I'm going to add another vote for the retractor, and/or for getting the compass onto your wrist.
I have an SPG + compass + depth gauge on my console, and a wrist computer. The console has a retractor on it similar to the one in diversteve's post.
I clip my console across to the right chest D-ring because the hose hangs too far away from me when clipped on the left. However, I can't make the hose shorter because it needs to be long enough to hold the compass front-and-center. This is why the compass on the wrist is a good idea: you can get a shorter, less annoying hose for your console if you only need the console to reach your chest. As soon as I get a wrist-mounted compass, I'm going to get a shorter HP hose, remove the compass from the console, and clip the console to my left chest D-ring. I probably won't need a retractor any more then; I'll just turn the console to see it.
I know some people say clipping the console on the right is a safety hazard, but it is easy to unclip, so I don't know where they get that data from. I can work the clip with gloves on too. I recently finished Rescue class, and nobody had a problem getting the console unclipped and removing my BCD while doing rescue breaths. It's a good idea to mention it to a new buddy, though.