Ever since the nation have gone into lockdown most of us have been trying our best to adjust to our altered routines. For businesses, lockdown has been the time to make a rapid digital transformation from traditional office setups to work from home scenarios.
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But one thing that has taken a turn for worse is our work schedule. However, we cannot afford to deviate from our monthly targets. After all, the productivity matters, whether you are working from home or office.
In such a scenario, how do ensure that the duration for which we are working from home becomes worthwhile. Maybe, WFH accessories can help!
Say Goodbye to Your Beloved Couch
The sure shot solution to this is to build a dedicated work from home setup, which allows you to execute your business sustainability and expansion plans without any discomfort.
But setting up a home office is easier said than done. For many, it means a simple enough setup of a good chair, sturdy table and our device. But a home working space might require more sophisticated work from home accessories and work from home gadgets that can maximise your productivity.
Before your boss calls you for the nth time asking for that report, we dive straight into our list of the must-have 21 work from home accessories.
The Lifeline
Lately all important work details are being discussed on video conferences and we might lose on important information due to buffering. This happens because of a faulty net connection and lagging video calls are the last thing you want when you have productivity on your mind.
Getting a high speed broadband connection makes sure all video conferencing sessions are completed without any buffers and important mails are sent on time.
Online collaboration tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, etc. are part of essential work from home accessories which help you to complete projects involving two or more of your teammates. It also enables managers to delegate tasks if a large team is at work.
Accessories for Your Workstation
They are the best bet when you have to be on call for a longer duration. In such a scenario, headphones might not be suitable as they can start to hurt your ears. If you are looking to buy a Bluetooth speakerphone that helps you multitask and create the perfect ambiance by blasting your favorite songs at full volume, you can go for Poly Sync 20.
Poly Sync 20 is also an ideal choice if you are planning to create a small work setup at home with 5-6 people. This Bluetooth speakerphone will help convert your ordinary set up in a conference room. Connect with as many clients as possible in a day and interact uninterruptedly with Poly Sync 20.
It reduces echo and noise so that your voice is heard clearly at the other end. With up to 20 hours of battery life, this Plantronics speakerphone is your perfect work companion.
A laptop table stand comes in handy if your desk or table is not of the suitable height. Laptop stands provide the perfect elevation so that you don’t strain your back or neck while working. It is also suitable for holding small accessories such as pen, pencils, post its etc.
Office hours are somewhat flexible while working from home and this means that you might find yourself slogging till late hours in the night. In such case, it is best to source a desk lamp to improve visibility and avoid straining your eyes as it’s one of important work from home accessories.
A good pair of headphone keeps you connected on team video calls and helps you to listen and register important information. When work becomes too tiring, you can listen to your favourite tracks using the best headphones to calm yourself and regain your mojo.
Our laptop webcams are not of the best quality to capture our face during conference calls. My recent investment in Poly’s EagleEye Mini camera is totally worth it, as it helps present a much clearer view of the team during important meetings.
This Poly EagleEye mini camera provides wide field of view which means that people can sit wherever they want but still be in the frame. This camera enables you to record video conferences and is compatible with all popular video calling platforms such as Zoom Meetings, Google Meet etc., which we are using extensively these days.
Things to Keep Stress Away
Studies have shown that keeping a small plant near your workspace can elevate your mood and boost productivity. Air in a closed house can quickly go lacking in oxygen. Keeping a plant such as swiss cheese plant, Devil’s ivy, Chinese money plant, etc. nearby ensures that you are breathing fresh air around the clock.
As the pandemic unfolds across the world, you may feel bummed out and without any motivation. If you have quirky or inspirational artwork, quotes or posters put up around your workspace, it will not only better your mood, but also push you to achieve your short and long term goals.
Suggested Read: Top Tools for Managing Employee Attendance During Work From Home
Playing with a stress ball is a great activity which helps release stress from time to time. When you are typing away at the laptop for the whole day, your fingers may become sore at the end of it.
A stress ball brings a much-needed exercise for your hand muscles and keeps them in good shape. This will also help when you are strategizing the next big move for your business to acquire a greater market share.
We know you are missing those coffee breaks and caffeine boost. Working from home without a brewing cup of office coffee is just not fun. So, it is suggested that you stock up on a coffee machine which will not let your productivity take a dip during office hours.
For people whose job requires them to make and take calls throughout the day, investing in a Bluetooth headset is the best option. If you are hunting for the best Bluetooth headset, you might be impressed with Poly Blackwire 5200 Bluetooth headphones, which provide unbeatable sound quality and simple call management functions.
This Plantronics headset provides two warning styles – monoaural & hi-fi stereo to ensure all-day comfort.
Accessories to Stay Fit, Stay Active
Our never dying conquest of productivity while working from home sometimes comes at the cost of physical damage and injury to the body. Sitting for too long at our desk does serious harm to our neck and can lead to muscle soreness or swelling.
A neck pillow helps keep our neck in an aligned position thus reducing the risk of injuries. It is also extremely useful to take a power nap between online meetings.
Most people run out of battery while working from home because they are not properly hydrated. When workload becomes a bit too much, drinking water at regular intervals may skip your mind and getting up to grab a glass may feel too daunting a task. This can have serious repercussions and can lead to fatigue, headaches and nausea.
It is advised that you keep a sipper with you always. With a sipper in your vicinity, you will be consciously reminded to keep hydrating yourself regularly.
While working from home, the time spent on working on a laptop or phone increases which might affect your vision. As frequent breaks are often ditched, eyes are left dried up or irritated at the end of day. Therefore it is advised that you keep eye drops handy and use it every 2-3 hours for keeping your eyes healthy.
If you keep your body in a fit shape and give it required exercise, it will automatically elevate your productivity. Sadly, work from home and the pandemic has heavily cut into our workouts. But we can effectively counter that by keeping some small easy to do exercise equipment near our desk like dumbbells, stretching chords, yoga mat etc.
We can then perform small workouts between our work breaks which will keep both our mind and body in sound shape.
Accessories to Keep You Organised
It is essential that you keep your phone on charge when you have an important office event scheduled. But if your workspace happens to be a tad away from a charging point, then it is suggested that you buy an appropriate power bank.
It will help in keeping your phone charged so that you don’t miss out on any important work. Especially recommend for chillers who find it hard to move to a socket to charge their phone
It’s an important work from home accessories without which any work from home setup is incomplete. Diaries or writing pad help you to jot down important stuff discussed in team meetings.
They can also come in handy when you are starting your day and want to create a to-do list for your team and jot down the pitch for your next client acquisition campaign.
What’s the point of working from home when your essential gadgets discharge the moment you need them the most? Extension cords provide you the flexibility to set up a workspace anywhere in your house without worrying about a charging point.
Buying an extension cord of suitable power rating helps you to charge and use multiple devices all in one place.
You were sure that you saved the file but it goes missing the moment you need it. Happens too often right? It won’t if you keep an offline backup of important data in a hard disk. A hard disk is all the more important work from home accessory for files too large to be stored in your device’s local memory.
With multiple teams simultaneously working on different projects, scheduling their timetables remotely proves to be daunting. With work scheduler apps such as Worktime, Shiftboard, Getsling, etc. managers can ascertain that each employee’s workload is managed efficiently.
Employees on the other hand can login and logoff with ease and also see what they task they are scheduled to take over the coming days, thus improving their efficiency.
Setting up a home office ensures that we can still be productive while working from home. By using the work from home accessories, you can turn your tedious work into a fun routine without compromising on efficiency.
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