How to upgrade your work from home space with clever seating, storage and ergonomic technology
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Some of us may have returned to the office in recent weeks but now face working from home for the foreseeable.
For those of us who can work from home, it’s worth investing in the little touches that will save you hunching over a laptop and despairing when technology lets you down.
Many of us make do with the dining table or a corner of a bedroom as a home workspace, so seating is a challenge, as there’s no space for a traditional office chair.
Ergonomically, it’s good to take regular screen breaks and change your posture.
If you can, use a kneeling stool for a couple of hours, switch to a dining chair, then switch back.
The Varier Variable original kneeling chair (£339) and Varier Plus (£649) look good enough that you won’t want to hide them.
Amazon offers a similar Pro 11 kneeling stool for just £65.
If you need to use a quiet corner of a bedroom, the Clever Closet 60 Sec Desk (£149) unpacks to make a simple workspace in a minute, with no tools. It packs away into a flat box just as quickly.
It’s made from sustainable birch ply and has built-in stands for tablet and phone.
And don’t hunch over your laptop. The top of your screen should be at eye level and your forearms stretched out, so hands comfortably reach the keyboard.
If you work from home on a laptop, adapt your workspace slightly for an instant ergonomic lift.
Start with a stand: the Twelve South Curve (£55) elevates and cools your laptop. Then add a wireless keyboard and mouse.
The Logitech K380 keyboard (£40) and M350 mouse (£20) are ideal, look good in rose, white or graphite and use Bluetooth, so they work with other devices, too.
Pair with tablet or phone to type on small screens in comfort.
On a cold day, the Dyson Pure hot and cool jet focus (£400) is a great way to warm up. It can be used all round depending on whether you want to be hotter or cooler.
Work better with a fast and reliable internet connection.
A “mesh” system uses multiple units around the home, all with the same network name, so your devices connect effortlessly everywhere.
The Netgear Orbi WiFi 6 AX6000 (from £180) offers a huge range of up to 4,000 square feet, very high speeds and no blackspots.
Wth a simple back-up system you’ll never lose important files.
The WD My Book (from £92) is a portable hard drive that can back up your files and save a copy to your Dropbox account in the cloud, for belt-and-braces protection.