4 hours ago
4
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
I work from home full-time. I love it, but recently I had to make some changes to my routine after a health diagnosis prompted some serious conversations about how much time I spend at my desk. Things needed to be updated in my office to help keep both my mind and body healthy if I were to continue working from home, and I had to make some serious swaps.
Also: 7 WFH gadgets that seriously improved my workflow
Some of these included lifestyle changes, like walking more than I did previously during the workday (thanks to my walking pad), while others involved completely upgrading the products and furnishings I was accustomed to. I swapped my basic standing desk for an adjustable one and my uncomfortable desk chair for an ergonomic one, and I reorganized my messy, tangled cords to fit my new desk into my tiny office in a more aesthetically pleasing way.
There are plenty of other tweaks to be made in the future as my condition changes, but for now, these are the five items I've swapped into my WFH office, why I had to, and why you may want to consider the same.
5 gadgets I swapped into my WFH setup (and why)
After working from home for almost 3 years now, I knew it was time to upgrade from a basic desk. About two years ago, I added an adjustable standing desk to my workspace to make it easy to incorporate a walking pad (and more steps) during my day.
After many months of use, I was ready to fully commit to a true adjustable desk in my refreshed home office space. I wanted something simple and sleek, that looked good both at standard height and while elevated for standing or walking.
Eureka's Ark SD is the perfect choice. It has a drawer for storage and an appealing wood-like tabletop that makes my tiny office feel luxe. It also adjusts up or down with the touch of a button, so you can customize your WFH experience whether you're on your feet or in a chair. Plus, I'm five-foot-ten, and it goes plenty high, so this will work for taller folks, too. It's an investment piece, with a nearly $1,000 price tag, but for a fully WFH employee, I think it pays for itself on the daily.
This desk has been key in helping me maintain my step count and mitigate some new health challenges, which I'll be writing more about soon for ZDNET.
There are dozens of ways to organize cables on your desk, but over the last several years, I've found that my laptop charger is the one I always reach for daily. With a curious cat running around, leaving it to fall to the floor was not a good idea (nor is it practical), and I had tried several other management methods in the past including clips, ties, attachable supports, and more.
It turns out that the best way to keep my charger on my desk is this magnetic cable wrangler. Bonus is, it looks nice next to my desk mat, and has extra space for any extra cords I may have.
I always keep a charging station on my work desk. It makes it easy to charge laptops and gear, and as a tech reviewer, it's essential for keeping battery packs or other things I'm trying out juiced up.
I'm impartial to the Baseus Nomos charging station, but I needed something slightly more compact due to the orientation of my desk in my office space. I chose to place the desk in the middle of the small room, limiting my options and reach to the wall outlets. I didn't want to run a mess of extension cords or surge protectors everywhere, so Anker's Nano Power Strip was the perfect solution. It clamps onto my desktop anywhere I want, and it adds all the ports I need: USB-Cs, USB-As, and traditional outlets. It fits desks 0.6 inches to 1.8 inches thick, including edges angled under 45 degrees.
It keeps cords tidier while maintaining functionality, and is a welcome upgrade.
This cord is my new favorite USB-C cable to keep at my work desk for one big reason. I still rock an iPhone 14 Pro, which means I need a Lightning cable to charge it, but most of the other devices I use require USB-C. After years of juggling an unnecessary amount of cords, this handy cable lets me keep just one charger on my desk, along with my laptop cord, keeping my space clean. This is also the cable I travel with for its 2-in-1 capabilities.
My former desk chair was a horrendous option I grabbed for under $100 a few years ago, when my only concern was with my space looking "aesthetic." The problem with it wasn't the cheaper price tag, but that it was too short for me as a taller person, it offered virtually no support for my back, and it cut into my legs in a horribly uncomfortable manner. I couldn't stand being in it for more than two hours or so at a time.
A new desk chair was needed, and I wanted something that would be comfortable enough to sit in for those days with back-to-back calls or when I needed to really focus for a few hours. FlexiSpot's C7 Morpher chair is the spaceship I chose. It's designed for gamers or busy professionals, and individuals between five-foot-six and six-foot-seven. It's weight-rated up to 380 lbs, too.
It really does look like the chair of a rocket cockpit, and it is tremendously heavy. But it's like sitting in a soft cloud. Several components are adjustable, like height, the arms, the footrest, and more. There's also air support for your lumbar, which has made a huge difference personally. It's quite expensive and only comes in black right now, but like the Ark SD desk, it's one of those purchases that will have ROI for years to come. I do need to purchase a chair mat since it's quite difficult to glide it over carpet, but this chair was a much-needed upgrade due to my health concerns.
English (US) ·