In today’s tech-driven world, setting up a productive, comfy, and not to mention cool home office is more important than ever. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the best things you can add to your home office to make it a more productive and fun place to work.
Essential Home Office Accessories
Ergonomic Desk
When setting up your home office, you’ll need a good desk to work from.
Choose a desk that fits the style that you’re going for—whether that’s something more modern, industrial, masculine, feminine, etc. Then it needs to have enough room for your laptop, devices, and whatever else you’ll need.
You might also want to consider getting an ergonomic desk. These will allow you to adjust the height to fit your body perfectly. One thing to consider is a standing desk, which lets you sit down and stand up throughout the day. This can make you less likely to get back pain or other problems from sitting for long periods. It’s not for everybody, though, as standing can make it less easy to concentrate. If you do decide to get a standing desk, it is imperative to get a standing desk mat. It takes away a lot of the tension. If you want ideas for masculine desks, there’s a whole article on it here.
Even if you don’t find yourself standing that much, I found the ability to set the height perfectly to my body helped with comfort.

Chair
A good chair can also help you stay focused by making you forget that you’re even sitting. Look for a good ergonomic chair with an adjustable height, lumbar support, and a comfy seat when shopping for an office chair.
My favourite is the exceptionally comfy (yet exceptionally squeaky) Herman Miller Embody chair.

A Good Monitor & Monitor Stand
I personally use an iMac, which has a great monitor and monitor stand built right into it. But if you’re not running an iMac, you’ll need to research a good external monitor and a good stand to get it for the right ergonomics. If your job requires you to keep track of a lot of things at once, think about getting two monitors.
Speakers And/Or Headphones
When it comes to audio, you’ve got a few options. If you’re able to, nothing beats monitor speakers. You can play music, podcasts, etc., with good-quality audio.
But most people working from home can’t do this and are instead competing against noise (noisy family members, roommates, etc.) or sometimes they need to keep quiet if they’re working late.
In that case, you can investigate noise-cancelling headphones or over-ear headphones (which block some noise) without using high tech.

A Good Microphone
If you’re working at home, there’s a good chance you’ll need to do some meetings on Zoom or Skype calls. You’ll want a good microphone. In the past, you used to need to buy a USB mixer like the Focusrite Scarlett mixer to use a high-quality mic. But nowadays, you can get pretty amazing quality microphones (podcast quality) that are plug-in USB.

A Good Web Cam
Gone are the days of the low-quality webcam. These days you can get high-quality USB input that looks sharp and high-end.

Keyboards
These days you have an incredible choice of super high-end specialty keyboards.
Or, if you’re like me, you could go down the rabbit hole of ergonomic options. I use the Goldtouch Go! ergonomic keyboard as it helps with tendonitis.


Mouse
Like keyboards, there are a lot of cool gaming and specialty mice to get these days. I am a bit jealous of how unique some of the designs are.
I say that because I have found a mouse that has been instrumental in battling against tendonitis, but it is incredibly plain. But I still love it so much for its comfort. I’ve been using the DXT2 wired mouse for several years now (the wireless versions died on me three times.)

Mouse Pads
I use a SteelSeries mousepad, and it helps with accuracy. They have a cool new illuminated version.

Foot Rests
If you don’t have a footrest in your home office, you’ve been missing out. It’s the closest thing to putting your feet up on the table and can certainly help with relaxing while working long hours at the desk.

Desk Organizers
A desk organizer is a simple place to put your pens, keys, wallet, and anything else you’ll need nearby. (Without letting things descend into bedlam.)

Cable Management
Managing cables is a pain, but you can clean it up with a bit of effort. Use tools like cable ties, cable clips, or even a cable management box to keep cords from getting jumbled.

Good Lighting
Good home office lighting is underrated when it comes to focus and attention. Brightness matters, but so does tone.
The best kind of light, bar none, is incandescent. It has a perfect CRI score, meaning that it renders all colours perfectly because all colours are included in its wavelengths.
You can get some pretty badass task lighting depending on your own style and inclinations.

File Organizers
Office Shelving


There are lots of great options for home office shelving, including free-standing, ladder, wall-mounted, and more. Check out our full home office shelving page here.
Home Office Health & Comfort Accessories
HEPA Air Filter
If you’re going to be inside all day, you might as well be breathing cleaner air. The only problem is that while HEPA air filters can remove dust and smoke, it can’t remove CO2 buildup.

Airthings Air Quality Monitor
Build up of CO2 from breathing can make a huge difference in mental focus, IQ, and ability to concentrate. If you’re like me, you might be in a small room, and with the windows closed, it doesn’t take long to get above 800 PPM Co2. The Airthings monitor will tell you when to open a window for fresh air.

Plug In Oil-Filled Radiator
This past winter, I got a room radiator, and it radically improved my focus and enjoyment of my days. I had always been a little bit cold in my home office, even with the HVAC cranked, because my office was the furthest room from the system. Adding this little radiator allowed me to get the perfect temperature, allowing my hands to stay warm and on the keyboard.

Electrical Light As Focus
You can look into SAD lights and Red Light Therapy. You’re going to be in your room all day with no sunshine. You can’t replace the sun but you can get some parts of the wavelengths to help boost focus. Just make sure to shut it off before any meetings, otherwise it’ll look like you’re phoning in from the depths of despair.

Smart Home Office Accessories
I’m not big on the smart home stuff, but it’s worth mentioning because some people can get a lot of benefits out of it.
Smart Home Assistants
Devices like Amazon Echo or Google Home can make your job easier by setting reminders, answering your questions, and controlling other smart devices in your office. I’m not big on the idea of Amazon recording my voice, but some people love the idea of someone listening to them.
Smart Plugs
If you put smart plugs in your home office, you can control your electronics from anywhere in the world. Setting gadgets to turn on and off automatically will save energy and make the workplace run more smoothly.
VPNs
Depending on your work, you might use a VPN. So that’s one more thing to investigate and if you require it or not.
The Begrundging Luddite Low-EMF Home Office Accessories
Some of us are tech wizards that are aware of its tradeoffs. The last thing we want is another Bluetooth device buzzing nearby.
In those cases, you can look into the following:
Hardwired devices
Hardwired mice, hardwired keyboards, and even hardwired ethernet connections can reduce EMFs.
Hardwired Powerline Internet Adaptors
There are devices like these plug-in power supply internet connectors. It runs the internet through your electrical power supply as the cord! It’s wild.

Low-EMF Wifi-Routers
Routers are sending EMFs 24/7, and it’s possible that this energy could negatively affect sleep. With a low-EMF router, it only sends an output when there is data transmission.

Your Own Spin & Style
Accessories don’t just need to be tech-related. It can be related to you. The coolest home offices I’ve seen have had things that were parts of the owner, such as one-of-a-kind collectable toys, framed artwork from tattoo artists, vinyl record players and collections, etc. There was one rich guy who put a motorcycle in his home office. That’s pretty cool!
What do you like? What can you integrate into your space to make it more you?
Wrap Up
As you make changes to your home office, keep in mind that the goal is to make a place that helps you be productive, comfortable, and organized.
Ergonomics is a big part of how comfortable and healthy you are as a whole.
It’s also important to think about how you work. Some people like a simple, minimalistic with clean lines and clear surfaces, while others want lots of knickknacks, colour, art, and texture.
Think about your own personal style, and work on translating it into your home office.
By paying attention to the above things and carefully choosing your home office accessories, you can create a place that not only looks great but also helps you be more productive, stay healthy, and be happy with your remote work.