Working from home has been one of the strongest employment trends of recent years. There are plenty of reasons for this, from more people choosing self-employment to companies going remote to reduce overheads. 

Working from home offers many benefits to those doing it, including no commute, more control over one’s time, and no micromanaging. But it poses some challenges too. Working at home can make it harder to separate work and home life, it can be harder to stay motivated, and any problems with technology will likely be your responsibility to fix.

To alleviate some of these problems and make the working-from-home experience overall more pleasant, there are a number of items you could invest in besides the standard desk, chair and laptop setup. Here are some of the most helpful. 

1. Backup power supply: An uninterrupted power supply unit will kick in and keep your PC and internet going even when the rest of your house loses power. This means that you don’t have to fear getting cut off during important meetings, getting in trouble for being unreachable, or suddenly losing unsaved work. 

There are plenty of options on the market and they need not take up much space. Use one to make sure your most critical devices stay on during emergencies.

2. Portable storage: If you’ve backed up your power, the next thing you will definitely want to backup is your work. This is going to be your responsibility if you’re working from home, but the good news is that if it’s just your own work then there’s probably no need to install an expensive server and cooler system. A simple flash drive or external hard drive will do the trick. Keep them encrypted and remove them at the end of your workday to keep the data on them secure. 

Backing up to the cloud is also an option but remember that anything saved there will require an internet connection to retrieve. 

3. A password manager: If you’re using your own devices to work from home, you’ve probably got a bit more freedom about what software you can install. This means you can add some programs that make your life a bit easier, such as a password manager. This is essentially a database that contains your login details for various websites and applications so that you can copy and paste them rather than type them out every time. All you have to enter is the password to unlock the database at the beginning of your work session. 

3. A convertible desk: One of the most common working from home tips is to make sure you are not sitting down all day, even though that might be what you would be doing in the office anyway. There are now many desks on the market where the height can be adjusted, meaning you can use them standing and sitting. Ideally, you would use it in both positions throughout your day. 

3. An umbrella with a clamp: Working from home doesn’t mean you need to be stuck indoors all day. 

If you’ve got a laptop, get out and enjoy the sunshine. Invest in an umbrella with a universal clamp that can be attached to chairs or benches so you can see your screen. 

• Technology