Minimalist Productivity Setup in Canada

Name: Guillaume Lemay

Location: Montréal, Canada

Occupation: Videographer & Editor

Room size: 8 m² (86 ft²)

Cost of setup: Around 10K CAD (~$7,4K) for all the tech, furniture and desk setup accessories

Social media: Photography Instagram, Tech Instagram, TikTok

Hello! Tell us a bit about yourself

Hey! I’m a commercial photographer, videographer and editor from Montréal, Canada.

I’ve always had a passion for tech in general, as well as creative outlets.

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, but after working in advertising agencies as well as companies as a media and content strategist, I decided to follow my passions for photography and videography.

In 2018, I quit my secure full-time job to become self-employed and work with my own clients as a freelance photographer and videographer.

I developed a real interest in home office setups and designing my space when my fiancée and I purchased our first home.

I got into the rabbit hole of YouTube desk setups and gathered inspiration from many different sources to create a space that I would love working in and that would fit my needs.

I wanted to have my own creative haven, where I feel inspired and creative, whether I’m editing photos or videos, or even if I’m working on other personal projects.

Take us through your setup

My setup is mainly aimed at productivity.

I wanted it to be quite minimalistic, without any visual clutter or visible cables.

I started designing my setup around the desk itself, which is a dual motor sit-stand desk in the rubberwood walnut finish.

I also paid a bit extra to get the fully integrated cable management solution, featuring power strips, which allowed me to run all the cables underneath the desk and achieve a super clean look.

The main struggle I faced was that my office isn’t big by any means.

So, I needed to figure out a layout that would achieve what I had in mind while fitting into the small space I have.

It took a lot of measuring, drawing, and figuring out — but I managed to get it done!

Once I had the desk placement figured out, I decided to add wooden wall slats panels as a feature wall.

It also helps with acoustics, as the material between the slats is made of felt.

To add some organisation to the space, I complemented the desk with an IKEA ALEX drawer with RAGGISAR organisers inside.

This helps me store all my cables, camera batteries, and accessories, as well as many other miscellaneous items.

One of the key features of my setup is, of course, the 49″ Samsung Odyssey G9 OLED monitor.

I needed a sleek, super ultrawide monitor to edit in DaVinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere Pro.

Another criterion was its colour accuracy, as I need to either edit photos or colour grade my videos with it.

The designing and building process was quite quick — about a month.

But I honestly keep adding to it to continually refine my experience at the desk.

It’s a never-ending process, in fact!

One thing I love about my home office space is that, during the day, I get plenty of sunlight.

I actually have a window to the left of my desk, which is great.

And when night rolls around, I have plenty of LEDs to light up the whole setup without having to squint my eyes.

If there’s one thing I’d like to improve, though, it would be adding a portable monitor underneath my main monitor.

I know I already have a lot of screen real estate… but when I’m editing video timelines and using the whole 49″, it would be nice to have a smaller monitor to keep some other apps readily available at all times (Finder, Chrome, etc.).

My next buy will most likely be a USB-C powered portable monitor.

Now I just need to find the right one!

What’s your favourite item on your desk?

It’s hard to choose, but if I had to pick one favourite item, it would probably have to be my MacBook Pro M1 Max, which powers everything I do at my desk.

I’ve had this computer for close to three years now and it has never failed me.

It handles everything I throw at it with ease, and it’s such a sleek laptop!

I either use it docked in my setup as a desktop computer, or I can bring it along with me whenever I travel, which is so handy.

What apps or tools do you use to get things done?

I use many apps to get my creative work done.

For photo editing, I mainly use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, which is probably not a surprise.

For video editing, my editing app of choice has become DaVinci Resolve, as it’s really powerful with so much granular control when it comes to colour grading footage.

I still use Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects as well, as they are part of the Adobe ecosystem and work well together, but it really depends on which project I’m working on.

What books, blogs, or podcasts recently caught your attention?

I really like Basic Apple Guy’s blog, as I often use the wallpapers he makes.

Otherwise, I’m not big on blogs or podcasts, honestly.

I do like to read, but when I do, I often read science fiction, thrillers, or murder mysteries.

Lately, I’ve been reading the Detective Harry Hole book series by Jo Nesbø.

I’m now on book seven, and it’s awesome! I highly recommend it.

Any tips for other makers who want to improve their workspaces?

I would say it’s a good idea to gather as much inspiration as possible from different sources, but at the end of the day, you need to pinpoint what exactly you want to get out of your setup.

Once your focus is clear, it’ll be easier for you to determine which tech and peripherals you actually need.

Your desk setup should be a reflection of you, not a copy-paste from all the other setups out there!

I would also say that lighting, cable management, and organisation are three areas that can make or break your desk setup, in my opinion! So keep that in mind. :)

What does your typical day look like?

I do not always work from home, as sometimes I need to go out on photo or video shoots for my job.

That said, my typical day can vary a lot, but let’s say it’s a day of video editing.

It would look something like this:

8 am — 9 am: I wake up, drink plenty of water, and fix myself some breakfast. I go through the notifications I might have received on my phone during my sleep and then try not to look at it until lunchtime.

9 am — 12 pm: I’m at my desk and up and running. I catch up on emails, messages, or anything admin-related, and then I try to focus on one single task.

12 pm — 1 pm: I eat lunch and usually scroll on Instagram to gather some inspiration for content.

1 pm — 4 pm: I try to finish what I started in the morning — whether it’s a first rough cut for a client or putting the final touches on a video.

4 pm — 5 pm: I catch up on what happened during the day and watch some YouTube as well.

5 pm — 6 pm: Time to prepare dinner with my fiancée.

6 pm — 7 pm: Once dinner is ready, my fiancée and I eat together and talk about our day.

7 pm — 8 pm: We then go for a walk outside.

8 pm — 10 pm: Time to wind down and watch one or two episodes of the TV show we’re currently watching.

10 pm — 11 pm: Time for some reading in bed before dozing off.

I’d say days where I work from home are my favourites!

Your tips for working from home?

My tips for working from home would be these three:

Stay organised
The saying “Clean desk, clear mind” is so true.

If you keep your designated workspace clean and tidy, you will feel much more productive and ready to tackle the day ahead!

If things do get messy throughout the day, make sure to tidy everything up at the end of the day, so that when you arrive at your desk the next day, you are ready to go!

Prioritise your tasks
In the morning, figuring out what the one thing is that you need to get done to have a productive day is paramount.

Once you know what your top priority is, get to work immediately — do not delay it.

This will maximise your chances of falling into a state of deep work.

Block all distractions
Of course, try to put your phone and computer in “Do Not Disturb” mode.

This will minimise the chances of you being disturbed by notifications or any other app that might pull your focus from what you are trying to do.

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