Contrary to popular belief, working from home can be difficult. You have to consider your home environment, what tasks can be done at home, and many others.
But, many often find it hard to work at home because they do not have the right gadgets to support their tasks. Besides the bed and playstation calling out to you…
If you want to have the best work from home experience that will improve your productivity, here are my recommended checklist for the gadgets you need to get:
Desktop
Desktop PCs are often used in many companies because it is cheaper and it is very easy to upgrade. It can also handle office work without problems.
Check for the specifications of the desktop PC you plan to get and see if it is upgraded and has fast performance.
Laptop
If you prefer a laptop to do your work like me, you need to consider its specifications before buying one.
It must have a monitor wide and clear enough for your tasks, a keyboard that you can use without problems and a trackpad that will help you organize your work windows. It will also be great if it has high memory so it will not lag while you work.
When you do use a laptop for work, you need to have an ergonomic setup to keep your wrists protected.
Okay, I can’t recommend any brands. I am very bias because I love the one I am using. I am a big time Mac user and for me, a high powered Macbook Pro works like a dream paired with my iPad and iPhone. But if you are a Windows fan, I’ll place my money on Lenovo’s Thinkpad series too.
Monitor
If you plan to use a desktop for your work, it has to be one that is large enough for you to see all your tasks, present an image in high definition and be adjustable.
It must also be affordable because high definition monitors can be worth around thousands.
As a writer and recruiter, I don’t really need a monitor. However, if I am at a job crunching numbers with a few excel sheets open, a monitor will save me squinting my eyes.
Keyboard
Desktop computers often vary when it comes to the quality of their keyboards. If you often type for your tasks, you need a keyboard that will help you type smoothly and not strain your wrists in the process.
Mechanical keyboards are said to be easy to type on and comfortable to use, so you may want to get one from Kinetic Labs. It is also ideal to get a wireless one so you can type farther from your monitor, saving your eyes from blue light exposure.
Mouse
Whether you use a desktop or a laptop, getting a good mouse is important. It ensures that your wrists are protected, especially from using the trackpad all the time.
It can also move around windows easily and you don’t have to keep scrolling just to get to the right window you wish to open. I prefer wireless mouse because I don’t want to battle with my mouse everytime I move out of range.
Some mouses today even come with extra buttons so you can shortcut to frequently-used windows or options. That’s really cool!
Noise-cancelling headphones
To ensure that no one or nothing will distract you from your work, you need to get yourself a great pair of noise-cancelling headphones.
Read More: My Unnecessary Distractions (Besides The Bed…)
This will help you tune out all the background noise around you and focus on your video or audio meetings.
I’m not a big fan of this but I know my friends swears by them. I can almost work anywhere (including on my bed) but my preference will be a work desk facing a gorgeous scenery (noise or no noise).
Webcam
While webcams are now available in computers and smartphone devices, they are not often clear in definition.
If you are planning to use video calls for your meetings, you need a webcam that will provide your teammates a clear image of you from your home office.
Printer
Getting a work from home printer is important. If you are getting one, get one that can scan, print and copy documents for you.
Do remember however, printers are usually cheap but their ink cartridges are expensive. You will save more if you do not need to print in colors.
Conclusion
Working from home is not an easy venture to do, especially if you plan to do it full time. Whether you will be doing this full time or not, you need to have the equipment to help you out.
I hope that this guide gives you an idea on what you need to get to complete your work-from-home setup.
To be more productive during your work from home stint, check out these tips:
Being Productive @ Work: What Are The 5 Time Wasting Things You Do At Your Desk
Staying Productive as a Freelancer
How to Make the Most of Your Day When Working Remotely
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MiddleMe 
Great article, agree on almost all written above.
About this -“While webcams are now available in computers and smartphone devices, they are not often clear in definition”
I would tell that one of the definitions for these cameras is an ability for others to look at you through this (when you think your laptop is closed and noone can watch you), so I would recommend to always close it. There are lots of things for this on amazon or anywhere else.
