One of the corporate trends that will continue into the future is working from home. While there are several challenges of working from home, you can stay productive if you have the right home office essentials.
You don’t need a huge amount of space or expensive home office tech gadgets to deliver results in record time. All you need is the right work-from-home office setup and gadgets.
This article has been compiled to include the best working from home gadgets and essentials that will turn your room into the most productive home office you can have. Whether you are a full-stack developer, a copywriter, or a project manager, the below-listed are the best work from home essentials that we recommend.
1. A Wireless Mouse Suitable for Home Office Duties
Our pick is the Logitech MX Master wireless mouse. The mouse isn’t just a very good fit in your palm, it is also one of the best home office items that everyone should have if productivity is prioritized.
Logitech’s MX Master wireless mouse has an ergonomic design that is sure to motivate you to work when touching it every time. It is super comfortable in the palm and has great cursor speed.
Thanks to its Bluetooth feature, you don’t have to be connected to the monitor by cable. This ensures that you have the freedom to scroll without hitch. This wireless mouse is one of the WFH essentials you should check out.
2. A Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard
We recommend Plugable Bluetooth Keyboard as one of the best home office desk essentials. The keyboard works without a cable connection, but the magic is more than wires.
Plugable Bluetooth Keyboard is also foldable which means that you can fold the keyboard when not in use to provide more space on the desk. You could even put it in the drawer if you won’t be needing it at all.
When you have to operate the keyboard again, you pick it up, unfold it, and you’re good to go. This is definitely one of the work at home essentials that can help declutter your space.
3. A Smart Yet Affordable Speaker
Recently, Amazon Echo Dot has become one of the must-have work from home items on many employees’ lists. It is one of the best smart speakers in its class, and it is quite affordable.
This is a mini version of the more expensive Amazon Echo. It comes with the same digital assistant features you will find on the Echo, yet compact and pocket-friendly.
Although the sound quality of the Echo Dot can’t be compared with the results you get from top-quality stereo speakers, itstill does a great job of rendering background music with good enough quality.
The smart speaker also gives you news and weatherupdates. Finally, you don’t have to step away from your keyboard as you can control it with your voice.
4. A Bright Display
Not a lamp; a screen. Working from home can be boring at times. One of the ways to minimize boredom is having a smart display as one of your home office necessities.
The Google Nest Hub is a great smart display that will ensure you do not lose track of time. You can also play some background music using the Google Nest Hub. What’s more, this WFH gadget will solve your hardest math, answer your everyday questions, and keep you focused all the time.
5. An Inexpensive 27” Display Monitor
Most computers and laptops are in the 14 to 16-inch screen bracket. While this may be enough to get work done, it can get tedious sometimes staring at such a small screen, especially for people that deal with numbers and lines of code.
Dell has a 27-inch FreeSync Monitor that is just $200. This monitor will give you more screenreal estate to read information and send emails.
If you want a curved 4k screen, you will have to part with thousands of dollars. However, the Dell 27 inch FreeSync Monitor is an affordable work-from-home gadget with full HD IPS LED that should be good and big enough to cater to most people’s work-from-homegadget needs.
6. A Large Monitor
There is no denying that a large monitor iseasily one of the must-have work from home office essentials for productive professionals.
We recommend you take a look at the LG 34WK650-W 34” 21:9 Monitor. The Dell 27 inch monitor above is miles better than a 14 inch screen. But this LG 34 inch ultra-wide monitor takes screen real estate to a whole new level.
It makes multitasking much easier and packs several advanced features such as HDR and FreeSync. This work-from-home office item is also great for gaming and web streaming.
7. A Laptop that Can Do Anything
There are several laptops in the market for various professionals. If you do not perform any high-level work that requires high GPU and RAM capabilities, most laptops will do just fine.
The Microsoft Surface Book 3, however, will performgreatly irrespective of what you do.
What makes the Surface Book special isn’t particularly the chips inside of it which are of premium quality, but its design.
