We're entering a new phase of theCOVID-19pandemic. Entire companies remain remote and employees may not return to their office buildings until next year, at the earliest. But many of those who are fortunate enough be able towork from homeare still optimizing their home office set ups.
Most of us atZDNethave worked from home for years. I moved out of my office in early 2002 and have worked from home ever since. We have a lot of experience not only in the migration to working from home but what it takes to set up an optimal working environment. In the past few weeks, I've shareda build that should get you a functional office for $312and a more comprehensive build that provides a ratheroptimized home office for under $1,000.
This article raises the bar. Rather than trying to keep the budget under $1,200, I picked items that I believe can truly optimize productivity. This article is meant either for someone who can afford a more aggressive purchase or for someone already working at home part-time who needs to upgrade to be able to work at home full time. There are definitely more expensive options out there, and there are less expensive. What's presented here are really good options that should serve you during these trying times.
This is an update from an article originally published in March. I also updated the other two work-from-home product lists. What's interesting is that I found substantial price increases on nearly all the items in the sets of lower-priced goods. While there have been some price jumps in this premium set, there are also some price drops. Perhaps we're seeing a trend where lower-priced items are going up, but premium items can't sustain or don't need a price increase.
Disclosure:ZDNet may earn an affiliate commission from some of the products featured on this page. ZDNet and the author were not compensated for this independent review.
Depending on your work style, there are many other items that could help you out. Because I do so many broadcast and DIY projects, I have a mixer, a sound interface, all sorts of audio and video control surfaces, a green screen, and a bunch of 3D printers. In future articles, I'll go into how to trick out some of the video options.
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If you're interested in a 3D printer, check outmy guide to 3D printers. About half of them were meant for shared office use, but there are a number of great machines on that list you can bring into your home.
Beyond that, all I can say is stay safe. We're all in this together and I think I can speak for all of us here atZDNetwhen I say I wish you all the best in these trying times. If you're working from home or trying to make it work and have questions, feel free to post below. If you've got yourself successfully set up, let us know below how you're doing and what you did to make it work.
Hang in there, folks!
You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at@DavidGewirtz, on Facebook atFacebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram atInstagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube atYouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
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