If you've suddenly found yourself working from home , you probably needed a period of adjustment. I get it: I have been working from home for years and years, and still sometimes find myself totally out of sorts. When it comes to work-from-home life, I like to keep a few rules:
- Don’t try to make working from home exactly like working from an office .
- Any employer that expects you to be able to work from home as you would an office is not kind.
- These are the only rules that matter, everything else will change daily.
But! Before you despair, let me also add that there are some things about working from home that you can control. One of those is the gear that you use to facilitate the experience and make it easier for you. And even better: you can find a lot of truly useful things that will make your work-from-life an easier one to lead for $30 or less.
1. A laptop desk
Okay! If you are working from home, odds are you will be working on a laptop at some point or another. While I am fond of my standing desk, I also know that you're not supposed to stand at one for more than an hour or so. Laptop desks are a wonderful solution to making work-from-home life happen. You can pop your laptop on this and totally still stream all of those Netflix documentaries you're watching. Um, I mean, you'll just be super comfortable while working! That's it.
Shop now: Bamboo laptop desk ($25.99, Walmart)
2. Wireless mouse
For reasons that mystify even me, I have an absurdly high collection of wired mice. And truly, I'm not sure that it makes much of a difference whether or not your mouse has a wire UNLESS the wire gets in your way all of time. Wireless mice are fantastic because won't slow you down (but make sure you have batteries!)
Shop now: Wireless mouse ($9.99, Best Buy)
3. Clip-on desk lamp
One thing you definitely need plenty of is light! You don't want to fall into the bad habit of relying solely on your screen for illumination. There are a ton of clip-on desk lights out there, and I just happened to choose this one because it's aesthetically pleasing.
Shop now: Clip-on Desk Lamp in Gold ($19.99, Bed Bath & Beyond)
4. Keyboard wrist pad
Your wrists take a solid beating when you're typing all day, and a keyboard wrist rest pad can really help with this. Carpal tunnel is a very real side effect of working from home, and something along these lines will help keep your wrists in the position that they should be in.
Shop now: Keyboard wrist rest pad ($19.95, Amazon)
5. Back support pillow
Your back is another part of your body that can suffer when you're working from home and sitting all day. A lumbar support pillow is an ideal way to keep everything feeling loose and niiiiiice.
Shop now: Lumbar pillow ($14.99, Sleep Number)
6. Headphones or earbuds
Spending more time working from home will mean that all of those meetings you used to attend in person will now happen (you guessed it) online! So you'll want to invest in a pair of headphones or earbuds so you have extra-clear sound quality. I am not a super big fan of earbuds, so I've suggested these.
Shop now: Panasonic headphones ($14.99, Amazon)
7. A desktop planner
As someone who lives and dies by my yearly planner, I am equally into the idea of having a small desktop weekly planner as well. I tend to write out my weekly tasks in my larger planner, but it would be helpful to have them right in front of me, too.
Shop now: Lea Weekly Planner Deskpad ($9.95, Anthropologie)
8. Candles
Working from home isn't just about the tools that make the actual work easier! You also want to create a setting in which you can get a lot done. Not everyone is into candles, but for those of you who are, these literary candles are truly delightful.
Shop now: Literary Candles ($16.00, Uncommon Goods)
9. An easy way to make coffee or tea
Tea and coffee are everything to my work-from-home life! A French Press will allow you to make one or the other, depending on which you prefer. I personally start with a cup of coffee in the morning and transition to a caffeine-free tea (plus water) throughout the afternoon.
Shop now: Bodum Chambord 3 Cup French Press ($29.99, World Market)
10. Mail storage options
While I pay a lot of my bills online these days, I have found that I still get a ton of paper mail from all kinds of places, especially after I buy things that I need for working from home. This metal envelope wall storage unit would go a long way in both staying organized and helping your work-from-home area look nice.
Shop now: Bee Galvanized Metal Envelope Wall Storage ($24.99, World Market)
11. Lovely wall art
I am lucky enough to currently have a dedicated office for working from home, but it hasn't always been that way. Sometimes I've only had a tiny section of the living room! No matter where I am working from in my home, it's always felt important to make sure that space is a little bit lovely.
Shop now: Yellow Roses Wall Art ($14.00+, Etsy)
12. An easy way to make healthy meals
I asked a friend who works from home regularly what else he would add to this list, and he said a way to make easy, healthy meals. I totally agree! I often find myself getting so caught up in writing that I forget to eat food. While I definitely have a habit of ordering from Uber Eats and Grubhub, being able to make a healthy meal is ideal. Salad bowls are a great place to start, especially if paired with this list of 10 healthy salads.
Shop now: Lipper International Large Acacia Wave Bowl with Salad Servers ($28.49, Target)
