During the first lockdown, working from home was actually quite a pleasant prospect in many regards. With Spring gently settling in, we could spend our days telecommuting in our shorts and t-shirt while sipping lemonade in the garden on our lunch breaks. Now that the Winter frost has set in, however, the third lockdown doesn’t look like it’s going to be half as enjoyable.
With that in mind, we thought we’d go through a few home working essentials you might want to consider to make your remote office life this winter that much more bearable.
The right tech – If you’re working on a laptop that’s a good decade old and are struggling away on a broadband connection that barely reaches double digits at the best of times, it might be time to consider an upgrade. Speak to your employers first though, as they might be willing to help you out. The area we so often ignore, meanwhile, is the computer keyboard. Particularly if you’re a writer, a decent keyboard like the Apple Magic Keyboard will make a world of difference, even if your fingers are feeling the freeze.
A comfortable place to work – You might have been more than comfortable during the spring and summer months lazing around in the living room with your laptop on your knees, but in winter it pays to consolidate your efforts into one room where the heating can be funneled effectively. Get a nice, comfortable and solid desk and a comfortable chair and you’ll find the winter months a lot easier to get through.
Dress for comfort – Just because you’re at work that doesn’t mean you necessarily need to be wearing your best suits and dresses. Men’s and women’s thermals are perhaps the uniforms we should be considering more openly as the cold nights bleed into the cold days. It’s certainly a more cost-effective option in the long-run than cranking up the central heating all day.
Refreshments – A coffee machine is perhaps one of the best investments you’ll ever make in your home office. The freedom of being able to reach over from your desk and instantly enjoy a piping hot cup of deli-quality coffee is quite liberating. Models such as the Nescafe Dolce Gusto range are also surprisingly affordable.
Trapping the heat – Staying warm will not only make you more comfortable working from home but will help you to retain focus and work longer and better too. So, if you have smart heating installed, try to focus the heating on the rooms you’ll actually be using and time it so that it’s at its apex during the middle of the day. That way you can let it tail off when you finish working and you won’t end up wasting energy.
