The biggest change to our daily routines is that many people have become homebound. Work, leisure, and even our social life now seem to revolve around the computer(s) in the house.
If you don’t have the right equipment and furniture in your home office, you are doing yourself a major disservice. Having to work from your sofa or bed is uncomfortable and promotes poor posture, while old computers only cause increased frustrations due to their slow and unpredictable functionality. With the right equipment, you can get comfortable and become more productive.
This holiday season is the perfect time to change all that and gift yourself the best home office gadgets. Whether that’s a modern laptop, a bigger monitor, amazing headphones, or simply a better ergonomic office chair, it’s time to gear up properly because working from home will be the new common norm for the foreseeable future. Here are the absolute must-haves for any decent home office, the home office essentials you need to stay productive at home.
1. Desktops and Laptops
A good business laptop allows you to work anywhere, any time, and bring along all the power and memory you need to carry out most tasks. The evolution of technology has made laptops sleeker, more powerful, and thus more portable than ever before. However, high-end laptops are still very expensive, so a mid-range business laptop that balances performance and affordability may be a good idea this holiday season.
One option for an affordable, highly reliable, and powerful business laptop is the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5, which boasts a Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 512 GB of SSD storage. Lenovo laptops are known for their legendary reliability and ruggedness.
When in doubt, nothing beats the Apple MacBook. With an Apple M1 Chip and 8GB of RAM, the latest 13″ MacBook Air leads in battery power, durability, and features a beautiful retina screen display. MacBooks are the best laptops for businessmen and students alike.
If you’re tired of staring at a tiny 14″ or 15″ screen all day long (not to mention the strain on your neck from looking down at your laptop), the HP 19.5″ All-in-One is a great alternative. Investing in this desktop gives you an AMD A4 chip and 4GB of memory and also provides plenty of screen space for seamless home working.
If your work is more demanding however, the HP 23.8″ Touchscreen All-in-One with an AMD Ryzen 5 chip and 12 GB of RAM is an absolute beast. For a bigger, slightly less powerful but more affordable option, then the Dell Inspiron 5490 AIO works great.
If an all-in-one doesn’t work for you, you can always pick up a powerful laptop and have a large-screen monitor to complement it. Of course, you will also need an external keyboard and mouse to go with the set-up.
2. Tablets
Whether you’re reading the latest business book or opening an email while on the treadmill, a tablet is a vital gadget to have in your home office. The extra screen space, better camera, and improved performance quite literally puts the office in your hands.
Apple’s range of iPads still rules the tablet market. The latest iPad Air in 2020 offers the best of everything including a massive 10.9″ screen and a powerful A12 Bionic Chip. The Apple Pencil is an option in case precision tasks like drawing or writing are required.
Samsung has also been killing it with its tablets lately, especially with its legendary Galaxy Tab lineup. The Galaxy S7 tab is an 11″ monster with smooth S Pen control and a massive 256 GB of storage. The Galaxy Tab A7 is a more modest and affordable option with 64GB of storage and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
Amazon also makes some impressive tablets for the entry-level market. They are perfect for reading, light working, and especially kids reading and entertainment. Getting yourself this Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is certainly a bargain. Not to mention that you get Alexa in your house once you pair it with a compatible smart speaker. More about that in a bit.
3. Headphones
One of the biggest challenges with working at home is concentration. With kids running around, playful pets, and home noises, only a good pair of noise-canceling headphones will work.
One such option is the Bose 700 wireless headphones. They are perfect for making calls and offer crisp sound and offer hands-free operation with pre-loaded Alexa. Above all, they are some of the most comfortable to wear.
Sony also has some amazing headphones such as the Sony – WH-1000XM4 Wireless headphones. These offer superb battery life, multi-point Bluetooth connection, and good noise cancellation. If you have to go all-out and get some of the best over-ear headphones, the Sennheiser Momentum headphones give excellent sound, active noise cancellation, 7 hours of battery life, and are perfect for calls.
4. Smart Speakers
What do smart speakers have to do with a home office? Answer: smart assistants like Siri and Alexa help you to organize and plan your work. These next-gen AIs have come a long way, and today’s smart homes rely on them.
From scheduling tasks to setting up reminders and having meetings with colleagues, speakers like Amazon’s Echo Dot bring Alexa to life. Another one is Google’s Nest Audio Speaker. It is part of a bigger range of smart home products designed to make your life more organized and free.
If you love the quality and sound of Apple products, the HomePod Mini gives you access to Apple Music, Apple Music Radio, Apple Podcasts, and more. That’s right, you can also grow your mind with podcasts, audiobooks, and more with these smart devices.
5. Desks & Office Chairs
Your office won’t be complete without a good desk to hold everything. The right work desk will keep everything at the right height and provide storage compartments to organize all your stuff.
One of the best, high-end home office desks is the Jedidiah Acacia Wood Computer Desk by Christopher Knight. This designer desk is sturdy, minimalist, and adds unmistakable elegance and class to your space.
If you’re looking for something even more exotic, the Wyndenhall Franklin Solid Wood Writing Office Desk will add a touch of class to your home office. This desk is perfect for home working and comes with a pull-out keyboard tray, a flip-down drawer, and enough room for all computer accessories. While an elegant, hand-crafted desk like this one is great, you can also go for a mainstream “regular” office desk such as the Bush Business Furniture Series A.
Your office set-up’s most important piece is your own office chair. You’ve got to take care of your back, neck, and legs if you will be spending hours upon hours seated every day. The Office Space Seating 68 Series Professional chair is padded and has a mesh back for ultimate comfort. It also offers lumbar support, adjustable armrests, and leather cushioning for durability.
Office chairs are not made equal, though they sure look like it. Unless you’ve got the money for a Steelcase or Herman Miller, you will have to use a budget model like this black leatherette high-back chair or the multi-function executive swivel chair which, surprisingly comfortable and sturdy.
Gift Yourself the Perfect Home Office
You don’t need to have thousands to furnish your home office this holiday season. When you lease-to-own1 with Flexshopper, you can upgrade your home office with affordable weekly payments, and after 12 months, your items are yours to keep! Who can ask for a better gift than that? Contact us today!
