Setting up your permanent home office doesn’t just mean buying a desk and a comfortable chair. The tech gadgets you get for your desk and overall home make a significant difference in how productive and comfortable your working day is. From a headset to a trusty hard drive, these are the tech gadgets you need if you are working from home indefinitely.
Headset
If you’re working from home, chances are that you have to report to someone through phone calls and video chats. To avoid failing microphones and malfunctioning sound, get yourself a sturdy headset. It’s truly one of the most important things you will need in your home office, facilitating all those important phone calls and online meetings. Do consider that while wireless headsets are tidier and allow more freedom of movement, you will be left without a headset if you forget to charge it. The JBL Quantum One headset is designed for gaming but makes for a great working-day headset as well thanks to noise-cancelling qualities and lightweight comfort.
Image courtesy of JBL
Wireless mouse
While you might be used to your laptop’s trackpad, there’s really nothing that compares to an actual mouse. Particularly if you do design work, art or photo editing, a mouse will completely change your workflow and speed up your process. No more awkwardly dragging things across the screen and clicking on the wrong side of the trackpad. When it comes to picking a mouse for your home office, make sure it’s wireless to avoid cluttering the space with wires. The Logitech MX Ergo provides great support for strained muscles thanks to its ergonomic design, making your work much more comfortable.
Printer
You might not think that you need a printer, but chances are that you will sooner or later. Even if it’s just to rest your eyes from staring at a screen all day. With a printer you can get all your work documents and mind-numbing instructions transferred to paper, making reading and processing information easier. Plus, important documents can be kept safe in physical files once they’re printed without any hacking risks! Getting a printer with photo printing capabilities, like the Canon PIXMA G7070, will additionally create physical memories for the whole family.
Image courtesy of Canon
Hard drive
While your company’s office probably gives you access to a centralised server to store all your files, you might not have that luxury at home. If you work with heavier files, such as large images and videos, you need to invest in a portable HDD, also known as hard disk drive. Cloud storage is a good short-term solution, but it usually requires you to pay for extra space or compromise on file size. The sooner you get a hard drive, such as WD’s My Passport, the easier it will be to keep all your files in one place and never lose them.
USB hub
Old laptops and computers used to have countless USB ports, but nowadays laptops get thinner and thinner, leaving less space to connect your devices. If you’ve been picking and choosing which device to sacrifice due to a lack of USB ports, a USB hub is what you need. It functions like an extension of your laptop’s USB port, allowing you to connect multiple devices at once. One note of cation: make sure to get a high-quality USB hub from a reliable brand, such as Anker. A badly made hub will quickly overheat, damaging your files and potentially frying your devices.
Image courtesy of Anker
Wi-Fi mesh network
Nothing is as annoying as your Wi-Fi disconnecting in the middle of an important video call. If you’re the only one in your household who is working from home, you can move your router to your home office, giving you maximum connectivity. However, if multiple people work from different rooms in the house, you will need to compromise on the connection quality. That’s where a Wi-Fi mesh network, like the TP-Link Deco, comes in handy. Instead of keeping the Wi-Fi to a single router, this system allows you to spread out the connection to a few smaller devices, which you can place throughout the home. Not only will your connection be stronger, but the router won’t be burdened by too many devices.
Featured image courtesy of Mr Shopper Studio
