I’ve been working from home for a while now. I’ve also been running Gearadical for over a year now. In my time as editor in chief, I have accumulated a wide range of remarkable gadgets. Some stay on my desk, some move to a secondary desk. Some items come out occasionally, and some live in my mobile workspace backpack for when I’m out at a coffee shop or somewhere else other than my desk to work for the day.
Here are the new tech additions that have transformed my “temporary” work from home space into a professional office including some recognizable favorites that have stood the test of time.
Please note that this is the second part of a three part series on the best gadgets that I have found as I worked from home. This part will be covering the office supplies that I have enjoyed at my home office. If you have not read part one yet, you can read it here.
Office
These are a collection of items that rotate between my primary and secondary desk or live within my office as items I use for specific tasks.
Though these items may not live on my primary desk, I find these items remarkably valuable to how I get my work done throughout my week!
Philips Play HDMI Sync Box
The Philips lights I mentioned in the first review of this series are able to be controlled a variety of different ways.
I usually use the ability to sync with my Google Assistant as the rest of my smart home is set up.
However, when I am consuming media or playing a game, or sometimes even editing video on my monitor at my desk, I want to feel more immersive. Or if you want to put these lights around your TV, maybe you would feel the same.
Some media or content is too big for the screen. You feel as though the picture and experience shouldn’t stop at the bezel of your chosen display box.
That is where the Play HDMI Sync Box from Philips comes in. It syncs with whatever content is on my screen and expands the colors to the walls or whatever my lights are shining on.
So, if I’m editing a video or watching a movie that has explosions, it feels as though the explosions reach beyond the screen with light.
Granted, it is not the most useful tool while scrolling white webpages. But it has made for some interesting video calls.
I love the ability to control my office space with the light options with the Philips light bars. Adding the automation and integration with my screen has made this experience even more enjoyable.
Pluggable 7-in-1
This has been sitting on my desk just out of view for a while now. Before I had the Kensington StudioDock, or when my iPad Pro is undocked, I used this with my iPad Pro. I use it for quick imports to my iPad, or to quickly transfer files to an SD card or external storage.
It is small, simple, and gets the job done. I love knowing that I can run up to three USB-A ports, along with an HDMI, Micro or Standard SD, as well as USB-C charging.
I haven’t had any problems with this 7-in-1, and it has come in handy quite a few times!
Fluidstance Lift
While trying to figure out how I was going to have my desk set up, I changed the layout and products on my desk quite a bit. You can ask my wife — every time she comes down to my office something has been adjusted, added, or moved.
The Fluidstance Lift is one of those products that was the centerpiece of my desk for quite some time. I loved having my laptop at a better angle for the camera and virtual meetings. My back and neck also appreciated a much more natural viewing angle.
As my desk adapted and changed, the Fluidstance became something that moved to my secondary desk. Now, I use it when I work elsewhere in the house and need to take a virtual meeting. The angle is perfect for not giving me a double chin or staring up my nose. It’s also portable enough to move it around without a hassle.
The added whiteboard is Fluidstance using what is otherwise wasted space as a valuable tool. Being able to take notes while in a meeting has been very helpful!
Whitmor 5 Piece Clip & Cube Organizer
The majority of my job is digital. I prefer to keep everything securely digitized as well. I have secure storage (as mentioned above with OWC’s Mercury Elite Pro Dual with 3 – Port Hub), portable storage, and cloud storage. Yet there are still things that I need for my job that are physical paper. I could stack all of these in the corner. I could put all of these in a filing cabinet somewhere. Instead, what I chose to do was get some organizing storage solutions to help me keep things tidy.
This storage solution lives in a closet behind my office and has solved my need to store my physical documents and materials.
What I love about this organizer is that I can customize it to fit me. At first, I built it as the picture showed. I quickly adjusted it though, to fit what I needed, for the space I needed it to go in. Try this to keep your needed office items separate from your personal items in a wide range of configurations.
Philips GoZero Bottle
I drink a lot of water. For my home office, I can fill and drink my Philips GoZero bottle in my office and know that even though it sits for an evening with little to no water in it until morning, it’s clean.
That’s the beauty of my GoZero bottle, and why I chose this one over many others. Philips created a system where through using UV-C LED lighting technology, the bottle can clean itself, eliminating over 99% of all the bacteria from the water inside.
Since I use this during the workday, I want to know that this bottle is clean from any airborne germs lurking in my basement that could creep their way into my drink during the day or from when I shut down my workspace in the evening to when I start back up in the morning.
Plus, the water bottle looks great and stays charged for 30 days.
Nooie Cam Doorbell
Working from home has made me so much more aware of people at my door. When it’s a solicitor, I don’t want to be interrupted in my work meetings. But if it’s my delivery driver bringing me some new tech for Gearadical, I want to drop everything to run up and check the front step.
Having the Nooie Cam Doorbell on my front door has helped me do just that. The camera quality is phenomenal, it connects quickly, and can host storage locally. This means I can view past events without needing a cloud account or subscription.
The included hub/chime is a nice touch as well. Now if I don’t have my phone, or I’m busy wrestling with my boy, I can hear the doorbell as if it were a standard doorbell.
Nooie 360 Cam
Working from home means being home with my family. And while I wish I could spend the daytime playing with them, I need to work.
Having the Nooie 360 cam set up so I can check in on them throughout my day is so fun.
I can make sure everyone is okay and see my two-year-old’s new skill without getting too pulled away from whatever productivity stretch I may be in.
The camera quality, mic, and ability to move it, have been vital to making this work so well.
I love having this in my house to see the main floor throughout my days working, but also to check in on my kiddo at night, see my home while I’m away, and more.
Anker Eufy Smart Lock
I love having this lock on my front door. Not needing to carry a key is one thing, but knowing that I can remotely check on the security of my front door is huge. Not only that but when I am hustling home from a meeting to jump to a virtual meeting, I don’t need to worry about fumbling with keys, I can remotely unlock the door with my phone or enter a quick code.
Additionally, I can have it auto-lock behind me when I close it. Making me feel that much more secure.
I can also set codes for friends to be able to access my door, or I can remotely unlock the door when a guest arrives at my house.
I can’t imagine going back to a manual deadbolt after having my Eufy Smart Lock on my front door.
Anker Eufy Lumos Smart Bulb
Part of what makes my office so cozy to work in is my lighting. Having smart control, dimmable lighting is huge for my workspace. When I am about to jump into a meeting, I can simply ask my smart assistant to start a meeting and my lighting will adapt to what I need.
I can also walk into my office and ask my assistant to start my workday and my office will come to life with lighting.
What’s great about these is that there is no hub needed, and they are incredibly affordable! And that’s a great bonus if you want to start adding some Smart Home technology to your home.
Canopy Humidifier
I’ve used my fair share of humidifiers to help my home not feel too dry. What got me hooked on Canopy is the large tank, the auto feature, and no mist.
I can put this on a desk or shelf without worrying about items getting damp from its mist. I also love that if the room starts getting more humid than I want, the Canopy will auto adjust and turn down so the air doesn’t feel damp in the room.
Of the multitude of humidifiers I have tried, Canopy is by far my favorite!
