How to be more Productive (Ultimate Remote Desk Setup for Productivity)

With more and more people working remotely, whether this is working with your team, or, as I do often, working remotely from different places in the world, simply because we only need a laptop and wifi, I’m going over my Portable Productivity Desk Setup for Remote work and every item I take with me when working remotely.

1: MacBook Pro

The first and - by far - most important item from my portable productivity setup would be my 14” Macbook Pro M1 Max. It’s an absolute beast, and obviously, I couldn't do my work without having a proper laptop.

In fact, all the other items that we’ll go over next are nice-to-haves, but the Macbook Pro, in combination with wifi, is really all I need to do my work remotely.

Although that’s not completely true because to do our job, we also need the software actually to do the work itself…

2: My 3 favorite remote work apps!

My 3 favorite remote work apps would be:

Loom for recording my screen, and this is particularly helpful when I need to share feedback about my software product.

I can simply record a quick Loom and send it to our development team, for example, or the same goes for feedback on the editing work of my editor Robin, who’s doing all the edits for this YouTube channel and my Instagram Reels.

Secondly, I’d say Notion is indispensable as it is my second brain, where I store all of my to-dos, thoughts, projects, and more.

I’ve created a video on how I’m using Notion as my second brain, which you can find on my channel as well.

And lastly, we have this app I recently discovered called SpatialChat, which is actually one of the most fun tools I have ever worked with, and it helps me stay connected with the people on my team.

It’s like an interactive video meeting space where you can organize meetings in these fun little spaces, and you can easily share your screen, presentations, etc. You can even collaborate and brainstorm, like a virtual whiteboard, which I find very helpful, especially while working remotely.

3: Foldable Laptop Stand

Tto actually work ergonomically, I’m using this foldable laptop stand, which is perfect as it can be folded into a very small piece of product, and it fits easily in my bag, so it’s very convenient to travel with.

In just a few steps, you have your very own laptop stand, and this way, you don’t have to bend your back and work on your laptop all the time, which in return makes working easier and more productive.

4: Apple Magic Keyboard

However, if you’re working with the laptop stand, you do need an external keyboard as you can’t use your MacBook’s native keyboard.

I’m using the always trusty Apple Magic Keyboard that fits perfectly in my bag, and honestly, it’s just one of the best keyboards I have ever owned and, obviously, works seamlessly on Mac.

5: Apple Magic Mouse

The same goes for the Apple Magic Mouse.

I know there’s a lot of hate for it, but I honestly think it’s a great device, and I guess I’m just so used to it that I don’t want to switch to another mouse. But yeah, an external mouse, whether this is the Apple Magic Mouse, or another device, is something that’s indispensable as well if you’re using the laptop stand.

6: Airpods Max

Now that we have our setup complete with a Macbook, keyboard, and mouse, it’s time to do some real work.

Whenever I’m working remotely, it’s often very noisy, and this is why the next item would be my Airpods Max which are super comfy, and with the noise-canceling feature, they’re really the perfect headphones for working in crowded spaces. Since it’s an Apple product, it works seamlessly with both my MacBook and my iPhone, which is one of the biggest perks of using these headphones.

7: Music

For actual focus music, I’m subscribed to an app called Endel.

It's really awesome. It’s specifically designed to get you into focus mode; it’s actually even backed by neuroscience.

Besides Endel, I’ve created 2 Spotify playlists I can definitely recommend: Strive for focus part 1, which contains gaming music specifically designed to let you focus, and Strive for Focus part 2, which is packed with electronic music to get you into a flow state.

8: Airpods

Besides my Airpods Max, I’m also always traveling with my AirPods 2 as well, but those are mainly for when I do my morning runs whenever I’m working in a different city or country, and top of that, they serve as a backup for when the battery of my Airpods Max runs out.

9: Foldable Wireless iPhone Charger

An item I always like to bring with me is this wireless foldable iPhone and Airpods charger which fits really well on your desk.

And the best thing about it is that you have your phone sitting on a stand, and thus you can use it as an extra screen, which I typically do to open up my Twitter or my messaging apps.

10: Strive to-do Journal

One of the non-tech products I travel with is my Strive to-do journal for writing down my tasks, ideas, thoughts, and more.

Especially when working on my laptop, I find writing down the things I have to do in my notebook very helpful. Nothing beats crossing off your to-do list on paper.

11: Uni-Ball Air Micro Pen

Indispensable to my notebook would be this Uni-Ball Air Micro Pen, which I absolutely love.

I always have a couple of those in my bag, and writing with this pen, especially in combination with the paper from the Strive to-do journal, is magical.

12: Organizer

Now, the last item would be this organizer, which fits perfectly in my bag and contains all of the cards, cables, and essentials I need to charge or connect my devices.

It’s very convenient for storing all of these little things that I would otherwise most probably forget or would end up lying around in my bag.

Stay productive! 🫵