Gifts For My Office In 2023

As 2022 came to a close I reflected on the previous few months. It seems to be a yearly thing, but I tend to get out of shape, regret my life choices (dramatic yes), and then start eating with more awareness and moving more. Last year I feel like I put forth more effort than usual, starting weight training with a personal trainer, attending bootcamp and a boxing cardio class, and continuing walking as many miles as I can. One of the things that I wanted to change was the sitting at a desk all day every day, but that presents a challenge when you work at a computer. So, I decided to embark on gifting myself several items for my office to help with that…. and then I guess some things to just make me happy and smile while being in one room for 8 hours a day. My office set up isn’t very exciting but it IS now more functional than it was for the past decade! I’m sharing the gifts for my office (aka myself) in case others might find them useful!

NOTE: None of these are affiliate links so I won’t make anything if you click on them, just thought they might appeal to some!

I’ve shared the name of the item and the link to where I purchased it, so hopefully even if the link doesn’t work in your country you could still find it where you are. Prices likely have changed since I bought them.

Standing Desk

Sitting all day at a desk is one of the worst things for your health, your back specifically. Getting a treadmill desk would have been the best option, but couldn’t quite justify the expense for that, so I went with a standing desk. It has 4 pre-sets so I can just press a button and move it up for standing, or back down for sitting. Trusty IKEA had a great option, with two sizes to choose from depending on how much room you have available. So far the desk has been a great decision. I try alternating between standing and sitting but sometimes forget and end up doing one or the other all day. Need to set up a reminder to move!

UPPSPEL Gaming desk, black, 140×80 cm – IKEA

UPPSPEL Gaming desk, black, 180×80 cm – IKEA

Standing Desk Mat

I hadn’t even thought about the need for this until my brother Owen Rumney mentioned he used one (also kudos for him having suggested many of the items as I am lazy and lack the patience for research in to some of these things 🤐). Unless you have carpets made of air, after standing for a while, the floor will end up causing you some pain either in your feet, knees or back. Getting something with some cushion and give to stand on can help massively. I had the desk before this arrived and could definitely tell the difference once I had this to stand on.

FLEXISPOT Standing Desk Anti-Fatigue Mat

Stability Ball Office Chair

This is really just a yoga ball, but it’s also a great option for trying to sit a little better, less hunched over. That’s the main reason for wanting to get a ‘chair’ like this, but I also wanted to remove the cumbersome chair on wheels that needed moving out of the way each time I moved my desk up to standing position. Having the standard chair also meant I needed to move the floor mat out the way when I sat so it was a bit of a pain. This way I can sit on the stability ball when the desk is lowered, and just have it on the mat without the risk of putting wheel marks in it, and then just roll it under the desk when I stand. Perfect!

Stability Ball Chair for Office – Ergonomic Seating

Wide Screen Curved Monitor

Once I decided to get the standing desk which was so much wider than my original tiny table, I realised I could get a larger monitor, and also get one that was curved. This one is 34 inches wide, beautiful and works great for me. I use this as my main screen and usually snap different windows to each side so I am getting the most in terms of workspace. A second smaller monitor turned vertically is used for Outlook at the top and Teams at the bottom. I find I am needing to switch things around far less than before with two smaller monitors side by side.

The Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved USB-C Hub Monitor

Multi Device Keyboard & Mouse

Ok, holding my hands up here, I didn’t need this…. BUT I THOUGHT I would end up using this to switch from my laptop and back to my desktop computer. However, so far that has not happened. BUT, if I wanted to, I could. 😉 Having just looked at the specs again, I had forgotten that I can program buttons on both the keyboard and the mouse. Should probably look in to that, sounds useful! 🤔😮

Dell Premier Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

Coffee Mug Warmer

This was a special gift to myself lol. I would start the morning with a delicious cup of coffee (I love Tugboat Coffee in Cornwall) that was the perfect temperature. Then I would start a call and go back to it and it was lukewarm. I’d head downstairs and put it in the microwave and sip again. Then just repeat that throughout the morning. Is this item lazy? Yeah probably… but the coffee stays the same temperature throughout the morning and unless you are drinking short espressos, likely it would take you a while to get through a cup. This is perfect!

Coffee Mug Warmer Smart Cup Warmer

Cute Glasses Holder

Another really un-necessary item… but one that makes me smile each day. I wear glasses while I work and rarely bother to put them back in the case. However, I didn’t want to just leave them randomly on the desk. I saw this in a shop local to the UK and even better it was on sale at the time (even less than it is now). Now my friend Geoffrey just keeps my glasses looking cool at the end of each day. Silly? Pointless? Maybe, but it makes me chuckle. 😍

Giraffe Head Pot and Glasses Holder

What about you? Any cool, fun, necessary or even pointless things you have in your office that others might enjoy? Share in the comments below!