Stay safe!!
Thanks again!
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Thank you for your recommendation on the security of web cam. I have a tiny sticker that I stick on the cam when I am not using it to prevent such incidents as mentioned by you. Scary!
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The most difficult part of working from home is that it’s exactly that: home.
Workplace and home create different mindsets, which is not surprising since they’re very different environments. Few of us would feel as comfortable in the office or the factory as we do in our own home (and if you DO feel that comfortable, there’s probably a therapy for that). And there’s usually commuting involved too, which in itself reinforces the divide between the two.
You get to work and you’re focused on the day ahead, who you have to call, the job that’s due today… making an abrupt change to working at home will almost certainly throw you off for a few days. You’re trying to focus on the work that pays while you’re dealing with the domestic distractions that are completely out of context. The neighbour’s dog. The quiet of the street. Oh,and those dishes sitting in the sink won’t wash themselves either.
Working from home can have some advantages. But even after you’ve got your domestic office space set up, you should anticipate a period of mental adjustment.
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Good advice, Gregory. It took me some time to adjust to freelancing from home. It helps to have a separate room just for work like a study room. I can shut my laptop and then my study room to be away from work when I spend quality time with my family. Vice versa, when I need to concentrate, I will shut myself in the door to focus.
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I know a couple of strategies people for getting into the proper mindset. There was a family accounting business, husband and wife and their daughter, home based,. They all dressed up for work in their company uniforms from 9 to 5.
Another man got dressed ‘for the office’, got into his car, and drove around the block. That was his commute each day. I bet he didn’t much trouble with the traffic!
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Haha! I love the creativity! Oh my! I did take longer than usual to dress up for groceries shopping.
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I nominated you for the sunshine blogger award
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Good solid suggestions. As a writer I work from home, unless I’m presenting workshops, and I find your suggestions are directly on. Although lately while I write I have been listening to the GoGo Penguin tracks. Some might consider it distracting but I feed off the energy and movement. (I cannot listen to anything that has vocals.) Great post.
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Good sharing, Bryan! For me, it also depends on what I am working on. I like to “write” on my mobile because I get ideas anywhere and anytime. Once the idea comes, BAM! It needs to be written down otherwise I can’t concentrate on anything else. I’ll do my editing on my laptop much later when the idea turns into a full article.
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Thank you for sharing this out.
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Thank you, great information.
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Thank Zach and welcome to MiddleMe
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Thank you Kally💐
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Kally, spoken like the PRO that YOU ARE!
Another in your series of GREAT and terrific topics Personal can be the BEST teacher as you, my friend; continually demonstrate. “You GO! girl!”
Stay safe and God Bless,
Patrick
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Do you have any recommendations for headsets? I bought a gaming headset for my virtual meetings, but it doesn’t seem to work with my laptop. 😔 Or is that even necessary if my laptop has a working mic?
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Headsets should work with your laptop. It might be your audio port issue. Do you have another earphones lying around the house or borrow one for you to test if your audio port is the one giving you the problem?
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I do have several other pairs of headphones and they all work in the same port that I used. My laptop is somewhat designed for gaming, so it only has one for mic and headphones.
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Hmm.. I’ll suggest you drop an email or give the headset company a call to find out why you are having a problem with your headset. Usually, it should work. Maybe there’s a glitch somewhere.
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Ok. Thanks!
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You’re most welcome!
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Great posting, Kally! Thank you!
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Thank you, Michael!
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Thank you, Kally! You too.
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Nice content 🙌
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Thank you and welcome to MiddleMe!
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
AND SHARE WE WILL
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So well executed and mentioned all points! Actually these are quite necessary to brought up any idea into work. Thanks for sharing this info
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Thank you so much, Shreya. Welcome to MiddleMe!
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Nice! Check out my new blog and related post 🙂
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I did and love it! Check out my comments!
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Thank you for sharing this out.
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Great list!
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Thank you very much and welcome to MiddleMe.
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Thank you for sharing this out
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Thank you for sharing this out!
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