During the purchase phase and in the months before we moved into the RV, we negotiated office space.  From the beginning, I was adamant that work needed to be able to go away.  Laptops needed to be closed at the end of the day.  Better yet, we would remove them from sight.  Without a lot of equipment for me to set up, this seemed easy.  I would work from the dinette and put my laptop in the cabinet next to it at the end of the day.  Brian’s full-time IT job required something more. 

Originally, he planned to build a shelf inside the cubby between the fireplace and TV. This went quickly to the wayside when seeing how little space existed in this space what with all the TV wires and stereo equipment there already. And how challenging installation into the counter from below would be.  This left the dinette table to Brian for his office and figuring out a way to configure the space for him to manage 40+ hours per week of sitting in the space.  And it left me to figure out how to work somewhere else. 

Brian has the monitor set up to display four separate screens.  To store all the Wi-Fi devices and the cords and cables for these, we purchased a small Ikea cabinet that sits in the corner behind the TV.  This provides separate shelving for the devices allows for ventilation, gets stuff out of sight, and prevents things from falling while on the road. 

We also purchased cable management systems to hide cords.  Specifically, we bought two Shell Kingdom Cable Management Boxes for hiding the power strips wires coming from behind the TV and a Stagegeek kit for hiding the lines running along the counter for headphones and cell phone chargers that reside on the buffet behind the dinette.  This doesn’t eliminate the teardown/setup of Brian’s office but minimizes the efforts required for him and makes it tolerable for me too. 

When I gave up the dinette space, I moved to the passenger front seat. For the first few months, my desk consisted of a cheap lap desk between me and my laptop.   This was ok when I was working for an hour or so. On days when I worked on the computer for longer periods of time, not only did I find my lap way too hot, I was physically uncomfortable.  Further research (thanks to Brian) led to discovering Air Desks. 

The purchase of the 42” Air Desk allows me to work in the passenger seat, on the couch, in bed, or at the kitchen counter while standing. With the extra shelf we added to our order, I have room for my phone, a beverage, headphones, or a small pile of paper. 

Typically, I work from the passenger front seat facing out the front window. Not only has this provided some amazing office scenery, it also offers a little bit of privacy for us both. And I think it’s as close to creating a separate space for each of us as we will get.

Working and being productive when you are comfortable in your environment and have the tools to do the job is different than trying to get stuff done while being uncomfortable.  I would not say that we’ve figured out the perfect setting.  I know it’s only a matter of time before there’s an invention or new technology to improve the setup that we have.  But for now, I think it’s safe to say our offices are complete.

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