Setting up my home office...

Some stuff I use and recommend (updated Sept 2021)...

Nov 07, 2020

Messy kitchen table vs neat home office — Which one is more like your working from home space?

Mine’s more like the one on the left! I was recently asked by a friend of mine for some recommendations for stuff she might order to set up for WFH - working from home. So, if it helps her, maybe I thought, it might help you too!

So here’s a list of affordable stuff I would recommend to make all this Zooming and Teaming from home a bit easier… And as I write this, Black Friday isn’t too far away, so these items will probably be a bit cheaper than usual during that period!

My recent update to the home studio setup was a green screen. Using this makes using backgrounds far more professional, as you lose that horrible muzzy look around your head and shoulders with bits of your real background periodically making an appearance. It also reduces the load on your computer as replacing just the green behind you is less processor-intensive. The one I bought is easy to put up (takes me less than a minute), breaks down into a compact bag and is portable so it can be used anywhere you happen to be. This one is the NAQIER 80 Inch Portable Green Screen Backdrop with Stand + (£70) - https://amzn.to/3lEXGOX

A good quality videocam will make your Zoom calls so much clearer - the Logitech C920 is the one I would buy at the moment (£132 ) - https://amzn.to/38k5TCV
Laptop stand -I bought 3 of these! (£15 each) - https://amzn.to/3k5SdOb
Lavalier microphone with long wire (£27 ) - https://amzn.to/32mYHSQ
A small external USB speaker for your laptop. If the Lav mic takes up the 3.5 headphone socket you might need a USB one - this model for around £20 is good - https://amzn.to/3n5rl2T
If you have another 3.5” headphone port available then this model is also good at £25 - https://amzn.to/3n1zZz9
Wireless keyboard and mouse - (£25 ) - https://amzn.to/2GBtVxN
Desk lamp for video streaming - (I would get 2 of these, 1 for each side of the desk) - (£5.79 each) - https://amzn.to/3hOjk24
Few things will make a bigger difference to your well-being and comfort than using a decent office chair - this IntimaTe WM Heart Ergonomic Office Computer Chair came top in a recent survey and is only £85 - https://amzn.to/2JDUdAE
A big, high-quality second screen (cheapest way to get this is to buy a 4k TV and use the HDMI out from your laptop ). This 32” Philips one is under £200! - https://amzn.to/32pl2PD
If you get a TV a mount for the wall or desk is always good idea - I use this £18 VESA wall mount for my 42” TV/monitor - https://amzn.to/3l3kuWW
Headsets are great to help you focus and lose the distractions of other sounds in the home - here are 3 options:
Best budget USB headset - Koss SB45 (£50) - https://amzn.to/354BzKG
Best wireless headset (with USB plug-in transmitter & 6hr rechargeable battery life) - Logitech H800 (£115) - https://amzn.to/3n2D6XS
Best overall headset - Jabra Evolve 75 - 18 hrs battery life, USB wireless, active noise cancellation - £207 - https://amzn.to/36d1MWP
If you run a cable from your router to another room, you might then want more than one device able to plug into the wired network, so then you need a switch box to split the signal to multiple devices. I ran a cable into the kitchen, and now have a cable I can use for my laptop, but also one for Alexa, a Sonos speaker and the flat-screen TV on the wall. This little TP-Link 8 port switch is cheap at £20 and works like a charm stuck to the back of my TV on the kitchen wall… - https://amzn.to/2GIwQFa
Use an Ethernet cable to get best possible speeds for your Zoom calls and fix wifi dropouts - the flat type are less prone to getting damaged like this - a 20m one like this is £20 - https://amzn.to/2Iczsvu