How much thought have you put into your work accessories?
Have you covered the basics? Do you have a performant computer, a high quality chair, a desk of the right height, and multiple monitors? Whether you are in your home office or on the go, having the right equipment can make the difference between a solid day of work and a slow day of frustration.
Choosing the right accessories for your home office or travel bag is important.
Accessories for Your Home Office
When it comes down to it, you should make your home office a pleasant place to work. The right accessories can help with that.
Keyboard and Mouse
Your keyboard and mouse are the most important accessories.
A bad keyboard can lead to typing frustration. Worse it can lead to wrist pain such as carpal tunnel. Nothing keeps you from getting work done more than an injury or bad health. You can read more about choosing a ergonomic keyboard.
Depending on what you do for work, you mouse can be influential in this area as well.
A good mouse will be able to change sensitivity to suit your natural movements. There are many good choices. Do a little research based around your industry and you will easily find one that top performers in your field use regularly.
Noise Canceling Headphones
Sound can be one of the biggest distractors to a good work flow.
- Neighbors in the apartment upstairs
- Emergency vehicles driving by
- Landscapers with leaf blowers
These are just a few of the many examples of sounds a good pair of noise canceling headphones will help block out.
With the help of some music that helps you concentrate, you can get your work done efficiently.
Wifi Range Extender or Second Router
Sometimes you need to get out of your office and work from somewhere else for a bit.
Or maybe you want to do a conference call on your laptop from the comfort of your living room couch. If where you want to work isn’t close enough to where your router is installed, then you might be sunk.
This is where a Wifi range extender or second router comes in.
Often, you don’t have much of a choice where your primary router is setup. Many service providers have a modem router combo that has to be connected wherever the cables are wired into the house or apartment. A properly placed extender will allow you to work from the second location without sacrificing internet quality.
The whole point of working from home is freedom, so don’t be restricted by your Wifi range.
Backup Power Supply
Nothing ruins a productive day like a power outage.
Even a small blip can reset your router and desktop, disrupt your flow, lose work, or break up an important call. A Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) can save you many headaches in this area. It is basically a battery that will keep the blips from being interruptions and the full outages from snatching those last several minutes of work away from you.
I recommend getting one for your router and PC.
Webcam
Many remote positions still have regular meetings, usually video calls.
Unless you are doing sales calls regularly, a basic webcam will likely suffice. You will want to pair it with at least a half decent microphone if the one that comes with it isn’t good enough. Your headphones may have a sufficient quality mic built in.
Audio quality is generally more important than video on the calls.
Blue Light Blocking Glasses
For those who work later in the evening, blue light blockers are a must.
The blue light from screens is proven to disrupt sleep. If you aren’t sleeping well, you won’t have the energy to do good work. Any work you do with a screen after about 5 PM should be done with either a blue light blocking filter on your monitor or a pair of blue light blocking glasses on.
Glasses are typically the better choice because you can wear them when using your phone or laptop in the evenings as well.
Lamp
One or two lamps in the right place can help relieve strain on your eyes.
Ceiling lights and windows don’t always provide the lighting you need. If you rely on the natural light from your window, the sun moves throughout the day. Some houses and apartments don’t even have a ceiling light wired in to the room you would naturally use as an office.
Learn more about good workspace lighting here.
Plants
That’s right. Plants.
Why you ask? Well two reasons. First, air quality. Plants naturally improve the air quality around them. Second, mental health. Being around healthy green plants can have a calming and focusing affect. Lookup nature baths.
Side note, try to make sure you are not allergic to the plants you get.
Accessories for Working on the Go
There are a few extra accessories to consider when working from coffee shops, beach fronts, or other out and about locations.
Wifi Hotspot
When working outside your home, you can’t always rely on the place to have wifi that meets your needs.
Thankfully Wifi hotspots that use cellular networks for internet are readily available. This should be the item besides your laptop that you make sure is in your bag. An added bonus is the extra security from not using a public Wifi network.
If you are using the coffee shop Wifi, use a VPN 100% of the time for your own safety.
Notepad and Pen
You don’t have access to a second screen normally when away from your home office.
The next best thing is having paper and pen (or pencil) to keep notes, make visual reminders, and jot down small bits of important info. Also, using a different medium for expressing your thoughts will help you be more creative.
Keep at least 2 pens in your bag since its hard to tell when one will run out of ink.
Laptop Bag
Kinda obvious, but definitely needs some thought.
For city travel and flying (i.e. subways, walking) I recommend a backpack for your laptop. It balances the weight better allowing for superior posture and less strain on your back. Your body will thank you for choosing bag with good support and balance.
A standard laptop bag (single strap, cross torso) is fine for short distances such as house to car.
Backup Batteries
Have one for your laptop, one for your phone.
Not every seat has access to a power outlet. Yeah you could move, but its nice to not have to. Sometimes the place is crowded and you don’t have a choice. The primary downside of a laptop battery is it is heavy.
If you are looking to travel a bit more lightweight, maybe find a laptop with a longer battery life and skip this item.
Ear Buds
Over ear headphones can be a bit bulky and awkward to be wearing in public.
Ear buds are small, lightweight, and discreet. A much better choice for taking with you out and about. They even come in the noise canceling variety.
I recommend trying to find some that can be charged with the same battery pack as your phone.
Have any we missed?
Do you have a favorite accessory for remote work that isn’t on our list?
Tell us about it by emailing worksmart at remoteworkalpha.com