To sign up for our daily email newsletter, CLICK HERE
Are you tired of looking at the hopelessly flailing wires under the work desk, and you feel desperate to get rid of them? They present an ugly scene: entangled wires may even entangle your thoughts and affect intellectual activity. The tangled wires will definitely distract and disturb those who want a nifty workspace.
Desk cable management is an important task if you want to improve performance at work. It needs to be done with a plan of action. You cannot just tie up the wires randomly without giving it a thought. Give it a couple of hours, and crack the code.
Organizing your cables discreetly and freeing up space on your study table is therapeutic when done right. It gives you an unmatched sense of peace. Do not get upset over the wire mess under your desk: get down to cable management right away and enjoy working with your devices.
What Is A Cable Management Box?
A cable management box is a very important, almost indispensable accessory when it comes to managing your cables. This is usually a plastic housing for your rowdy cables, which covers the cables’ mess and presents them neatly and beautifully.
A cable management box comes with two or more stylishly-cut openings to let wires out. It is generally sized in a way to house a medium to large power surge strip. You will have two openings to assist the power strip wire and the entry of the wires from your work or gaming setup.
The management boxes with more than one wire outlet are perfect for our phones, iPods, and other smaller but essential devices that we need alongside our work setup.
Such a box is a blessing for those who are tired and even mentally disturbed because of the stupidly flailing, hopelessly tangled wires.
How Do You Use A Cable Management Box?
A cable management box is no less than a life-saver. It takes care of the unsightly scene that many uncontrollable wires present. Wires, without a management feature like a cable management box, look ugly. There is no euphemism for this: it’s just plain ugly to have your wires flying around in a messy bun.
A management box hides them so that you only look at a stylish plastic box and a bunch of well-organized wires coming out of a proper wire outlet.
- Put your power surge strip in the box
- Tie all the incoming wires from your computer screen, or any other electrical devices with cable ties
- Put a sleeve on all the cables going into the power surge sockets
- Put the cover back on the cable management box
You are all good to go! Enjoy hassle-free connection management and mental satisfaction when you have a box to cover your disturbing and disruptive cables.
7-Step Guide To A Perfect Desk:
Desk cable management is a strategic and systematic affair. While it’s no rocket science and anyone can do it easily, it surely demands a couple of hours and a bit of mental activity on your part.
You will have to sit down, empty your mind of other stuff, think a little about the wires and how to pair them for efficiency and organization. In addition to strategy, you will need a few modern desk organization tools to help you through this tedious task.
We are presenting a strategy, a seven-step guide to walk you through the whole process of tidying up your workspace for peace of mind and higher efficiency.
1: Start From Scratch
Desk cable management asks for a kind of a reset of the system. You will need to bring everything to a halt by switching off your devices. Clear the area under your desk; spread the cables before you, and do your “mental math” with them.
Figure out which wires go where and whether you can pair up some of them for decluttering and minimization purposes.
At this step, you can use cable ties to start the sifting/categorization process.
2: Position Your Power
Next comes the task of positioning your power surge strip. You have to decide where you would like your power strip to be placed. This decision is very important! It will decide the look of the setup and the convenience of its use.
A minimalistic look with no cables in plain sight is a great relaxant, but at the same time, you have to keep in mind the easy approach and safety features when you are deciding the placement of your power grid.
The most favorite choice is to hide the power surge strip under the table. It is a great idea and a very simple one too. You can either use a cable management tray for this purpose or tape the strip to the underside of the table.
There are great cable trays in the market; you can order one to make your work-at-home space nifty and satisfying.
If you can’t hide your power extension under the table (when you have a glass or any other super-transparent material), you can hide away the extension somewhere on the floor where it’s not obvious.
Put it between the table and the wall behind the scenes. It works great for people who are living alone or those who do not have kids. It is, however, not suitable for households where little ones are always exploring stuff.
The safest and aesthetically most appealing setup is a cable management box. You can buy one online or in the market and cut the crap right away. It’s a wonder-box when it comes to cable management. Leave the disobedient cables and the power grid in the box, and do away with all the cable clutter in one stroke.
The cable management box is a stylish accessory that adds beauty, safety, and ease to your workspace.
3: Add Cable Management Features
Now that you have your power grid in the right place and all of your cables bundled up for better management, it makes sense to add a cable raceway or cable tray to the setup at this point. Your cables are sorted and folded, but they are still hanging. You need to hide them in a nice, stylish way. Use one of the modern desk management tools for convenience.
-
Cable Management Compartment
Add a cable raceway or tray to guide them to the power grid or main socket. This cable accessory will be used to keep power surge and device cables out of sight yet organized.
You might want to drill a hole into your table top for mouse and keyboard cables. Smaller holes are not very obvious, so you can easily manage them. If you have to drill bigger and not-so-pretty holes, you can use grommets.
Grommets cover the holes and still let wires go through.
4: Mount Your Monitors
Your cables are set, nicely tied up, hidden away, and running through a stylish raceway or tray by now. You have to take care of your monitors now.
They can stay on the table, but if they are mounted above the desk somehow, you can clear up a lot of space, and add to the beauty of the setup.
The best thing to do is to go for wall mounts. This gives a completely decluttered and floating feeling, which is unmatched. You can hide the screen wires in the walls by doing a little drilling.
However, if you are reluctant about drilling holes in the wall, you can go for cable sleeves or raceways. They stylishly cover up the wires and give you the most-wanted wireless look.
Monitor arms tidy up space on the table efficiently, but they do not look half as amazing as wall mounting. They work, though! They are perfect space savers and come in quite a few sleek and compact designs.
5: Route Your Cables
We are moving towards the finish line with this step of the meticulous process
Reconnect Everything
Start reconnecting all the devices and check everything is working smoothly. Give final touches to all of your cable management features e.g. fixing cables through the raceways, or give the box a final pat!
6: Tape Up Extra Wires
Tape up where you need it as you proceed through the final touches. You may need to use double-sided or ordinary duct tape in a few places for perfect tucking-in.
Also, tape up the wires that are not needed frequently.
7: Clip Loose Ends
Grab a pair of scissors and cut the loose ends wherever they are. You will also have to manage some wandering wires that do not fit any category despite all your efforts.
You can use cable clips to put them away, behind or under the table, or anywhere out of sight. This final step marks the end of your task. You can enjoy a decluttered, organized and sleek desk that makes you excited about work.
Final Verdict
An organized, decluttered, and seemingly wireless desk is a great joy. It can even increase efficiency by eliminating distractions and it looks beautiful. It is a meticulous process, though. It won’t happen without homework and a few important tools like a cable box and cable ties. You need to work with a proper plan and proceed systematically to achieve your goal. Follow the steps to perfect desk cable management to create a pleasant and hassle-free work-at-home setup.
References
Sander, Elizabeth (Libby) J., et al. ‘Psychological Perceptions Matter: Developing the Reactions to the Physical Work Environment Scale’. Building and Environment, vol. 148, Jan. 2019, pp. 338–47. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.11.020
