Millions of Americans are now working from home, many for the first time. As we all scramble to get our home offices sorted out we are asking serious questions about what are the important work from home accessories we really need to do our jobs and maximize productivity. We’ve got you covered! Here are the 7 Best Work from Home Essentials you need to stay productive!
Best Work from Home Accessories & What you will learn
We answer all of your questions about the work from home tools and accessories you need to stay productive while working from home. Specifically we tackle the following questions:
- What do you need to work from home?
- What are the best work from home accessories?
- What are the top work from home tools?
- What equipment do I need to work from home?
- Are there work from home productivity tools I should buy or use?
- Should I buy a green screen?? Uh, yes!
Business travelers, families, dads, moms, and even kids (doing their school) are working from home right now. We are leading our teams remotely, supporting customers, sitting on zoom video conferences and much more. Figuring out what gear you need to have when working from a home office is crucial to maximizing your productivity, staying sane, and surviving.
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7 Work from Home Essentials you’ll definitely want
Here’s a quick summary of the essentials you need to be successful while knowing from home.
- Quality Headset
- External Camera
- Desk Lamp
- Widescreen Monitor
- Docking Station (plus keyboard & mouse)
- High-Quality Printer
- Stand up desk riser
Before we dive into the details of each of these (and share some suggestions on what to buy) here’s a quick disclaimer on what this article is not covering.
What’s not covered in our top work from home must haves
Working from home, if you never done it before, can be a bit intimidating and while this article focuses more on the key work from home accessories we do NOT focus on every single thing you might need. In particular, we’ve not covered a few basics that are still important:
- Furniture (Chair, Desk, etc)
- Environmental (e.g. HVAC, etc)
- High Speed Internet
- Dedicated Home Office
Sure, those items are definitely important and clearly a part of any work from home must haves, but we’ve saved them for another article. Instead, we are focusing the best work from home accessories to get maximize your productivity. So, let’s get to it. Without further ado, here are the working from home accessories you’ll want to get your hands on.
Quality Headset for conference calls
Nowadays video conferencing technology is prevalent. Bandwidth is plentiful and tools like Skype, Hangouts, Zoom and Microsoft Teams have made virtual conferences much easier making teams more productive than ever. While most laptops have microphones, remote works are better served by investing in a higher quality headset. One of the best work from home accessories you can invest in is a quality headset and specifically one that has noise cancelling technology. Here’s a few choices:
YAMAY Wireless Headset with Microphone (Noise Cancelling Mic)
The YAMAY Wireless Headset not only includes noise canceling technology but it’s designed for extended use. Your ears won’t get hot from using a full on-ear or over the ear set.
Bose QuietComfort 35 II Wireless Bluetooth Headphones
A traditional set of headphones will work too and anything made by Bose is usually quite good – especially the Quiet Comfort 35’s. Oh yeah! (Compare to BestBuy Price Here)
An external camera is a work from home essential you will be glad you bought!
Sure, most laptops now have cameras embedded into them. But, the quality isn’t always the best and if you are crunched for space on your desk and/or use a docking station in concert with a full sized monitor it may actually be easier to buy and mount an external camera on your monitor.
Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920
The Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 is one of the best webcams you can buy. It’s easily installed and its 1080 HD camera provides extremely high quality picture. You can’t go wrong.
Anivia 1080p HD Webcam
The Anivia 1080 is a great alternative to Logitech and a little more affordable. Whatever camera you choose, an external camera is definitely one of the best working from home must haves.
An adjustable desk lamp is essential
Bad lighting can be a real bummer. Improve your work space with this work from home essential by investing in a good desk lamp. Ideally you want a lamp that is adjustable both physically and the strength and type of light. Many desk lamps now have USB ports you can easily connect a phone too or even wireless charging pads. Here’s a few choices to consider.
Multifunctional LED Desk Lamp
An incredibly popular best seller. You can’t go wrong with this model.
NovoLido Rechargeable Desk Lamp with USB Charging Port & Pen Holder
What’s clever about this lamp is that also provides a pencil holder which is surprisingly convenient when working from home.
Get a big monitor!
Ever tried to do serious spreadsheet work on a small laptop? Yikes! It’s not ideal. Same goes for video conferencing and more. To maintain your productivity one of the best work from home essentials you can invest in is a large monitor. We recommend at least 27″ or more but make sure you size your monitor to your desk. Here’s a few possibilities.
Acer CB272 bmiprx 27″ Full HD
The Acer CB272 comes with a max 1920 x 1080 resolution for wide screen glory. And it’s reasonably priced.
Sceptre 24″ Curved LED Monitor Full HD 1080P
Curved monitors are the rage these days and while does take a bit to get used to it you will never go back.
Get your docking station situation sorted!
Squinting at your laptop screen is for chumps. Instead, invest in a docking station with keyboard and mouse an improve your work environment. Docking stations can be very specific to the make and model of your laptop so consult your laptop manufacturer for more details. That said, there are a few generic options to consider and, of course, if you are using a Mac, you need Thunderbolt connectors. Here’s a few ideas:
Generic Docking Station (USB C Hub, USB C Docking Station)
This docking station set up will work for most laptops and is relatively affordable.
OWC 13 Port Thunderbolt 3 Dock, Space Gray for your Mac
For our Mac users out there, the OWC 13 port Thunderbolt will do the trick.
Multi-function Printer – a work from home tool still worth investing in!
Working from home you are going to occasionally need to print something out, scan it, and yes, even fax things from time to time. Investing in a good all-in-one printer is a definite work from home must have. If its’ wireless, even better (but make sure to secure it!).
HP OfficeJet Pro 8035 All-in-One Wireless Printer
We love this HP OfficeJet Pro 8035 and it comes with 8 months of ink. Bam!
Stand up Desk Mount
If are willing to throw down some coin you can set yourself up with some luxury home office accessories worth their money.
Instead of buying a full sized stand up desk, get a riser that you can add to your existing desk and easy switch from standing to sitting.
VIVO Black Height Adjustable 32 inch Standing Desk Converter
Fun Home Office Accessories
If you are gonna work from home you might as well have a little fun, eh? Here are some fun home office accessories to keep you de-stressed and in a good mood.
Digital Camera Frame
Keep your favorite pictures from and center with a cool digital picture frame.
Quirky Coffee Mug
You are going to need copious amounts of coffee each day you are working from home. Might as well make it memorable.
USB Vacuum
Clean the crumbs off your keyboard with a practical USB vacuum.
Quirky Stress Balls
Survive one idiotic conference call after another with these quirky stress balls. Don’t squeeze too hard.
Best Software and work from home productivity tools
Let’s talk about software and tools that maximize your productivity.
- Trello. Organize your tasks including team related work with Trello.
- Evernote. Keep track of your ongoing notes throughout your day with this great tool.
- Slack. This easy to use and amazing communication tool is a must-have for remote workers.
More Ideas when Working from Home
Working from home (especially when you can’t leave your house!) doesn’t have to horrible. Here’s a few other interesting ideas to occupy your time when working from home:
- 17 Tips for Working from Home
- Should you use a green screen for your next Zoom meeting?
- How to change your Zoom background
- How to lead a virtual team
Thanks, be safe, and wear a funny hat on your next conference call
Who knows how long we will all be forced to work from home. Perhaps society and work will forever be changed as companies realize that, in fact, much of the traditional “in office” work can actually be performed at home while maintaining productivity. Use this guide to figure out how to deck out your home office with the best and most practical work from home tools and accessories and you will be set!
PS…don’t forget to ask your company if they will reimburse you for any of the gear you need to buy. Many companies will do exactly that!
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