Over the last few years, people changed their approach to dealing with the everyday world. That includes business. Many of you worked from home and came to appreciate the benefits and freedom.
It appears as though work from home is here to stay, in one form or another.
What do you need to do to turn your basic laptop, into a top-notch home office workspace?
Docking Station
Table of Contents
Do you hate being confined to the area of your 13” or 15” monitor? Most modern laptops can plug into an exterior HDMI monitor.
While 1 exterior monitor is a big upgrade, an even better one is two, or more, external monitors! With today’s software, and the need to open multiple windows and applications, you will use every square inch of screen.
Docking stations are available that support 2, and sometimes more, monitors. They provide more ports and connections for other accessories.
Battery Back Up
This often-overlooked accessory is vital to maintain continuous operations and can extend the life of your equipment. An uninterruptible power system can protect your computer against power surges and blackouts.
These units also provide power modulation. Even if you don’t suffer from frequent power outages, the power delivered to your home is not perfectly clean. Voltage drops and other issues occur frequently.
Your computers and electronic devices operate best on “clean” power, but unfortunately, that isn’t available in most cases.
Headset and Microphone
One of the biggest impediments to working at home is interruptions. Dogs barking, kids screaming, neighbours in the yard next door, and television in the background, are all distractions when you are trying to concentrate and wrap up an important task.
Conference calls, Zoom meetings and other online gatherings all demand you have a good headset and microphone.
So whether you are trying to limit distractions with noise-cancelling headphones, or you need to participate in online calls and meetings, get yourself a good headset and microphone.
Laptop Stand
Do you struggle with back or neck pain after spending time at your desk? A laptop stand can help position your computer closer to eye level which helps to prevent neck strain.
By raising your laptop, you also increase the ventilation and it keep your laptop cooler.
Some laptop stands come with their own power supply and an array of additional ports and connections.
A laptop stand can help turn your desk into a proper remote workstation.
Comfortable Chair
Whether you work only a few hours a week from home or put in countless hours, your chair is a critical item. You should not scrimp on your home office chair.
An uncomfortable chair will ruin your focus and productivity. You will find you need to get up and stretch frequently, interrupting your workflow.
Bad chairs can also lead to back and neck pain which makes sitting and working uncomfortable.
If you’re one of the 35% of Australians who work from home, setting up a comfortable and distraction-free space to work, is more important than ever.
