How to Setup a Productive Home Office with the Right IT – The last 2 years have been something of an impromptu, mass experiment on how business can continue when everyone has to be isolating for public health.

Due to the rapid onset of COVID-19 infections in many countries, businesses all over the world were forced to go remote – and in many cases, they have to do this overnight. Unfortunately, this did not leave many people with the time to set themselves up with a productive home working environment. According to TechQuarters, a provider of IT services London businesses used extensively during the onset of COVID-19, they are still seeing customers that are looking to improve their home working solutions, even 2 years later. It is never too late to think about upgrading your home office – even if that office is just a corner of your room.

You might feel that you are already productive when working from home, but there are some tips below that you may not have consider, and which might take your home working to new heights.

1. Your Desk and Chair

Your desk and your chair are the foundations of your home office – whether it really is a dedicated home office, or a corner of your living room, or even one end of your kitchen table. Whatever you’re working with, you should do what you can to make it as comfortable and functional as possible.

Let’s start with the most basic of setups. If you really are just working at a kitchen table, there are ways to optimize this setup. Dining chairs aren’t really designed to be sat on for extended periods of time – so the first thing you can do is find a cushion to put on it to make it more comfortable – there are special cushions available specifically for this. There are also cushion made to add lumbar support to a regular dining chair – but you could also try a DIY solution, like wrapping a blanket around the lower part of the back of your chair.

If you have a dedicated room, or even just a dedicated corner of a room, there is much more you can do. To start with, you can get a proper office chair, most of which are ergonomically designed to support good posture, and be comfortable throughout a long work day. Sit/stand desks are also becoming very popular – they give you the flexibility to choose between working in your office chair, or working on your feet (a much healthier option). You might even prefer to only use a standing desk.

Technology is an essential part when creating a home office. The right technology gives you the tools you need to be productive and makes it easy to stay connected and get work done, so you can focus on what’s important. When choosing technology for your home office, it’s important to consider your particular needs. If your work is related to printing, all-in-one printers offer the convenience of printing, scanning, and copying all from one machine, so that you can save up space. If you do a lot of work on the go, a laptop is essential. Whatever your needs, there’s technology to help make your home office more efficient and productive.

2. Lighting

Lighting is hugely important for your home office, especially during the winter months where daylight is a scarce commodity. Overhead lighting is usually good enough, so long as you have a good lightbulb. If you’re over in a corner, you might want to consider purchasing a desk lamp, or a floor lamp – you might even consider getting a wall mounted LED to reduce clutter. It is generally agreed that poor lighting has a considerable effect on mood, and can even cause depression. What is more, good lighting is good for your eyes, and it can even improve your performance at work.

3. If you have a laptop…

You’re either going to be using a laptop or a desktop while working from home. Laptops have the benefit of being lightweight and portable, and you can put them away at the end of your workday. However, they also lack connectivity ports, the mousepad leaves a lot to be desired, and the fixed screen can lead to posture problems.

There are a few ways you can beef up your laptop setup. To start with, consider getting a wireless keyboard and mouse – a full size keyboard and an actual mouse will be much more comfortable. Once you have these, you can also think about getting a laptop stop, which will raise the screen up to your eye level and encourage better posture. If you have peripheral devices and equipment you use (like printers, SD card readers, or external hard drives), consider getting a hp laptop docking station.

4. If you have a desktop…

Desktops are generally the preferred device for work, as they are much more powerful, long-lasting due to the fact that you’re not shuttling them around much, and they also are more flexible due to the fact that you use a separate keyboard, mouse and monitor. As mentioned above, having a full-sized wireless keyboard and mouse is good for a laptop and, for desktops, are preferable due to the lack of wires.

Where you can really improve a desktop setup is with your monitor. Always opt for a high definition monitor (at least 1080p but preferably more), and get the largest one that will work with the space you have. If you can, using a dual monitor setup is preferable. Dual monitors means more real estate for apps, webpages, and documents you use for work, and makes multi-tasking a breeze.