A docking station: one cable and you're working

Plugging in four cables every day is friction you don't have to pay. A cable to the monitor, a cable to the charger, a cable to the network, a cable to the keyboard or mouse — all of it every morning when you sit down to work, and again in reverse every evening when you pack up your laptop to take it home. A docking station shrinks that whole ritual down to a single cable.

A typical scenario

You arrive at your desk in the morning with your laptop in your bag. Without a docking station, the familiar ritual follows: plug in power, connect the monitor cable, plug in the network cable, swap over the USB cable for your keyboard and mouse — four or five steps before you even start working. In the evening, it all happens in reverse, since you're taking the laptop home. With a docking station, all it takes is one cable (usually USB-C) that carries video, data, and power all at once. Connecting and disconnecting is a single motion.

How to do it

1. Get a docking station or a USB-C hub with power delivery support (labeled PD, Power Delivery) — one that can carry video to your monitor, data from USB devices, an ethernet connection, and charge your laptop, all at the same time.
2. Plug your monitor, keyboard, mouse, ethernet cable, and charger into the dock permanently, and leave them there for good — don't unplug them when you leave.
3. Then connect your laptop to your whole setup with a single cable running from the dock. Disconnecting when you leave is just as simple — pull one connector and take the laptop with you.
4. If you split your time between home and the office, consider getting a second, identical (or compatible) dock for both places — that way, connecting is identical in both spots and you never have to think about which cable goes where.
5. When choosing a dock, make sure it supports enough charging power for your specific laptop (more powerful machines need higher wattage) — an underpowered dock will only charge your laptop slowly, or not at all.
6. Also check the number and type of ports you actually need — some people appreciate an extra memory card reader or more USB ports for external drives, while others are fine with just the basics: video, network, charging.

The best tools

• A USB-C docking station with power delivery (PD) support — the standard solution for most modern laptops with a single USB-C port, handling video, data, and charging all at once.
• A Thunderbolt dock — a more capable option for demanding use, like connecting two monitors at once or fast external drives.
• An unpowered USB-C hub — a cheaper, smaller alternative for trips when you don't need the full functionality of a desk dock, just a few extra ports.
• A dock with a built-in laptop stand — combines cable connections with raising your laptop to eye level, useful if you also use the laptop as a second monitor.

What you get out of it

• Time: you save several minutes a day on plugging and unplugging cables, which adds up to hours over a year.
• Less port wear: frequently plugging and unplugging multiple cables strains your laptop's ports more than a single sturdy dock cable does.
• A tidier desk: cables stay permanently plugged into the dock, so there's no daily tangle of connectors on your desk.
• The same experience at home and the office: with the same setup in both places, you never have to think about how anything connects — it's the same everywhere.

Pro tip

When choosing a dock, favor a model with enough charging wattage for your specific laptop — for more powerful machines (typically work laptops with a beefier processor), an underpowered dock won't keep up with charging, and the laptop will slowly drain even while plugged in. Before buying a dock, check the exact charging power your laptop requires in its technical specs — from the manufacturer, or in your system settings, where it's usually listed alongside battery information.