Cables and desk layout

Small Desk Setup: How Do You Fit a Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse?

Published · By Ergocrew · Specs and guidance as of that date, from the pages under Sources

Summary

For a small desk setup, reserve space for the keyboard and mouse close to you, a readable monitor at a suitable viewing distance, and clear legroom. Measure the actual screen position while seated before buying a stand or arm. A shorter keyboard or a different screen position may help, but moving clutter under the desk does not help if it blocks your legs and feet.

Measure depth from your eyes, not the desk edge

OSHA's purchasing guide says a desk should be "deep enough to accommodate a monitor placed at least 20 inches away from your eyes." The desk's listed depth doesn't answer that on its own, because you sit some way back from the front edge.

Sit as you would to type and measure from your eyes to the planned front surface of the screen, not just to the back edge of the desk. The stand and screen depth affect where that surface ends up. A measured 26-inch eye-to-screen distance falls within OSHA's preferred 20-to-40-inch range; 26 inches to the desk edge does not establish the same viewing distance. If the furthest usable screen position is only 18 inches from your eyes, change the layout rather than treating the listed desk depth as enough.

OSHA's monitor page has a short list for this situation, under "If there is not enough desk space." One item is "Make more room for the back of the monitor by pulling the desk away from the wall or divider." Another is "Place monitor in the corner of a work area," because "Corners often provide more desk depth than a straight run of desk top." A third is to "Move back and install an adjustable keyboard tray to create a deeper working surface." A monitor arm may free space used by a stand, but it only solves the depth problem if its usable reach and the space behind the desk allow the intended screen position. Our monitor arm guide covers those mounting and reach conditions.

Width, and the case for a shorter keyboard

Across the desk, the keyboard and mouse need to sit side by side in front of you. OSHA's checklist wants the mouse "located right next to the keyboard so it can be operated without reaching."

CCOHS, the Canadian occupational safety centre, suggests a narrower keyboard: "Consider using a shorter (35.6 cm or 14" long) keyboard instead of a regular (45.7 cm or 18" long) one." That is a 4-inch difference in keyboard width and creates more options for mouse placement; it does not automatically move the mouse 4 inches closer to your body. CCOHS gives the reason: "A shorter keyboard will help reduce the need to overreach or lean."

Deciding what stays on top

OSHA's desk page names the problem small desks run into: "Limited space on the work surface may cause users to place components and devices in undesirable positions." CCOHS's three reach zones sort the rest. The primary zone is for "items needed most frequently or of highest importance," the secondary zone is "within arm's reach, for items of lower importance or used occasionally," and the tertiary zone, where you have to lean forward, is "for rarely used items." On a small desk, the tertiary zone may be a shelf above it or a drawer unit beside it.

The space under the desk isn't spare storage. OSHA's desk page says to "Limit the number of items that are stored under the work surface," and adds that "There should be no items stored that will limit the space needed for workers' legs and feet."

Browsing for one? Browse cables and power in the feed →

Related guides

Sources

  1. OSHA Computer Workstations eTool, Purchasing Guide
  2. OSHA Computer Workstations eTool, Desks
  3. OSHA Computer Workstations eTool, Monitors
  4. OSHA Computer Workstations eTool, Evaluation Checklist
  5. CCOHS, Office Ergonomics - Keyboard Selection and Use
  6. CCOHS, Working in a Sitting Position - Basic Requirements

We have not tested these products. Specs and guidance are as published on these pages on the date above and can change; the manufacturer's page for your model has the current details.

More cables and desk layout guides

Cables and desk layoutWhere Should Each Desk Cable Go, From the Laptop to the Wall?Sort the cables by where they run. Short leads between devices stay on the desktop, the power strip and adapters go under the desk in a spot your legs…Read the guide →Cables and desk layoutWhich Under-Desk Cable Organizers Fit Without Taking Your Legroom?Measure the space your legs need before you buy anything for under the desk. OSHA's minimum clearance is 20 inches wide, 17 inches deep at knee level…Read the guide →Cables and desk layoutWhy Do Cables Snag When a Standing Desk Moves, and How Do You Stop It?Every time a standing desk moves, the distance between the desktop and the floor changes, so any cable that connects the two needs enough length at…Read the guide →Cables and desk layoutWhich Comes First When Setting Up a Desk, the Chair, the Keyboard or the Screen?The chair comes first, then the keyboard and mouse, then the screen, and everything else last. Each step sets up the next one. The chair decides where…Read the guide →Cables and desk layoutHow Do You Work at a Desk on a Laptop All Day and Still Take It With You?A laptop's screen and keyboard are joined, so raising the screen to a comfortable height lifts the keyboard with it. For long sessions at a desk…Read the guide →Cables and desk layoutLaptop and External Monitor Setup: Where Should Each Screen Go?Put the screen you use most directly in front of you, with the laptop beside it if the external monitor is your main screen. If you use both equally…Read the guide →Cables and desk layoutHow Should You Arrange Two Monitors So You Aren't Turning Your Head All Day?It depends on whether one screen does most of the work. If it does, that one goes straight in front of you and the second sits beside it for glances…Read the guide →Cables and desk layoutHow Do You Set Up a Home Office Starting From an Empty Room?Start with the room, not the furniture. The window decides which way the screen faces, the outlets decide where the desk's power comes from, and the…Read the guide →Cables and desk layoutShould Your Power Strip Go in a Cable Tray or a Cable Box?It depends on where the power strip is going to live. If it can be fixed under the desktop, a tray holds it off the floor and, on a sit-stand desk…Read the guide →

All cables and desk layout guides · All guides and search