Remote working is becoming a standard norm in the corporate world. People can work from their homes or any other location without going to an official workplace. Whether a full or part-time remote worker, you will need gadgets for your home office.
To start, you may need the same essential gadgets that office workers use. The only difference is that you are free to tweak your workspace to your taste. This includes getting personal gadgets that you need depending on your work.
Before you hit the market for your gadgets, here are some things you may need to keep in mind:
- Categorize your gadgets according to priority.
- Consider your home office size.
- Have a set budget to guide your spending.
- Look out for quality gadgets.
- Go for gadgets with designs that suit your style.
Out of the many office gadgets, there are basic ones you will need as a remote worker. In this post, we outlined 20 basic essential gadgets you will need to set up your home office.
Why You Need to Get Home Office Gadgets
You may wonder why you need these gadgets since you are working remotely. But investing in good home office tools will benefit you in the long run. Below are some of the reasons why you need these essentials for your home office:
- Boost productivity and work speed
- Active communication and collaboration with teammates, clients, or employers.
- Gives you convenience and reduces stress.
- Eliminates distractions and keeps you focused.
- Help you stay organized and help you grow.
Here is our list of 20 essential gadgets to have in your home office:
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Height Adjustable Work Desk
A work desk is one of the essential tools every remote worker should have. The desk carries other office gadgets and provides a platform for you to do your work. Getting the right desk is essential for your productivity as working on the bed or couch may be uncomfortable.
However, sitting at the desk for a long time can strain your back and neck. Prolonged sitting can also put your health at risk. Studies report that standing or taking short breaks can help to reduce these dangers.
Go for a desk that can be adjusted to allow you to stand and work after sitting for a long time. You could also try getting a standing desk converter that accommodates your height when you need to stand.
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Ergonomic Office Chair
Another vital office tool you should get is an office chair. For your health’s sake, buying an ergonomic desk chair is recommended. This is because your chair can affect your health more than your desk. Sitting on a hard chair can strain your back and arms. It can also cause fatigue on your backside and affect your posture.
An ergonomic chair is designed to relieve body areas that strain when you are in a sitting position. Typically, it is large and soft-padded to provide comfort. The lower part of the chair is curved outwards, while the upper part pushes inwards. This helps to give lumbar support and reduce lower back pain.
You can adjust the height of an ergonomic chair to suit the height of your desk. Your feet should be on the floor and your arms at a ninety-degree level to your desk. The chair has a swivel base and four casters on each leg. These help you move around without having to stand up.
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Noise-Canceling Headphones/Headsets
Good headphones/headsets give you good sound while receiving calls or attending virtual meetings. Noise-canceling types are even better as they eliminate background noise. This limits distractions and helps you focus better.
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Laptop and Laptop Stand
Laptops are the norm of the present digital age. While performing all the essential functions of a typical computer, a laptop also gives you flexibility and convenience. It is also portable, allowing you to easily carry it and work from anywhere outside your home office.
A laptop stand is a gadget that helps to lift your laptop to a comfortable height. This prevents you from hunching over your laptop, and so improving your posture. There are many laptop brands, styles, and designs in the market. So, it is important to know laptop specs that suit your work and your needs.
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Webcam
A good webcam is a must-have if you create content or make video calls. It directly transmits your videos to the internet in a high-quality format. A laptop typically has an in-built webcam, but if you want to improve your videos, you may need to get an external webcam.
Male is sure to get webcams with a 720-1080p HD resolution and 30 frames per second. Also, go for those with a privacy cover for your security.
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Microphone
A good microphone will come in handy when you need to make calls, videos, or presentations. You can get an external microphone to attach to your headphones or a stand-alone USB mic.
A microphone improves the sound of your voice over a call or live video. This shows professionalism and leaves a good impression of you on the other party.
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Speakers
Speakers are gadgets that go with a microphone. While microphones improve your voice quality, speakers boost the audio quality on the other end.
Studies show that music can boost performance, so listening to music can be helpful in your home office. Headphones can stream music directly into your ears. But speakers produce surround sound within the room while playing your favorite music.
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Desk Lamp
Proper lighting in a home office is often neglected, yet essential for health and work.
A desk lamp is a task lighting that provides illumination to your workspace. It produces directional light to improve your focus and reduces eye fatigue.
LED desk lamps are more common these days. This is because they are portable, multifunctional, flexible, and dimmable. A good desk lamp gives off non-glare light with a near-cool color temperature.
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Anti-Blue Glasses
Blue light from digital screens of phones, laptops, and tablets can harm the eyes. Long-term exposure to blue light can have severe eye and sleep effects.
