My Favorite Things -WFH Edition
Since it looks like many folks in finance will continue to work from home for a good portion of this year, I want to share some of my favorite work from home accessories and upgrades. I know this is not what I usually write about, but it’s my blog so I do what I want. 🤷🏻♀️ I’ve worked primarily from home for years before COVID hit. And now I do so exclusively, though I’ve also added attempting to navigate life in a pandemic, including helping my two kids manage virtual school.
Many articles have already been written on the importance of keeping some sort of separation between work and home life, keeping a defined schedule, staying connected with colleagues, making sure you get fresh air, and keeping breaks between video conference meetings.
I want to focus on some on the physical space. I am fortunate to have a small but separate physical space to use as my home office. I also use the space as a home gym, but I don’t have other home-related distractions (like laundry or a pantry full of snacks) in the space.
I love my little space and coming in to work and write here is a joy. Here are some of the tips and items that have helped me make an inviting and creative workspace- some I’ve used for years, and some new items I picked up in the last year. Pick and choose the ones that work for you.
Note: In some places, I’ve linked what I use but this isn’t an advertisement and I’m not compensated for the links. I’m just linking for your ease.
Change up your space. From time to time – move your desk, change the art, paint a wall. I do some version of this each year for a fresh start feel.
Bring life in. My cats spend a lot of time with me while I’m working. If you’ve been on a Zoom with me, you’ve likely met one of my cats, Beezus, who loves to have her moment of Zoom fame. No pets? Put a small plant or tree in your space. Philodendrons and snake plants are easy to care for. Plants make a space feel more vibrant.
Add art. Kids art, sophisticated art, posters- whatever you like. You’re going to spend a lot of time in this space; make it personal and inspiring. My prints are from Rare Device, and artists Sasa Elebea and George McCalman.
Add books. I have business books of course, but also poetry, cook books, and photo books. It’s nice to take a screen break sometimes, and often that change of brain scenery can spur creativity.
Roll freely. I know this sounds silly, but replacing desk chair wheels with rollerblade style chair wheels makes for easier sliding around and you’ll no longer need those annoying plastic under desk mats.
Quiet the distractions. My kids have flute and drumming classes at their school that they are now doing virtually. Imagine working with Zoom flute class happening in the next room. When I finally bought noise cancelling headphones, I splurged for high end ones. And boy, I really should have done that sooner.
Enhance your laptop. A laptop docking station, large monitor(s), wireless keyboard, and wireless mouse are huge for comfort, especially if you work at your computer for many hours on end, daily. Working on your laptop is great if you only have your lap. But if you have space to spread out, give your eyes and shoulders the support they need by setting up a more functional space.
Check your microphone. If you spend a lot of time on video meetings, make sure people can hear you clearly. Ask a friend to check your sound quality and if it’s not good, get a USB plug in microphone. Make it easy for people to understand you.
Light up. Light makes a huge difference in how you look in video meetings. The small phone clip type can clip around to your laptop camera. Tripod style light rings have more power and settings.
Move around. Sit-stand desks are expensive and take up a lot of space, so likely only worth the investment if you plan to work from home for a long time to come. I love mine from Uplift, which allows you to customize shape and size. I got one that is large and has plugs on the desk.
Stay connected. Being able to plug into an ethernet cable is almost always better than Wi-Fi, but if that isn’t an option for you, make sure your Wi-Fi signal is strong so you don’t cut in and out of Zoom meetings. If your workspace isn’t close to your router, you can upgrade the signal with a Wi-Fi extender.
Maintain Focus. I’m a big fan of the Pomodoro method for working 25 minutes and then taking a short break. The Bear Focus Timer app is my favorite -and very inexpensive- way to stay off my phone and on my focused work.
Want to see some other people’s favorite items or add your own? Chime in here.
Outtake from attempting to film video with Beezus on my lap. It did not work.