According to some research, the average American sits for about ten hours each day. This is why some people opt to get a standing desk.
While it might be the healthier option, all of the cables can get in the way and become annoying.
Thankfully, there are many cable management tips that can guarantee that your space still looks tidy so that you can focus on work. Keep reading to learn all of the best cable management tips for the convertible desk.
What Is Wire Management?
Many standing desks don't have modest panels as a normal desk would. Because of this, it makes it hard to hide all of the wires for your laptop, desktop, monitors, keyboard, mouse, or any other electronics.
If you want to fix that problem, then you can use wire management. Thankfully, it isn't too difficult, and there are many different parts you can buy that can help you manage all of the chaos.
There are two types of wire management: vertical and horizontal. Some of them will also utilize things like velcro straps or zip ties. Some desks even come with areas that can help you manage your cables.
Why Is It Important?
Cable management is important for many reasons, but one of the most important reasons is that people want to avoid having a cluttered workspace.
While you spend thousands of dollars on a nice standing desk or a home office chair, you'll want your area to look pretty nice. All of the tangled cords and chargers will make your workspace look unattractive and unprofessional.
In addition to that, your cables will also last longer. If they're always moving in the same direction as you move your standing desk up and down, the cables could break or fray.
It's a hassle, and then it could be expensive to replace them depending on what type of cord it is.
On top of that, with a cleaner workspace, you'll find that you're more productive as well. When you have less clutter in your office, you'll find that you're more focused and at peace as well.
Position Your Power Strip
One of the best ways to manage your cables is to use a power strip so that they're all plugged into the same area. However, positioning the power strip is very important.
Most people will just plug everything into the closest outlet, but this may not be the best strategy for all of your cables. It might be better to get a power strip and plug everything into an outlet that is farther away.
One of the best places to hide the power strip is under the desk. These are the best setups for any desk as you'll be moving it up and down. You just need to make sure that you leave enough room for the cables to move with the desk.
You can mount the surge protector underneath the desk, and then route the cables out of view. You should go behind the desktop and then plug it in at a place where it is out of sight.
To hide the power strip, you'll want to use double-sided tape. However, the tape will need to be strong enough to hold the protector and all of the cables.
Get the Right Accessories
One of the best strategies for cable management involves having the right accessories to manage all of the cables.
There are many different accessories that can make your cables look nicer, but these are some of the most popular accessories you can use.
Cable Tray
A cable tray is just a tray that can hold all of your wires, and it's perfect for standing desks. You can attach this tray to the underside of your desk, and it'll hide all of your wires while keeping them organized.
You can also find some that are strong enough to hold an extra power bar from your computer or laptop.
However, these can be difficult to choose from because they could be cheaply made. You should look at the product information and read reviews and learn about the company about them to ensure that you're purchasing the best one.
Keep in mind that you'll be putting a lot of weight onto that tray. You'll also want to measure the power strip that you're going to be putting on the tray. You'll need to buy a cable tray that is long enough to hold the power strips that you'll be putting on it.
Cable Management Snake
A cable management snake is a great vertical management system, and you can use it in a strategy that we'll discuss later.
Some of these are magnetic, and you can stick them to your desk frame. You'll be able to hold all of your necessary wires in just one place, and it'll blend in with your desk as well.
Cable Sleeves
A cable sleeve normally has a zipper or velcro, and you can close your cables inside of it. If you want to create a long sleeve, you can normally purchase multiple ones and put them all together to make a longer one to accommodate all of your cables.
Cable Ties
If you're using cable ties, you'll have a few different options. You could buy something as simple as a standard plastic zip tie, but these normally aren't reusable.
Plus, if you ever need to redo your cable management, then they're very difficult to remove. If you install them too tightly, they could even damage your cables.
However, there are also reusable plastic zip ties. While they're advertised as reusable, they may not be in as good of a shape when you try to reuse them again. And, if you install them too tightly, it'll damage your cables as well.
The best option you could use is felt cable wrap ties. They're really reusable, and you can adjust them as well. This way, it won't damage the cables either.
Cable Chains
A cable chain is similar to a cable sleeve. However, some of them can be tricky to open because they need a special tool. You should find one that you can open with just a simple screwdriver.
Cable chains can also have different types of quality and lengths. With a cable chain, you can add multiple cables in there and adjust them to fit the cable length.
These chains will stay vertical when you pull your standing desk up. If you get a cheaper cable chain, it can pop to the side of your desk. You'll also want to make sure that the cable chain should be flexible as well.
Cable Mounts
One of the easiest ways to mount your cables is with mounts. Normally, you can put these mounts onto your desk with adhesive.
However, with cable mounts, you can't really move them or adjust them, so they're not that flexible. So if you find out that you need to add more cables later on, then you may need to get a new mount.
Secondly, they may not work depending on what type of style of standing desk you want. If you're going to get a cable mount, make sure that you get one that has velcro on it.
This way, you'll be able to control how tight or loose the cables are. You may also want to find one that has adhesive or a screw hole so you can install it in different ways.
Attach Accessories to the Bottom
If you have any accessories that you want to hide out of the site without a surge protector, you can put all of the accessories on the bottom. You can use this by applying velcro to the bottom of your desk.
For example, if you are recording podcasts or need a webcam, then you can mount that underneath the standing desk and then adjust it to the right place on your standing desk.
Keep Cables Tight
When you're putting all of your cables together, keep them as tight as possible. You can do this by just using a few velcro or zip ties or even cable clips.
This is really going to help you clean everything up and make the whole system just look really natural. For example, if you have a stray cable that isn't fitting anywhere, you can use a cable clip to make it fit into a compartment.
Some standing desks come with them, but others you'll have to buy separately. You should try to find one that is the same color as the cables so that it doesn't stick out too much and can blend in.
You can also use zip or cable ties for places that are actually closely connected to the device. You can zip-tie them together to make it easier to manage when you're trying to store them underneath the standing desk.
In addition, it can also make it look nicer if you have one big cord running out from the electronics rather than just having multiple cords everywhere else.
Get a Monitor Arm
You may also want to consider getting a monitor arm for your standing desk. This can make it look much cleaner and have it hang in the air rather than sitting on your desktop.
Just make sure that you get a sturdy monitor arm so that when you raise and lower your desk, it doesn't fall. Some of the monitor stands or arms also have a feature where you can run the cables inside so that it looks clean.
If it doesn't have one of these systems in it, then you can use one of the cable clips to manage it and even connect it to the arm.
Try Snakewire System
The snake wire system might be another good thing to try if nothing else has worked. This is when you manage your cables using small individual links.
Each link of the cable can pivot, making a really long chain that is flexible. There is also a metal plate that will hold the snake in one spot as you move the standing desk up and down so that none of the cables move.
You'll connect the top of the snake cable to the top of your desk surface using a bracket. Then, you'll put the cables inside of the compartment and have them hold it. You can push the wires around, and different cable management can hold different sizes.
This is a great system if you want to use a vertical cable system. It works even better if you're plugging these into a surge protector that's on your floor since the metal plate will be on the floor.
However, keep in mind that this system may not be as efficient as some of the other tips above. You will need to have all of the cables starting from the same area in order for the compartment to work properly.
So if you have some cords that start midway from your standing desk, you'll need to find a different cable management system.
Discover More Cable Management Tips for a Standing Desk
These are only a few of the top cable management tips for a standing desk, but there are many other ways to hide all of your cables.
If one of your concerns about getting a standing desk was worrying about the cables, don't worry anymore! You can still get a standing desk and have it look clean and minimalist.
Check out our website today if you're ready to buy your standing desk or any other parts that you'll need for your dream office.