Mike Schmitz

In an upcoming episode of Focused, David & I talked about how our environment affects our ability to focus and how we’ve set up our workspaces. Here’s a brief walkthrough of my current studio setup (I’ll post a more detailed write-up later).

Desk Setup

My desk is a bit of a mess, but everything has a purpose. On the left is a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 4K that is permanently attached to a teleprompter. This doubles as my webcam as well as my recording setup for course videos. The lights are Elgato Key Light Airs, and are controlled by an Elgato Stream Deck. This means that if I ever want to record a video, it takes me about 15 seconds to get into recording mode. There’s another camera which is an older DSLR that I sometimes use as a webcam, and 2 microphones so that my wife & I can both record at the same for The Intentional Family podcast.

The other thing worth calling out here is the keyboard, which is a Keychron Q1 with 2048 Extended keycaps.

On the wall next to my desk, I have a few Fracture prints of my active projects as well my guitar (a 2005 Eric Clapton Signature Series Strat) and my Focused NeuYear calendar.

I also have a funky desk chair that I love, the Capisco by Fully. It was really expensive, but it’s really comfy and my back doesn’t hurt when I sit at my desk anymore.

The Rest

In the corner away from the desk, I have a CordaRoy’s beanbag chair that I use as my thinking chair. What’s cool about this chair is that in addition to being really comfy, the whole thing can be unfolded into a surprisingly comfortable queen-size mattress. We don’t have a guest bedroom, but this allows us to turn my studio into a comfy place to sleep if we ever needed the space.

I also have a large leather couch that was gifted to me by my parents that functions as a sitting area.

Much of the art on the wall my wife made (she’s very artistic), and the coffee table (and the desk top) were made by a friend who’s a woodworker.

The other thing worth calling out is that I actively try to avoid calling my space an office. I prefer the term studio, and have a sign on my door at the bottom of the basement stairs to reinforce that.

This may seem trivial, but I like how the word studio infers that I’m going to be creating. I believe it helps me be more creative and reduces friction. No one wants to go to an office to work, and going to studio to create sounds a lot more appealing.