One of the hardest parts of working from home is that you may not already have all the equipment you need to work from home successfully. Creating a home office may sound simple, and you can get by with the bare minimum, but you will likely find that getting by with the bare minimum will affect your productivity. Recreating or exceeding the set up you are used to in your office will make working from home more comfortable. During these uncertain times, everyone deserves a more accessible work from home experience. Set yourself up for success by using gadgets that will increase your productivity while working from home.
Peace and Quiet Helps With Focus
Working from home can come with a variety of distractions. It can be challenging to focus on work if your housemates are watching TV in the other room or your kids are playing outside your work area. You can talk with housemates to set quiet hours, but that is not a perfect system. When it is time to focus on work, you need a way to muffle distractions. A good pair of wireless headphones, especially headphones with noise-canceling features, will help you ignore distractions and focus on work. You can also use your headphones to listen to helpful audio like music or a podcast. Invest in a good pair of headphones that will not get in your way, help you focus by keeping distractions at bay, and let you listen to your preferred audio while you work. If you do not want to splurge on a pair of high-end wireless headphones, gaming headsets could be an excellent alternative. Whether you opt for wireless headphones or a gaming headset, both options can be used for more than just work. Wireless headphones are fantastic for flights, and gaming headsets come ready to work with gaming consoles and PCs.
Don’t Forget Posture
Working from a desk all day can wreak havoc on your posture. If you feel your back twinging or aching after a day of work, it may be time to reevaluate your posture. Even in a typical office setting, posture can be an issue, but it is even more tempting to relax or slouch when working from home. You should be comfortable while you work, but not at the expense of your body’s well being. Thankfully, there is a gadget, namely the Upright Go 2, that can help you improve your posture. The small, lightweight Upright Go 2 sits in between your shoulder blades and vibrates when it senses your lousy posture to remind you to sit up straight. Whether the device is stuck to your skin or hanging from a silicone necklace will gently remind you to correct your posture throughout the day. Over time, these vibration reminders will build a habit of good posture you can take with you through the rest of your life.
A Proper Monitor
Unless you already had a desktop set up at home, you are likely working from home on a laptop. Laptops are fantastic, but hunching over to see the details on the small screen is not comfortable for extended workdays. Instead of squinting to see what you need to see or fighting to find the right tab you wanted, invest in a proper 27-inch monitor and the necessary cables to connect your laptop. Using a 27-inch monitor as a second screen for your laptop lets you spread out more and spend less time fighting with the small screen. Monitors come in a wide variety of sizes, resolutions, and frame rates, but a standard 27-inch 1080p monitor, which you can find for under $300, is perfect for working from home.
Small Additions
Besides more specific or expensive gadgets to help you stay productive while working from home, some smaller additions can help. Grabbing a mouse pad with a wrist rest will prevent wrist fatigue and soreness. Changing out dim incandescent bulbs in your workspace for brighter LED bulbs will take away the feeling of working in a dark cave. Keeping a water bottle on your desk will limit how often you want to get up for a refreshment, which keeps you on task for longer.
Working from home is a significant adjustment for most people. Creating an environment with gadgets that help you stay productive is critical to successfully working from home. Use headphones to create some peace and quiet while you work. Do not neglect your posture, invest in a full-size monitor, and grab smaller accessories to make your life easier while working from home.
