Chris Wiegman
This week I upgraded Joy’s monitor. She had a 10-year-old hand-me-down that we originally bought for me before I knew if remote work work be permanent. A couple of years after I got it the company I worked for provided me with a monitor and Joy was on a 1 year contract working from home so she inherited it from he at that point.
While it worked well for 10 years it is quickly dying so I replaced it with a nice Samsung ultra-wide monitor. She doesn’t deserver hand-me-downs anymore so it’s actually a nicer monitor than mine.
The only problem with it, for her, is that it takes up too much of her desk. OK, we can solve that. Bought a dual monitor arm (one side for the laptop stand) to finish it out. Problem solved.
The catch is I bought two as it’s a solution I’ve been eyeing for myself for quite some time. I actually bought such a setup when I got my current desk but I had to return the monitor arm as I hadn’t realized, at the time, that my monitor is so heavy that not every monitor arm will work.
So, I’ll be happy with the new setup, right?
While I know I’ll enjoy it, the whole thing makes me wonder “when will it be enough?”
For the last few years I’ve really taken to upgrading everything in my daily toolbox including office furniture and electronics. The process started as some of the stuff I had bought at first was just cheap and falling apart but, 3 or so years later, I’m still adding things here and there.
I’ve added a Sonos speaker, extra lighting, upgraded shelves, the list goes on. As we’re looking to move out of the US in the next few years and, as I try to minimize what we buy anyway, what is too much? Do I need all the “stuff?”
I think a lot of the issue is COVID these past two years now. I’ve nested in my office as it has become my one refuge from the world. I’ve gone for making it perfect even though I know, deep down, there is no such thing. It’s something I need to re-think going forward as I re-learn how to appreciate what I already have, a skill so many of us probably need to do better at.