The Best Tech For Your Home Office

Ultimately when working from home and keeping a home office you need to make sure that you keep a clean, organised desk. It is as essential as having the proper tech at your fingertips. Fortunately, you can achieve both these things at the same time by making an investment in wireless gear.

A great wireless mouse, keyboard and pair of headphones can significantly reduce the amount of clutter on your desk. However it can also make it simpler to change locations once it’s time to get back to the office. If you’re ready to clear your workspace of those annoying cables and free up your computer’s precious USB ports, here’s some of the best work-from-home tech we’ve tested.

Apple AirPods Pro

Invest in a great pair of noise-cancelling earphones that’ll work well for cancelling out distractions during your video conference calls. Apple’s AirPods Pro are a top pick – they might be pricey however they last ages and deliver top-quality audio, whether that’s at work or away from your home office.

Lenovo Ideapad Flex 5 2-In-1 Windows Laptop 

This is one of our favourite Windows laptops. The Ryzen 5 processor and its 16 GB of RAM offer up plenty of power for the usual everyday tasks. Better still, the excellent 14-inch IPS screen is paired with a 360-degree hinge that gives you the ability to convert it into tablet mode and interact with the touchscreen (with your finger or the stylus included). If you would like more power, go for the Ryzen 7-powered model.

Logitech MX Master 3

A good mouse is a must-have for any serious workstation or for anyone who loves playing keno online real money games. Trackpads are all well and good however when you have to do a lot of text editing, clicking around, or any kind of click-and-drag, a mouse just does it better. The mouse that rules all mice is the Logitech MX Master 3S, which made a couple of improvements on the prior spot holder, the MX Master 3.

Whether you’re at your desk utilising a mousepad, on your couch utilising your leg or armrest, or in the kitchen utilising a marble countertop, this mouse will keep working thanks to its Darkfield sensor. With this latest version, you also get a bit more sensitivity, which is adjustable up to 8 000 DPI, so faster mouse movements are at your fingertips.

Portable Dual & Triple Screen Laptop Monitor – TRIO

There was a period not that long ago when laptops were so cumbersome and carrying them was not convenient. However today, with the development of silicon technology, laptops have become thinner than ever.

In fact, not only can you travel with your laptop but also with its accessories such as a portable monitor. One such accessory is TRIO, which stands for a triple monitor system for your laptop. This innovative product features up to three screens which will offer you efficient multitasking together with boosting your productivity.

If you are a stock trader, gamer, coder, entrepreneur, student, or even a working professional, this portable dual-screen laptop monitor is the answer to impeccable multitasking.

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How to Prepare Your Home & Office for The New Way Of Working

Over the last decade, the meaning of a job has shifted significantly, and how we do our work has also completely changed.

Freelancing has gone mainstream, the last year has accelerated the adoption of remote work in a major way, and the office environment we used to know no longer exists. Many companies have folded their in-office operations, backed out of commercial real estate leases and shifted to a remote model in some capacity.

In many ways, the space between the office and the home has shrunk, making the two worlds almost overlap. It has become a world where a hybrid between working from home and the office has emerged.

We all need to be thinking about this new way of working, as business owners and workers alike. We have to be prepared for this new reality where work and home are almost interchangeable. Here are some of the things we need to be prepared for when it comes to the work model we now have.

Decorate for Productivity

The office as we knew it before has now changed, and the people who want to come to work expect a certain environment, when it comes to how the office is set up and decorated. It might seem frivolous, but the look and feel of an office matters.

People have spent over a year working from home, and going back to an office that feels rigid might actually compromise their productivity. Consider redecorating your office space to make it a more enjoyable space to stay in.

Think of putting in neutral but inviting floors that feel less cold and commercial. Instead of bare walls, invest in stylish, modern and interesting wall art that brings a bit of home style into the work environment. You can also buy comfy chairs and couches where people can also work. Decorating is a big part of being productive in the work environment of the future.

Help People Work in a Healthy Way

If you’re working from home it’s important to make your work environment not just productive, but actually healthy and good.

Many people don’t have proper office setups, and it can actually be bad for their health. Sitting at a desk that makes you look downward into the computer screen can cause back and neck strain. Uncomfortable chairs can make for an unpleasant sitting experience, and the wrong desk can actually compromise how well people work.

Consider putting some money towards new home office furniture so that you also feel like your home allows you to do your best work without compromising on health and wellness.

