key Light Airs, which sit on either side of my computer. They give me even lighting – because they are coming from both sides. And as a very important bonus, they are not shining right in my eyes because they are off to the side.

Elgato Stream Deck

Gosh how I love my Elgato Stream Deck! It’s a little device that sits in front of my keyboard that lets me program in various shortcuts that I can do with the touch of a button. For example, if I want to switch on my lights, instead of having to go into the App which has the remote control, I can simply hit a button on my Stream Deck. If I want to open up my Calendar, I just press a button. If I want to open up a specific page on a website (such as Inventium’s events page), again, I can program the Stream Deck to do that at the touch of a button.

Walking Pad Pro Treadmill

I had been wanting to get a treadmill desk for a while and I finally bought one during the lockdowns. Super handy for when I have a full load of virtual meetings but still want to get some movement into my day.

So there you have it! I’d love to know what you end up trying out – or perhaps what you are loving in your own office setup – let me know in the comments below 🙂