To protect your eyes, you will need anti-blue light glasses. These special glasses have a blue light filter coating that blocks blue light from your screen.
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Air Purifier
Since you may be spending hours in your home office, the air in your home office should be of good quality. Air impurities like pollen and dust can be suspended in indoor air and pollute it.
An air purifier is a perfect gadget to eliminate unwanted air impurities. As air passes through it, the impurities are removed, and clean air is released into the room.
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Scanner and Photocopier
If your work involves a lot of paperwork, you may need to invest in a printer and photocopier. A printer scanner helps you get physical copies of your documents. At the same time, photocopies duplicate the documents into other copies.
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File and Storage Cabinets
When you have lots of paperwork to deal with, you may need to put them in order. This is where a file cabinet comes in. It helps you organize your documents and reduce clutter in your desk space. A storage cabinet helps you put away your office tools in an organized fashion.
File and storage cabinets come in various designs. They can be affixed to the wall or kept on the side of the room. Go for the style that suits your taste and interior office decor.
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Paper Shredder
Improper disposal of papers can pose a security risk to you, especially if they contain sensitive or private information. Even tearing them up to pieces may not be enough.
A paper shredder is a device that shreds unwanted paper into thin pieces. It is handy when you need to dispose of papers beyond repair properly.
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Office Stationery
Staples, pens, paper clips—you name them—will all come in handy. Office stationery is a small collection of tools you need to do official work. The quantity of stationery you get depends on your kind of job, so it’s good to know the stationery that is necessary.
Once you get your stationery, you’d need to organize them properly. You can use an organizer or storage boxes to keep them in order.
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Monitor
A monitor is essential to your workplace if you work more with a computer. It has a bigger screen which improves your work experience and productivity. The elevated design also prevents neck pain, strain, and bad posture.
Monitors benefit workers who need to see all the details on their screens. For example, software developers and accountants need precise details of information on the screen. You can get more than one monitor if you need more screens to do your work seamlessly.
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Keyboard and Mouse
A separate keyboard and mouse go well with your monitor and completes your desktop setup. Also, prolonged use of your laptop’s keyboard and trackpad can cause wrist pain and bad posture.
Investing in a keyboard and mouse will relieve discomfort and improve work speed. You can opt for the wireless types for convenience and reduce desk clutter. But you may need to buy batteries often.
If you can deal with tangling wires, go for the wired types. They are more affordable and don’t need batteries. Ensure you get a less curved mouse and a well-angled keyboard to boost ergonomics.
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Surge Power Strip
Since most home office gadgets need the power to operate, you need a way to connect them effortlessly. This is where a power strip plays an important role.
Power strips help you plug in more than one device at once. Some power strips are designed with only electrical outlets, while others have a USB jack. You can get whichever power strip type that suits your needs.
Make sure to get a power strip with surge protection for added safety. This helps to maintain power at a safe level and prevent your devices from getting burnt. You can install power strips to the wall room or furniture to reduce clutter.
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VPNs and WiFi
Though you have an internet provider at home, you will need to upgrade your connectivity. While streaming video conferences or virtual meetings requires more stable internet access. A sound WiFi system can create a faster and more robust internet connection for all your devices.
VPNs, on the other hand, provide security for your connections by encrypting your IP address. They give you online privacy when working from home. This makes it difficult for hackers or outsiders to access your sensitive information.
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Home Coffee Station
While working from home, you may need a boost of energy now and then. A cup of coffee can go a long way to set you up in work mode and improve your productivity. But it may be a hassle to go to the nearby coffee shop to get your favorite beverage. In this case, a home coffee station will come in handy.
With a coffee station at home, you can make the coffee you need at any time of the day. Not only will it save you precious time, but it also adds to your convenience while you work.
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Productivity Tools
As easy as it seems, remote working isn’t all roses. This is because while you enjoy working from the comfort of your home, you may become distracted often. Also, working in isolation may cause you to lose the motivation to work.
Productivity tools help to boost your motivation, remove distractions, and manage your time. They also help eliminate procrastination, enhance focus, and track progress.
With time, you notice that your stress levels are reduced, and your mental health is improved. Productivity tools are essential because they aim to improve your overall productivity. They can be online apps or physical tools like planners.
Conclusion
Working from home is now popular as many people relish its benefits. But even as a remote worker, you must have a space to work. This space is your home office, and you will need some essential gadgets to make working more manageable and fun.
Equipping your home office with essential gadgets is worth it. You get convenience, motivation, productivity, and work speed. The 20 gadgets outlined in this post are a good investment that will benefit you in the long run.
