10 Home Office Equipment Essentials
Thousands of people suddenly found themselves working from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Weeks stretched into months and now, with no real end in sight, many workers are facing long-term or permanent work from home schedules in what was supposed to be a temporary home office setup. If you’ve found yourself in a position where you want to invest in your office space to make it a more comfortable and productive environment, we’ve compiled a list of the office essentials you’ll need! We’ve included items that wil help you improve your ergonomics, your productivity, and your efficiency.
1. You Need a Good Office Chair
The average person sites for at least eight hours a day. Since the human body is built for a much more active daily routine, investing in a good office chair is the best way to stave off back, neck, knee, and sciatic flareups.
2. A High-Quality Scanner
A high-quality scanner can save you a lot of time and frustration – especially if you send a lot of contracts, mock-ups, or take handwritten notes you don’t want to transcribe. Scanners that connect wirelessly to your computer mean you can digitize documents in seconds. Unless you have a job that requires large format prints (architect, designer, illustrator, artist, civil engineer, etc.) you likely won’t need a corporate-sized fully separate scanner. Luckily there are copier/scanner and printer/scanner combos that will save you space and money. Working in a particularly small space? There are wand scanner options that take up less space than your keyboard!
3. A Standing Desk
As we mentioned above, the human body wasn’t meant to take the abuse of a sedentary lifestyle. To combat joint fatigue, tension headaches, poor posture, back problems, and the accumulation of fat, try a standing desk! Alternate sitting and standing every hour or every few hours to help keep your body aligned!
4. A Printer
Although printers are often referred to as a tool of the past in our increasingly digitized world, it’s still incredibly helpful to be able to print something off without having to run to the library or the UPS Store. Whether you need to sign a contract or new employee paperwork, you take better notes by hand, or it’s not a digitally editable document, you’re going to need a printer at some point when you’re working from home.
5. A Second Monitor
It doesn’t matter what your job description is or how you worked in your old office space – get yourself a second monitor! Trust us, your life will never be the same. No more flipping back and forth between tabs or nightmare copying and pasting scenarios. Save yourself from eye-strain and frustration and improve your efficiency dramatically by laying everything out where you can see it as you work!
6. A Good Shredder
You don’t have to have acres of floor space (or even much desk space) to invest in a high-quality shredder. Shredders ensure that important documents containing client information – or your private information! – aren’t just thrown away. Especially if you’re dealing with sensitive financial, medical, legal, or otherwise protected information, a shredder can mean the difference between working securely and looking facing serious security penalties.
7. A New Wi-Fi Router or Wi-Fi Hotspot
There is nothing that makes working from home more frustrating than a crappy internet connection. Invest in a hotspot or router that amplifies your signal and ensures that you have coverage wherever you’re working from, whether it’s the kitchen, your office, or from bed (we won’t tell!). There are even routers that have VPNs built in to help protect any sensitive information you may have access to as a part of your job.
If you have questions about business equipment or how to create a better home office, contact the folks at Central Business Equipment! We’re here to help you build a better home office.