10 Great Home Office Accessories

I worked in one downtown Boston office or another for most of my adult life until I was lucky enough to land a job working from my own home.

Working out of the home presents several benefits, such as being home with the kids more and saving money on my commute. Instead of waking to ride the commuter rail with a couple hundred other sleep-deprived travelers, I could sleep in a bit (read: another two hours!) and when I got to work, it was an environment over which I had complete control.

Along with these benefits came some obstacles. For instance, the pens and pencils I always filched from the supply closet where now like gold, and my family marauders! The paper my daughter was scrawling her (albeit treasured) drawings on was now something upon which I depended for my notes. Supplies were suddenly extremely limited.

I realized I would need many other things to facilitate my new job. There were things I knew I needed off the bat, but there were also things I realized I needed later on in the game.

My work day is never les s than eight hours, frequently even longer, and my time is spent sitting in front of the computer.

It is vitally important that you have a chair that is comfortable and ergonomic, or you will find that instead of walking, your mode of manual transportation would be better described as shambling.

Find yourself a computer chair with a high back and adjustable lumbar support. Remember, you are going to spend the majority of your waking hours for the foreseeable future planted in this chair, it had better be comfortable and healthy for you to sit in!

For a review of computer chairs see: Finding the Best Ergonomic Reclining Computer Chair.

Image credit: sxc.hu/mzacha

Working out of the home has become viable mostly because of the Internet. It is what connects you to your company's office, your online banking information, your vendors, your utilities and your clients. You are obviously not going to be working at home pounding away on a typewriter, walk down to the post office with your finished product, and then wait by the phone for a few days for the recipient to call with comments.

Having the Internet in your home office is a must. A router with wireless capabilities will afford you the option of taking your laptop into the kitchen while you are on coffee break, over to the couch, or out onto the porch to enjoy the weather.

See also: Wireless N Buyer's Guide to Choosing a Router.

Image credit: commons.wikimedia.org/Ysangkok