Cable Management
I recently bought two new monitors and a stand for my PC tower case. Today I thought I’d take the opportunity to disconnect every peripheral, clear my desk and then after a thorough clean, reassemble everything ensuring good cable management. I even went so far as to buy a new power extension lead so I could reorganise where everything was plugged in and therefore be able to isolate specific hardware. It seemed such a simple, straightforward task on paper. The reality was much different. It took me over three hours to sort out, mainly due to the fact that I don’t “bend” so well these days. During this Herculean task, my watch kept on notifying me that my heart rate was “high”. However, I regularly took breaks and fortified myself with gin for medicinal reasons. I am pleased with the results of this task.
I recently bought two new monitors and a stand for my PC tower case. Today I thought I’d take the opportunity to disconnect every peripheral, clear my desk and then after a thorough clean, reassemble everything ensuring good cable management. I even went so far as to buy a new power extension lead so I could reorganise where everything was plugged in and therefore be able to isolate specific hardware. It seemed such a simple, straightforward task on paper. The reality was much different. It took me over three hours to sort out, mainly due to the fact that I don’t “bend” so well these days. During this Herculean task, my watch kept on notifying me that my heart rate was “high”. However, I regularly took breaks and fortified myself with gin for medicinal reasons. I am pleased with the results of this task.
As well as a new power extension lead, I also bought a cable management kit that came with two cable sleeves of differing diameters, both 3 meters in length. There was also a wealth of zip ties and adhesive cable clips. The kit also came with a curious tool that I deduced was used for inserting the sundry cables into the sleeves. No instructions were supplied but I quickly found a YouTube video that showed me how to use it. After a while I managed to get both DisplayPort cables along with the keyboard, mouse, AUX and ethernet cables into one sleeve which I then carefully cut for a perfect fit. I spent some further time organising power cables and carefully tying up the slack so they can’t get caught on my feet or anything else. I can now turn off my PC and monitors while still keeping my wireless charger and printer on.
Cable management is a chore and I fully understand why most people avoid it and pursue a policy of “out of sight, out of mind”. It involves fiddling about in confined spaces, be it under your desk or inside your PC case. However, spending some time to get things sorted pays dividends in the long run. I can clean under my desk now without fear of accidentally pulling out any cables. The reduced clutter around the PC base unit improves the airflow and if I need to do any maintenance, I can access things a lot easier. I can also isolate specific devices due to my fancy new power extension lead. It was also a very satisfying experience, and the hard work was mainly due to me being so out of shape. The fact that I can be a little compulsive when it comes to being tidy and organised obviously had no bearing on the matter, whatsoever.
