Over the course of the last couple years, you or someone that you know might have been moved to working remotely, or even was offered a job that was remote from the start! While it may seem like a dream job in the moment for most people, not everyone has fallen head over heels for the proposition. People have spent so much time in the office at work, that they have been neglecting their own home office. Now when they are faced with the move to remote, they have to make changes to their home set ups to better fit their work style. Fortunately. we are here to help! Below we have listed some helpful things that can improve your working from home life, and can even make you more productive overall!
1: Monitor shopping!
What is the fastest way to increase efficiency when working off a computer monitor? Increase your monitor real-estate! We recommend two options in this case; purchasing a second monitor and connecting it to your current set-up, or switching out your current monitor for a larger Ultra-wide monitor. Both choices will increase screen space for your working pleasure and will also increase efficiency since you can have multiple program windows open, and keep track of more things at once. As usual, Amazon is a shoppers best friend, and we have linked a couple options for you to check out!
2: Network storage you can access anywhere!
Big storage is a must for anyone that is working from home, and more often than not, we tend to completely fill up the storage that comes standard with our laptops, or the drives that are desktops have attached to them. A good alternative answer to this will almost always be cloud storage! With the likes of GDrive from Google and OneDrive from Microsoft, saving your data to the cloud is a breeze. However, there are always data caps that come with those services, and in order to expand out your storage allowance, you will need to cough up more money per month. If you are someone that has enough data that is approaching a terabyte, you may want to look into purchasing a Network Attached Storage (NAS). With some of these NAS's, you will be able to access your data from virtually anywhere, home or beyond home! Even ones that cannot be accessed from anywhere can be very helpful in a home office workspace, particularly because it will let you store massive amounts of data. And you are not limited to what you can store! Everything from Photos, to Videos, to Documents can be stored safely on your NAS. For those who are more security minded, you can even configure some of these NAS system drives with RAID, providing you with redundancy and therefore, security. If one of your drives were to fail, you will have an immediate copy of that drives contents, ensuring that you will not lose your data.
We have linked below a basic NAS that will serve just about anyone very well. It has a healthy amount of storage, and is relatively small in size. There are of course hundreds of other options, coming in all kinds of storage, speed, and bay options!
Network Attached Storage from Buffalo
3: A healthy back equals less slack!
We are always upgrading some kind of technology in our homes office, whether that be our Computers, Monitors, or Computer Peripherals. However, we always seem to ignore one of the most important parts of a home office, and it has nothing to do with technology! Of course, we are referring to our chairs. Before working from home, some of us seldom used our home office, and we never realized how old, outdated, or uncomfortable our office chairs really were! Having a comfortable place to sit is almost as important as having the correct technology for the job. Some of us sit for upwards of 8 hours a day at our computers, and then we complain about aches and pains from our poor spine. Well, complain no more, because it is time to finally lay your old office chair to rest! There are many great options for office chairs around the internet, most of which fall under someone's personal preference. We gathered up 3 choices that seem to hit all of the major places of support, while also getting great reviews. Happy shopping, your back will thank you!
4: A POWERFUL Power Supply!
Imagine this. You are slowly typing away on a long document that your boss wants done by the end of the day, and it is currently 4:45. You're not panicking however, because you're confident that you are just about done. You type out your last sentence and slump back into your comfortable office that you purchased after heeding our advice from earlier in the list (wink), and start reading through your work. Suddenly, you hear a click and the entire room goes dark, safe for the light coming from the window. You stare at your reflection in the blank monitor screen and slowly realize that you have just lost all of your work! If only you had purchased a power supply that could provide power to your workstation for just a few minutes longer following a black out, so that you could have saved your work! Fortunately, that's exactly what this entry is about. Blackouts happen, and more often than not, it is because of factors that are beyond our control. However, you can always be prepared for the unexpected, because it is better to be safe than sorry! An Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) can be a priceless addition to your home office. It stores power in a battery, even after your entire home loses power, and you can plug essentially whatever you want into it. You can plug in your Wi-Fi router so that you can tell your coworkers you are dealing with a black out, and that you will be temporarily unavailable. You can plug in your computer and monitor which will let you save that project that you have been working on for the whole day. No matter what you choose to keep alive after your power dies, a UPS is a great addition to your home office. We have gone ahead and included a couple of good choices that will be strong enough for a home office. Don't be caught in the dark, plan ahead!
Less expensive option for smaller offices
More expensive option for smaller offices
5: Stand UP for what you believe in!
And we believe in better circulation while also improving posture! Our last entry is a standing desk, or a riser for your current desk. Sitting down at your desk for hours upon hours a day can be very tiring, and start taking a toll on your body over a longer period of time. While we always recommend that you take at least a small break to walk around once an hour, we also recommend that you try out a standing desk or a riser! It will not only allow for more circulation throughout your body, studies have shown that standing rather than sitting while working can improve productivity! We have linked below some great options for both standing adjustable desks and also risers, for those absolutely love their current desk, and just need a temporary rise for their work time.
48 inches by 30 inches adjustable desk
60 inches by 24 inches adjustable desk
We hope that some of these suggestions make their way into your home office, and that they improve your work flow whenever you will be working from home! We understand that not everyone is comfortable executing their job from home, so we aim to make the transition easier for most people! The important thing is that you are comfortable working from your personal office, and that you can do your job well. So carry on working from home, cuddling your pets and taking video calls in your pajamas, we are seeing a new era of work style taking shape right before our very eyes!
