With so many of us studying and working at home, we have compiled the below list of 5 essential work at home gadgets which will greatly enhance your comfort and performance whether you’re studying, working or just performing normal day to day tasks, be it at home or at work.
Whether it’s improving your posture and preventing the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders, increasing your comfort while you work or even raising the bar on your professionalism, the below essentials guide to home gadgets is guaranteed to make life easier and more efficient. What’s more is that these gadgets should be considered an essential for all households whether you work or study at home or not!
With all the challenges that working at home brings, small investments can really make life easier, and who doesn’t want an easier life?
Wanna know how to make your life easier?
Or are you happy to sit in the slow lane while you colleagues, friends and classmates advance to achieve greater results and become leaders in their industry?
Are you happy to trudge on with outdated stone age equipment while your co-workers embrace the perils of a professional, perfectly clear audio and video that front-end webcams have to offer?
Do you want to break free?
Also, if you’re excited by the prospect of being untangling cables for the rest of your days and being chained to your laptop or device by headphone, keyboard and mouse cables, then so be it. Maybe this article isn’t for you…
But… If the prospect of being the most professional, efficient and modern person in your area while achieving greater comfort, ergonomics and quality of life doing so, then walk away today knowing 5 essential gadgets to catapult you to reach greater heights.
Want to know what those gadgets are?
Well, let’s get started…
1. Keyboard and mouse
2. Monitor
3. Webcam
4. Headphones
5. Printer
1. Keyboard and mouse
The perks of having a keyboard and mouse are endless. Whether you’re someone who moves desk quite a lot or you tend to work from your laptop and can’t deal with using the touch pad on the gadget, a wireless keyboard really fits the bill here.
A wireless keyboard and mouse will probably be one of the greatest investments that you can make. This is particularly true if you have to deal with limited space or would like some extra freedom. On top of all that, it also reduces the amount of clutter in the area from cables and it makes the area look neater and tidier. Win win! Who even sells wired keyboard anymore?
Tip: A separate keyboard and mouse will greatly enhance your ergonomics and comfort while preventing you from being hunched over a laptop for hours on end.
2. Monitor
A monitor is a valuable commodity in terms of improving your posture, reducing eye strain and increasing productivity. if you really want to get the upper hand, investing in either a wide screen monitor or two regular-sized monitors can dramatically propel your productivity levels through the roof.
As I am sure you are aware if you have moved from working from a monitor to just working off a laptop, it can be very restrictive/prohibitive. It also does unjustly damage and pain to your posture.
Ensure that you choose a monitor that has a good quality screen with high resolution to prevent squinting and eye strain; 1080p is the going standard these days and should be more than sufficient for most people.
3. Webcam
If your role entails web calls and endless zoom meetings, it’s likely that you would need to show yourself on camera, even if it means having to where a shirt over your pyjamas (if you even bother to put on pyjamas , that is!). To increase your professional appearance, it’s important to invest in a webcam which has a good quality display.
Some webcams have such poor pixel quality that you would be lucky to tell if what you see through the webcam is in fact human being. Imagine no buffering, crisp images and sharp videos, crystal clear audio, provided you don’t leave yourself on mute, that is…
Webcams come equipped with tripods and stands which can attach to the top of your laptop or monitor. Depending on how you use your webcam and where you plan to position your webcam, these could come in extremely useful.
Some webcams are also equipped with stereo microphones and extra controllers for optimal clarity during your calls and conferences. There are even filters which can make you look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed even though you look as though you just crawled out of bed.
Tip: Opt for a webcam with 1080P quality, also known as full HD. You might as well remind your colleagues/friends/family that you haven’t seen in a while of what you look like!
4. Headphones
Whether you’re a music junkie who loves to pump the tunes to keep you motivated while you work or study. Or whether you live in an area where there are noisy people or distractions from outdoors or from the people you work or live with, a decent set of noise cancelling headphones are the perfect solution to help you get through the day with no disruptions.
Some of these headphones are even well suited for use during conference calls or regular phone calls. Provided that they have a microphone, you could save yourself having to purchase a separate headset too.
Headphones come in range of types, such as closed-back, open-back, on-ear, in-ear, over-ear (No, I’m not making these up as I go). Also, depending on your personal preference, the types of activities that you perform, and when you plan to use your headphones, you can also opt for wired, wireless, Bluetooth and noise cancelling headphones.
What’s great about headphones is that you don’t have to solely attribute them to work activities; invest in a good set that you enjoy the look of and which suits your needs, budget and desires, and you could wear them all day long whether at work, study or even out exercising or travelling.
But what type of headphones suits you best?
Well, below are some criteria that you should consider when researching the type of headphone that would suit your requirements:
- Price
- Portability
- Convenience
- Storage
- Uses, e.g. Listening to music, taking calls, cancelling out noise
- Activities, e.g. desk-based, walking, running, travel
- Comfort
- Quality, particularly important for music lovers
- Wired or wireless
- Compatibility with Bluetooth electronics
- Style
- Battery
I personally love my in-ear, Bluetooth, wired headphones.
5. Printer
In an era where work, college and school can all be completed from home, access to printers may be limited if you do not have access to the printers in your school, college or workplace. While many industries have adopted remote approaches to eliminating hard copy documents, such as electronic signature and software for completing online reviews, it can still be difficult to completely eliminate the need to print, scan or copy documents.
Even besides study and work, there’s always something that needs to be printed for regular home activities. Whether it’s printing travel or tax documents, scanning or making copies of important paperwork. Don’t forget leisurely activities such as printing out colourings or quizzes for the kids or even printing photos, a multi-functional printer is a valuable, dare we say vital piece of hardware to own.
If you are going to invest in a printer, it would be wise to choose an all in one printer which combines scanning, copying and printing all in one neat unit. At least this way you are not confined to just a printer or scanner. Additionally, multi-function printers optimise space by using up less area then having three separate units to perform these functions. It’s also cheaper than buying three different pieces of equipment.
Printers come in inkjet and laser options depending on your printing preference. As an all-rounder, the most popular choice is probably an inkjet printer. It offers better quality printing compared to laser printers. It is also generally cheaper to replace in cartridges compared to laser toners. As you can imagine, it can all get quite expensive when you tend to print quite frequently.
Tip: Wireless printing adds a touch of convenience as it allows you to connect to your printer via Wi-Fi, meaning that you don’t have to be in the room with the printer.
Conclusion
Take it from someone that worked and studied from home for many years, the above items can genuinely make your life so much easier. You’ll also discover that they are useful for day to day activities other than work and study too, so consider them an investment for your future, and indeed for the whole house.
What gadgets can you not live without? Are there any items that I haven’t mentioned on the list that you love using? Please post your comments and queries down below.
P.S. All of these items would make a great gift for anyone, whether it’s someone who is studying or working from home, or even working in an office.
Of course, investing in the best technology for working at all is only half the battle to achieving a comfortable and productive study and work environment.
Luckily for you, I have developed: Setting up a home office checklist – the essential guide. This guide is jam-packed with information and tips that are 100% guaranteed to help you arranging your study and home working haven.
