Upgrading your workspace sounds like one of those “rich YouTuber” things people do for aesthetic reels and desk setup videos, but honestly… sometimes it’s just pure survival. Especially when you’re someone like me who sits behind a screen for ten hours a day, pretending that staring at a 14-inch laptop isn’t slowly draining the last bit of sanity you have left. Spoiler: it definitely was. So recently I decided — enough is enough. I’m not going to keep giving myself migraines trying to read microscopic text on a tiny screen like I’m deciphering ancient scriptures. And that’s how I ended up building my new workstation setup. And let me tell you… this setup has changed my entire work life more than I expected.

🖥️ The Upgrade That Saved My Eyes (and Productivity)

The star of the show is this beautiful BenQ monitor. I don’t know what wizards built this thing, but going from a 14-inch laptop to a proper monitor felt like turning on the lights after living in a cave for a million years. Suddenly everything looked big, clear, and actually readable. I could keep multiple tabs open without feeling like I was solving a jigsaw puzzle.

Alongside it, I added a laptop stand, Logitech headphones, a USB WiFi extender (so I don’t have to fight for signal like I’m in the middle of the desert), a docking hub, a Logi webcam, and the coolest thing I’ve bought till now — a mechanical keyboard from Newmen.

No joke, the keyboard alone makes me feel like a proper tech bro. The clicky sound? The RGB glow? The feel of typing? It genuinely makes replying to emails feel like I’m hacking into the matrix. Worth it.

But the biggest surprise is how all these little upgrades together have genuinely boosted my productivity. I didn’t realise how much a proper physical setup matters when you’re doing remote work all day. Before this, I was sitting with my laptop like a tired shrimp, getting headaches and neck pain every other week. Now? Everything just flows better. I work faster, I feel more organised, and importantly — I don’t feel like collapsing at the end of the day.

Now, this wouldn’t be my blog if I didn’t go slightly off-track. So here’s the fun part.
This entire setup was made possible because… I won Employee of the Quarter at Wendy’s 😂
I got a prize of £100, and at first, my absolute genius brain decided:

  “Let’s buy one crazy expensive mechanical keyboard and blow all the money in one go.”

But fortunately, the more sensible version of me (which shows up once or twice a year) took over and said:

  “Bro, you need multiple things. Stop being dramatic.”

And honestly, thank God for that moment because dividing that money into smaller but meaningful upgrades made so much more sense. Instead of one fancy keyboard, I got a whole setup that helps me every single day.

🌱 A Little Bit of Gratitude Along the Way

Even though this setup feels like a huge personal achievement, it also made me realise something emotional — this is probably the first “big-ish” thing I bought entirely from my own income. Not from my parents, not gifted, not borrowed — just mine.

And I don’t know why, but that hit different.

My first laptop, years ago, was given to me by my Nani (maternal grandmother) as a gift, and that thing has been with me through everything. My first interactions with computers were literally just to play games with my cousins or watch origami tutorials on 2G internet at my Nani’s place. My khallo and mama had a desktop, and that was the “coolest” thing back then.
Life was simple.
No deadlines.
No screen headaches.
No ten-hour remote shifts.

Thinking about that time and then looking at my current setup made me feel genuinely grateful — not just for what I have now, but for the entire journey in between.

All those little steps — the gifts, the hand-me-downs, the support, the encouragement, the laughs, the struggles — they all added up to the moment where I could finally buy something for myself, through my own effort, and for my own growth.

It’s overwhelming in the best way.