Hybrid Model

Last year proved to people that working from home was a possibility, and many people took really well to it. It’s created an argument for a work model that allows people to work according to what suits them. This doesn’t mean in-office work is going to fall away completely.

The work has now made room for a hybrid model, where teams can choose how they work and mix in-office and at-home. For example, a team can work together in the office twice a week and coordinate meetings and group activities to align with that time. Then the rest of the days, people can work from home.

We don’t all have to work in the office all the time, and work from home all the time, we can find a productive middle ground.

Clients and Employees Alone Will Want to Know Your Remote Readiness

In 2020, it became clear that there were two types of businesses, the ones who were prepared to work from home, and the ones that were left scrambling. You can imagine that the companies with the best client and employee experiences are the ones who were prepared.

You can now expect clients to ask for your remote readiness and for your answer to be part of their decision to hire you or not. Even job candidates will want to know how ready their potential employers are for their staff to work from home. Some people will want that as the first option, so it’s worth considering having a plan in place so you’re moving with the times.

A Move Away From Desktops Computers

In 2020, when all work was made virtual, many business owners found themselves in the difficult and costly position of having to supply their team members with computers they could move around with. Some offices actually allowed their employees to go home with the desktop computers.

If your office is only using desktop computers, it’s hard for your staff to adapt to working from home. If you equip them with laptops however, it makes so many other processes easier. It means they can have an easier time moving between working at home and working at the office.

Are you ready for the new way of working? Is your home and your office set up for it? As we’ve demonstrated above, there are many things to think about, but putting the right structures in place will put you in a better position to do your very best work.

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Organizing Your Office for Business Success

Learning how to organize your business office can help you achieve long-term business success. The more organized an business is, the more productive it is, as organized businesses are efficient businesses.

When an office or business is disorganized, important documents can be lost, deadlines can be missed, and the whole business can slowly start to get behind, leading to loss of profits, dissatisfied customers, and potentially a business failure.

For those who are not naturally organized, or are feeling overwhelmed with the state of their office, here are a few simple organizational tips to help get things back in order:

Go Digital

Many small businesses do not use the technology available to their advantage. Whether the investment seems too hefty a price for a small business to make, or they simply do not realize the tools they need to help their business become more efficient, not going digital can be a huge mistake.

When it comes to keeping track of records, other important documents, and project files, store them digitally through a cloud storage system, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or other similar systems. The benefit is that not only are all the documents in one accessible location, they will also never be lost. Moreover, they can be viewed from any location and from multiple accounts, making it easy to keep employees informed and do business on-the-go.

Lastly, depending upon your business, consider investing in the right software programs, such as salon software if you are a spa or salon business. These types of software programs help keep your business running efficiently, such as providing your business with the tools and help it needs to be successful and productive.

Paper Files

For the paper documents you do have, take some time to go through them and get rid of anything that is no longer relevant or out of date. Not only will these alleviate some of the clutter, it can also help you recall where certain files are when you need to find them.

A great way to free up space is to scan them, turning them into digital files that you can store in your cloud system. Paper invoices, bills, receipts, and other statements can be scanned as a record, allowing you the ability to throw away the paper files and free up space in your office.

Email

While email is digital, a cluttered inbox can be as chaotic as a cluttered file box. Many businesses and business owners receive hundreds of emails a day, and if they are not organized properly, it can be easy for an inbox to start overflowing, which can lead to emails getting buried in your inbox.

Letting your email get out of control can lead to important emails being lost in the hundreds of messages. This break down of communication can lead to a loss of profits, or a loss of customers, should a customer have a question or complaint that never gets answered. Moreover, be sure to regularly check your spam folder, as many legitimate emails get filtered as spam for one reason or another.

Finances

Being disorganized with your finances can leave your business in financial ruin. It is imperative that you are up-to-date with your books, bills, and other financial obligations. Many businesses, especially small businesses, do not keep track of their finances as well as they should, and find themselves in the red at the end of the year, or with money missing from their business.

Staying on top of your finances will allow you to see if a business never invoiced you, if a payment is missing, or if you missed a crucial payments and are accruing late fees. Additionally, keeping your finances in order allows you to be ready and organized for tax season. As a small business, it is critical you have all receipts, expenditures, income, and other business financial papers accessible for your taxes.

Before tax season arrives, check in with your tax advisor or accountant in order to make sure you have all pertinent information you need for your taxes.

Organization will help you be more productive in the office, allowing your business to run as efficiently as possible.

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/calculator-paperclip-pen-office-178127/

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