Technology. We love it. We breathe it. We live it, even. There are so many pieces and parts to a home office that require or at least utilize technology properly. I personally use technology every day, all day. Well, maybe not all day, but I certainly use technology a significant portion of my day. As someone that works from home, I run social media channels, I write, I blog, I make YouTube, I work with small businesses in the e-commerce field, and I’m learning graphic design, pretty much all my work has technology involved in it.
The home office is my sacred place. It is where I do literally everything in my day. I study there. I work there. I breathe there. I exist there.
So, of course, I’ve taken a lot of thought and time into figuring out what is perfect for my home office. So, without a further ado, let’s get into the list.
1. A Laptop
Yeah, no kidding. You probably will need a laptop to do most work these days. I can’t think of a single thing nowadays that doesn’t require internet access. Even work needs the internet. Laptops are a wonderful way to connect with the internet. A phone is great, but laptops are significantly more versatile. Lots of programs really only work on the laptop. And even for programs that can work on both phone and laptop, I find that just having a keyboard and mouse/trackpad is just better.
MSI GS66 Stealth
The laptop I use is an MSI GS66 Stealth. It’s absolutely my favorite machine. It’s great for gaming and productivity, as it comes with an NVIDIA GPU, Intel Core i7 10th gen, 16 GB DDR4 RAM, and a whopping 1 TB of NVMe SSD. That’s a lot of storage and an SSD is significantly better than an HDD. I literally got three other people to get this laptop after they saw me use it, and they’re all very pleased with it. I can’t recommend it enough.
Macbook Pro
Another similarly good laptop that’s probably best for anyone in the design field and productivity would be the classic Apple Macbook. The M1 chip boasts some pretty heavy power. Not only that, but its display is gorgeous and it sports a great keyboard that’s excellent for typing. Macbooks are pretty much the commonly used one in the design world, so I recommend it for anyone in design.
2. A Keyboard
Yes, even if you have a laptop, I can’t stress enough how important it is to have an external keyboard. Mechanical keyboards are especially my favorite. As both an author and “gamer” (I’m not a fan of this word but I use it because there’s nothing easier to say instead lol), I need a good mechanical keyboard. There are tiers to good mechanical keyboards and whether or not you value aesthetics or speed. I value speed over aesthetics personally, but I’ve included a few keyboards I found on Amazon that are perfect in my eyes.
Logitech K380
The first one is the Logitech K380. I use this one on my iPad mostly, but it also works on phones, laptops, and Macbooks. It uses bluetooth and it’s slender, with great key feel and response. I top around 120 wpm when I use it, so I would say that it definitely provides speed. It’s not mechanical, but this is more for people that are looking for something portable and aesthetically pleasing. I use it in university as well, so I take it around everywhere with me. I got the pink one, but it comes in different colors like white and black.
Check out my unboxing on the K380
Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition
This is my main keyboard that I use on my desk for literally everything. I have the original purple switches one, but they don’t really sell that one as much as they do the red switches. Still, it uses the same technology so it’s about the same. The idea of infrared response makes typing faster, so I love using it as I can get over 120 wpm easy with this keyboard. This is an opto-mechanical one, so it doesn’t use metal in the switch. That’s why there’s infrared tech instead. It’s just awesome. Plus, it has programmable RGB by using Razer Chroma technology. It’s really cool to customize and have fun with.
Sades V2020 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo
I personally haven’t used this one, but I did some brief research when I was looking for iPad keyboards, and this one is ranked very highly in Amazon. Most of the reviews are positive and it provides a cool aesthetic and look to it. There are more than just pink, but my iPad is Rose Gold, so I basically looked for pink products at the time. It’s got a nice sound when typing from what I’ve seen and it looks pretty cool. Best part is that it’s got a great price tag too, especially since it comes with a mouse.
3. Mouse
Mice are super important in a home office. I’ve gone through several mice and have definitely found that the best are gaming mice if you’re looking for a full package in terms of usability. I’ve used just regular office mice before, but those are just not very good. If you want a responsive mouse that you can actually adjust the sensitivity for and get wide varieties of adjustments, then gaming mice are good. I’ve provided a quick list of three mice that I think are perfect for both gamers and regular office users.
Logitech Pebble
I’m starting this list off with one of my favorite office mice ever. The Logitech pebble is so good and aesthetically pleasing. I got it for my iPad and even made an unboxing video because of how much I liked the way it looked. It also works very well and its super quiet so if you want to browse the web at night or in a library, it’s not loud or noisy. It’s bluetooth, portable, and small enough to take literally anywhere. Can’t recommend this one enough.
Check out my unboxing on the Pebble
Logitech G502 Hero
This is a gaming mouse that provides a lot of functionality and is my favorite main mouse right now. I personally think Logitech is one of the best in peripherals out there, and I stand by that. A good portion of my home office has Logitech products. This mouse is the best for gaming and the best for functionality. It’s programmable, has weights that you can add and adjust for comfort, and its got some light RGB so that it doesn’t look like a rainbow threw up on it. It looks clean for sure. And intense. I love it.
Razer Pro Click Humanscale Wireless Mouse
As an avid Razer user, I was mostly concentrated on Razer gaming mice. However, Razer also has a productivity lineup. I know for some people that productivity peripherals are important and prefer a more white and sleek aesthetic. If that’s you, then the Razer pro click is a wonderful option. It provides productivity coupled with Razer’s powerful and sleek technology.
4. Mouse Pads
Mice work best on a mouse pad. A smooth, fabric surface that goes on top of the desk’s surface. Trust me, you don’t want to skip this part of the office setup. Here are a few I found on Amazon that are great. I won’t be going too much in depth with these, as mouse mats/pads are pretty self-explanatory.
Simple and Sleek Option
RGB Option
Large and Aesthetically Pleasing Option (Colors available)
5. Monitor
If you own a PC or a laptop, you’ll probably be aware of monitors. A monitor is most likely the best investment you’ll make for your setup. Having multiple screens or at least one very large screen is easier to work with, makes multitasking simpler, and allows for better productivity. Sure, a 15″ screen is nice and all, but having a large 20+” screen is significantly nicer to work with.
Asus TUF Gaming Monitor
This one is pretty good and it matches the one I own. I personally like the large screen size and the fact that this is one of the more affordable gaming monitors on Amazon. It boasts a support for up to 165hz, which is great. It also has FreeSync, which is great for gaming. It’s also great for productivity while still supporting games, which is why I like using it. Best part is, it’s on sale 20% off as of when this article was posted.
LG Ultragear
This is a more expensive option, but also great. It only supports up to 144hz, but LG monitors are known for being great in the monitor world. This one has NVIDIA G-Sync instead, so if you’re a user of NVIDIA GPUs, this one might be a preferable option. However, it’s compatible with AMD FreeSync, so it doesn’t really make a difference in that aspect.
The Craziest Option I can Give you Honestly
I know some of you out there really like crazy tech for some reason and I can’t blame you. I like tech, but this monitor is absolutely wild. I mean, it’s like a bunch of monitors but it’s all in one so it’s one really frickin’ big monitor. It’s 49 inches and boasts an impressive 240hz refresh rate (it is a really nice refresh rate to have), NVIDIA G-Sync/AMD FreeSync, QLED screen, oh and it’s curved. It’s a behemoth of a monitor. I’m not sure who needs this, but yeah, I’m throwing it on here for no reason.
Conclusion
This list turned out to be longer than I expected, so I will be making a part 2 for this. Stay tuned. For right now, what tech essentials do you think a home office desk should have?
Don’t forget to rest, relax, and take some time to care for yourself.
Also, remember to check out my new book!