With the Surface Book 3, you can detach the screen from the keyboard and use it as a tab on the couch when tired. When you are good to work, you can plug it back and you have a full-blown laptop. This is a highly recommended product and another of ourWFH setup essentials.
Also Read
- 10 Best 4k Monitor To Buy In 2021 for Freelancers and Gamers
- 7 Must-Have Gadgets For Home Use In 2021
8. A Desk Lamp
One of the things needed for a home office desk setup is a desk lamp. Whether you are working late into the night or you just need some illumination (in case Google Nest Hub is absent on your WFH office essentials), the TaoTronics LED desk lamp can come in handy.
It is a super bright lamp that is made adjustable to suit your mood at any moment. It also comes with Qi wireless charger that you can utilize to charge your phone.
9. A Capable Webcam for Meetings and Conferences
We cannot possibly talk about the best gadgets to work from home without mentioning Zoom meetings. If your role requires frequent online meetings and conferences and you are not going to buy the Microsoft Surface Book 3 or a respectable rival, then you should invest in a quality webcam.
The Logitech C920 Pro Computer Webcam is a 1080p webcam that comes with a great stand for tripods, laptops, and monitors. It is also under $50 making it one of the most affordable work-from-home essentials on our list.
10. A Surge Protector
How many devices are plugged in at your home office desk? If you have up to three or more devices that you plug in or are being used at any single time, you should purchase the Anker Power Strip Surge Protector with 12 outlets.
This power strip and surge protector can take up to 12 cablesincluding those of your phone, laptop, monitor, printer, smart display, and still have spare outlets for more devices.
11. A USB Hub
USB type C has made it easier to transfer files between devices of different sizes. Now, you can send a document from your phone to the monitor in seconds with minimal taps on your phone or computer screen.
The HooToo 6-in-1 USB-C Adapter is a work from home necessity especially if you have newer devices that are most likely to have USB-type C ports.
It is understandable, however, that some people’s devices still rock the traditional USB ports. In this case, the Anker 10 Port 60W Data Hub is a good gadget for your work from home tech needs.
12. A Pair of Headphones with Noise-cancelling Capability
One of the beautiful things about working from home is that you can pump up the volume of your stereo set as you wish. But, there are times when you want to just listen to music and be deaf to the happenings around you or in the neighborhood. At such a time, noise-canceling headphones become WFH essentials too.
The Bose 700 is a perfect work from home item for tuning out distractions and focusing on the work you have to do. The headphone is great for calls since it isolates the background noise to give you a great experience when on a call.
This is our top recommendation for noise-canceling headphones for working from home.
13. An Inexpensive Pair of Stereo Speakers
This list of best work from home gadgets would be incomplete without the big and bold stereo speakers we all love. If you do not already have one, here is one we’d recommend: Logitech Z313 Speaker System.
Professionalswho love sounds will regard them asessentials for working from home. This Logitech pair of speakers is a budget-friendly, reliable stereo system.
It comes with a dedicated subwoofer which gives you that extra bass while enjoying your favorite artists as you work.
14. A Reliable Hard Drive
These days, most hard drives are portable. As such, reliability is what really counts. Your hard drive is a storage system where you archive your most important documents. Hence, you shouldn’t look at its position on this list but the personal benefits.
That said, hard drives remain one of the best working from home gadgets irrespective of their size.
The Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD ticks all the right boxes. What’s more, it is a solid-state memory drive which makes it quite fast for file transfer.
It also supports fast USB type C file transfer with a maximum speed of 540MB per second. It is equally compatible with older USB ports, notwithstanding.
15. A Multifunctional Printer
A printer is one of the most important work at home office essentials. Work from home professionals who want to stay productive will prioritize multifunctional printers that can print, fax, scan, copy, and do much more.
The Canon Pixma TR4520 Printer is an affordable multifunctional printer that is capable of doing everything you want.
This work from home gadget is portable enough to take minimal space on your desk. It features two-sided printing as well as an automatic document feeder for multi-page scanning.
Final Words
Yes, working from home can seemtedious because of lack of interaction, among other things. However, you can be productive at your home office if you have the right work from home essentials and maximize their use.