Best Office Purchases

[eigen]

What do you find you can't do without in your office? What were the best purchases you've made to make it a livable space?

This can include (broadly) permanent fixtures (furniture, art), tech, that amazing model of pen or notepad you use, and the food (or drinks) you stock your space with.

My current favorite is a new magnetic glass whiteboard for the wall that makes both meeting with students and brainstorming on my own so much better.

[Hegemony]

I also have a magnetic whiteboard that has been a real help.  I have categories for all my current projects, in different colors of marker. I don't know how I kept track of things before.  So much easier when they're staring me in the face!

[eigen]

My other recent addition is a set of really nice pilot refillable dry-erase markers. They're bright, vivid, and erase very cleanly.

[Puget]

A comfy chair with ottoman. It's the visitor chair (with ottoman pushed aside) when there are visitors-- students like it, it makes them feel welcome. The rest of the time it's mine, with ottoman. I like to work on the couch at home and it's almost as good.

Also, for the winter, an electric throw blanket. My office is always too cold for me, and its safer and more energy efficient than a space heater.

And there are always chocolate covered espresso beans stashed in my desk.

[ergative]

I have a comfy Ikea cantilever chair (like this one), and I bought some pretty fabric swatches from Etsy to cover my filing cabinet, on which I put a reading light and a tea kettle. I have a beautiful batik fabrik hanging on one wall, and on the other I've put furoshiki clothes and literary-inspired newspaper art*. My office is still pretty cramped, but when I take the trouble to clear away all the paper from the desk and floor it's a pleasant place.

*Does anyone remember that incredible three-week sequence of the pen-and-ink Moby Dick illustrations from the back page of the NY Times book review? I cut those out first, and have since been adding to them with some of Ella Baron's work from the Times Literary Supplement.

[mamselle]

OOoh--I wanna visit your office!

In fact, we should have a "cool offices I have known" tour of Fora offices, past and present.

;--}

M.

[sinenomine]

I have a bicycle pedaler under my desk for the days I'm there way too long — it keeps my circulation up in my legs and helps pedal away stress.

[mamselle]

Automatic pencil sharpener.

M.

[backatit]

A double recliner for both me and the dogs (I teach fully online so I'm home more than I'm in). I wanted one of those Ekornes stressless chairs and was haunting ebay for a used version, but then I realized the dogs wouldn't be able to sit in it with me and they would be unhappy. So I found this on DEEP sale at my local furniture store and we're all happy. I was working from the couch and that wasn't all that comfortable so this is a ton better.

[nescafe]

Following, because I still need to make my office feel more lived in and have never been great at this. But right now, a small Keurig and a caddy of coffee, tea, hot cocoa. And a few extra mugs for visitors.

[drbrt]

I have a small piece of art from every country I've visited. I keep thinking about a couch and a rug, but I'm up for tenure this year and I still go back and forth about if I'm staying here long term. My current favorite office thing is a magnetic eraser for my whiteboard that holds my color coded master list.

[mamselle]

I have a small piece of art from every country I've visited.

This made me smile, remembering when I worked at a place where people not only had stuff from where they'd worked (most were on project assignments all over the place, the weekly DHL Friday sendouts used a whole rolling cart for pickup) but everyone brought back stuff for everyone else, so all the offices had cool, considerate knick-nacks all over the place (my favorites were the Indonesian stick puppets).

I miss that place. One of the three or four coolest jobs I ever worked.

Thanks for reminding me!

M.

[darkstarrynight]

A colleague gave me her mini fridge when she retired. My department office was thrilled because I used to go in and out all day to swap drinks for colder drinks, but now all of my beverages are in my office. For our anniversary last year, my spouse bought me a "chair and a half" that I can rest in to get away from my screen, and it is so comfortable!

[backatit]

A colleague gave me her mini fridge when she retired. My department office was thrilled because I used to go in and out all day to swap drinks for colder drinks, but now all of my beverages are in my office. For our anniversary last year, my spouse bought me a "chair and a half" that I can rest in to get away from my screen, and it is so comfortable!

I think it really helps to have a reading space AWAY from the computer (which is what my recliner is). I HATE recliners with a passion (I prefer the chair and ottoman look as it's more "classical" so I have one of those in my bedroom for reading in there, but the recliner for the office is very good (and takes up a lot less space when it's down, which was the idea).

[darkstarrynight]

A colleague gave me her mini fridge when she retired. My department office was thrilled because I used to go in and out all day to swap drinks for colder drinks, but now all of my beverages are in my office. For our anniversary last year, my spouse bought me a "chair and a half" that I can rest in to get away from my screen, and it is so comfortable!

I think it really helps to have a reading space AWAY from the computer (which is what my recliner is). I HATE recliners with a passion (I prefer the chair and ottoman look as it's more "classical" so I have one of those in my bedroom for reading in there, but the recliner for the office is very good (and takes up a lot less space when it's down, which was the idea).

Fitting this massive chair in the office caused me to shuffle around some other things (including the mini fridge, which moved across the room). Also, a colleague moved to another country and gave me her floor lamps, so I actually have four different lamps in my office.  I can turn off the big light and put the four lamps on for a cozy feel.  I also got three different rainbow-y rugs for the floor for color.