Desks.

I’ve always loved the line from Forrest Gump: “There’s an awful lot you can tell about a person from their shoes. Where they’re going, where they’ve been…”

I think this applies even more to a person’s desk.

Your desk is a living artifact of your personal history, a physical reflection of yourself over time. Silent witnesses to your daily struggles, triumphs, transformations. The control center of our lives, gathering place for our hopes, habits, coffee mugs.

I was recently scrolling thru my photos app and came across a few pictures of my desk(s) over the years. Here are a few of my favorites, in some ways they tell the story of who I was, who I am, and maybe even who I will be:

1. Dorm Room Command Post (circa 2016)

Standard issue wood and particle board. Note the hair gel, chemistry goggles, university-issues daily planner, motivational tree picture, and my last pack of dryer sheets. It’s like looking at an archeological dig.

This was the first real desk that was ‘mine’, I remember thinking how cool that was. I dormed with 2 other guys (who are now still great friends), and can’t say any of us spent an abundance of time at our desks — more so I’d study at the library. Of the time I did spent here it was most spent on trying to make beats in Garage Band and learning how to write Python.

2. First Apartment (circa 2018)

In 2017 I made my way out of the dorms and into a high-rise apartment in DinkyTown. Moved up to dual monitor setup, acquired a candle. Here you can see a gucci mane autobiography (I thought it would make for a funny coffee table read), Shakespeare textbook (literary class requirement), and some fundraiser flyers held by the club my buddy and I started: The Success Club.

The club itself is probably worth it’s own blog post. TLDR; we wanted to put that we started a club on our resumés, so we worked backwards and figured that the best possible thing to have on the resume would be “Founder and President of The Success Club, UMN”, lol. Can’t say that landed me any jobs, but it was really when I first learned a lot about user acquisition, project management, etc. so not good for nothing.

3. First Real-Job Desk (circa 2018)

In 2018 I got my first job as an Electronic Controls Engineering Intern for a company that manufactured in-floor heating systems out of Lakeville, MN. Here you can see all the standard issue equipment: Thinkpad, Process engineering books, walkie-talkie, printed circuit board specs, stopwatch, post-its, dope poster of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.

Looking back this was probably my favorite non-startup job I’ve had. I spent most of my time in the electronics lab learning how to solder circuit boards for thermostats and building a prototype voice-enabled climate control system on a Raspberry Pi computer, that was where I learned a lot about how to code and use APIs. One of the best bosses I ever had was that job.

4. Covid Command Center / First Startup Desk (circa 2021)

Right after college I moved to Uptown Minneapolis into a big old apartment right off Lake of the Isles. It was peak Covid lock-down ear. I took a job in consulting and sooner than later got bored and started messing around with startup ideas. This is where the magic happened.

This was 4 screens (vertical monitor, nice), glass drafting desk (my fav), window seat with nice little ledge and whiteboard to the right side. I’d also bought a big 4×5’ used whiteboard from the University Recycling Center and hung it up here (not pictured). I went through ILT Academy from here, gave my first investor pitches, hired my first employee from here. As you can see also drank a lot of fluids.

5. Full-time Founder Desk (circa 2023)

In 2023 I moved to Rochester MN, following my fiance (now wife) for a job she took. We had a little first floor apartment with a second bedroom, my dedicated office. This is the desk I started locking in, went full-time startup mode, began to track my hours every day. I spent about 1500 hours here.

Not a pretty set-up, fully optimized for brute force efficiency. 3 monitors, light ring, podcast, got a plant and a dresser, nice little TV-dinner side table, filing cabinet, added pics of role models underneath desktop. This room had 3 whiteboards, probably didn’t need all 3 but felt good. Recorded many a TikTok from this room.

6. Current Desk (circa 2025)

In September of 2024 we left Rochester for bigger and better, moved to Chicago. Right of Lake Shore Drive. I ditched the tri-monitors for a single curved, it felt like growing up. Decided to start optimizing for feeling good at my desk. Bought a few more plants, fewer things to distract me on my desk, fancy clock, invested in a nice chair. I love all of it.

At my previous desks I always felt more like I was keeping busy. Now this desk and this time I feel like I am building something. This is what the Twitter hustle-culture influencers must be talking about. I get a lot done here, but still requires getting out to a coffee shop and sitting amidst the buzz a day or two each week.

Looking at these desks is like flipping through the chapters of my life. Each one is a different version of myself on the path to figuring it all out. I am excited to see what future desks will look like in comparison, and to look back on this.

Desks are not furniture. If anything a desk is a mirror. Reflecting back who you are at any given moment. From dorm room to current, it isn’t about upgrading furniture, it’s about growing up, getting serious, maybe losing a bit of the chaotic charm along the way.

Would love to see pictures of any of your own favorite desks you might have :-)

Cheers
Ramsey