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1. A 24-inch budget-friendly monitor in case working off just your laptop isn't cutting it anymore. It'll give you a much larger workspace and the ability to drag windows seamlessly between your connected laptop and monitor. Being able to reference multiple pages at once can have a major (positive) impact on your productivity — and it's much more comfortable than crouching over your MacBook every day.
It features a 75Hz refresh rate with 1080p resolution, making it suitable for casual gaming too. It has two HDMI ports — be sure to pick up a USB-C hub if you're planning to connect a MacBook (I've used this one for years and like it!).
Promising reviews: "The problem with this monitor is that it's a great mother for its price. So far I have two I use at home and I have three I use at work. I love the size of the screen and it's very easy to use with my docking stations. The speakers are not that good with them but then I wouldn't use monitor speakers anyway. I highly recommend this monitor if you want something that's dependable. I have had two of them for a few years now and they have followed me with two moves with no issues." —Eric R.
"Just set this monitor up, and so far it’s earned all five stars! It was easy to assemble, it’s compatible with my MacBook Pro (with a USB-C adapter), and the picture is great! I just wanted another monitor for when I work from home, so having something available that was affordable like this was perfect for what I needed." —Allison H.
Get it from Amazon for $89.97.
2. A slim laptop stand that'll raise your laptop and bring it closer to eye level, especially handy if you use it with a desktop monitor. This is better for the overall ergonomics of your setup, but it also ensures your laptop gets ventilation and doesn't overheat.
This stand fits any laptop from 10 to 15.6 inches and can be easily disassembled into three parts for easy transportation.
Promising review: "I needed a decent stand to use at work so that I could utilize my laptop as a third monitor. This works perfectly for that. It holds the laptop steady, there is no bounce to it, and it looks nice on my desk. It was also very easy to put together, took me under 5 minutes to set it up." —Jennifer Jacoby
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in 10 colors) — clip the coupon for $5 off this price.
3. A chic, waterproof desk mat — it's like a mouse pad, but wide enough for your keyboard or laptop to fit, too. It really helps tie your entire space together visually while also protecting your desk from scratches, stains, and spills.
Promising review: "This exceeded my expectation. Great mat, and such a pretty color. It looks great in my office." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $13.39+ (available in five color combinations and three sizes).
4. A keyboard cleaning gel, because when you WFH it's even more tempting to take lunch at your desk while continuing to work, which means there are likely tons of little crumbs building up between your keyboard keys, not to mention dust and grime. All you have to do is gently press this gel against the keyboard, and it'll pick up all the dirt and crumbs between your keys.
Promising review: "Working from home like a lot of people I eat at my desk. Crumbs were getting everywhere. Plus my cat loved to lay on my keyboard if I was using my laptop. It does such a great job of getting fur and crumbs up. I used a little bit at first because some of the reviews were saying it was sticking. But I didn't have that problem at all. It only now it's sticking to my keyboard and hands more. But that makes sense it's just a glob if junk. So much better than an air can. A must-have for all office desks." —Ashley
Get it from Amazon for $5.94.
5. A six-outlet wall charger and surge protector, which doubles as a night-light with a dusk-to-dawn sensor — it automatically turns on when ambient light in the area isn't enough to see. It's designed to handle those annoyingly bulky chargers, PLUS it has two USB fast-charging ports, meaning you can finally put an end to your daily routine of plugging and unplugging things underneath your desk.
Promising reviews: "Work from home must-have. I work from home so I have a lot of items plugged in to the two nearest outlets. This six-outlet with the two USB ports and night light is awesome! Should’ve bought another for the other wall!" —Megan H.
"I work from home in a small apartment, and this really made my setup work the way I want it to. I need to use all six plugs, plus I like to keep my phone and MiFi charging while working too. This was the perfect thing for me to get everything plugged in and essentially retrofitted into a built-in apartment wall desk setup that was intended for the large desktop towers of the late '90s. I’m ordering a second one in hopes it transforms another part of my weird floor plan. Bonus: The USB ports seem to fast charge my iPhone XS Max. I can go from dead to fully charged in about 90 minutes." —Moose
Get it from Amazon for $17.97.
6. A pair of blue-light–blocking glasses, because we all stare enough at our phone screens as it is without adding another eight hours of staring at our computer, with more time spent in video calls than interacting IRL with people when you WFH. These lenses protect you from blue light that can cause eye strain and headaches and even mess up your sleep cycle.
Promising review: "A must-have! I am a medical assistant who works a 9-5 job and half the time I am on the computer. I was having a headache that turned into a long lasting migraine for several days straight. My co-worker recommended blue light glasses. As soon as I received these, I wore them right away and i immediately noticed a huge difference with my headaches. Definitely recommend and the style is a plus, very cute!!" —Alize Dejesus
Get a set of two from Amazon for $16.99+ (available in 12 color combos).
7. A memory foam gel pad to provide ergonomic support for your wrists and avoid the aches and pains that come with typing at a computer all day, especially if you're just working on a laptop or slim keyboard. Seriously, once you get wrist pads, there's no going back.
It comes in two pieces — one you can prop in front of your keyboard, and the other in front of your mouse.
Promising review: "Must-have for working from home. Before covid, I had a similar set at my desk. After over one and a half years of working from home, I started to get wrist pain on the tops of my wrists and realized it was because I wasn't using a similar support. These have already helped alleviate some of the discomfort and will hopefully eliminate it entirely over time. Highly recommend if you're also working from home!" —Tammylynn130
Get it from Amazon for $11.98+ (available in 18 colors and without the mouse hand rest) — clip the coupon to get 10% off this price.
8. An adjustable foam footrest for placing under your desk, giving your feet a soft yet firm support. It essentially brings the floor to you, extremely helpful if you're on the shorter side and your feet don't easily lay flat on the floor! And if you tend to get restless throughout the day, you can flip it over and rock back and forth.
I've been using this particular footrest for well over a year now, and I can say I didn't realize how uncomfortable I was while sitting until I had this. I'm 5'3 and use the full height of this footrest to ensure my feet are completely supported, but you can remove the bottom part to adjust the height if needed. The velvety cover also comes off and can be tossed in the washing machine for easy cleaning.
Promising review: "Excellent product, really improves my home office setup. Great footrest, stays put and is very comfortable without being squishy like a pillow, which would just be annoying. Material is durable and does not absorb odors (NYC air is often stinky). Most important, it doesn't make my feet hot, even in the summer. Awesome product, a must-have especially when the coronavirus has made it necessary for many folks to work from home." —SophiaD
Get it from Amazon for $39.95 (available in four colors and two fabrics) — clip the coupon on the product page to get 5% off this price.
9. A Bluetooth speakerphone if you're still relying on your laptop speakers for video calls. This'll noticeably improve your audio by reducing background noise and enhancing your speech, and you'll hear your colleagues more clearly as well, making it an improvement for everyone involved.
You can also use this as a regular speaker for music and podcasts and the like, and hook it up using an AUX cord or an included dongle. Conveniently, it also has a button to mute and unmute yourself, so if you're using different video platforms (or your kid is online learning) it's easy to just mute yourself manually if you can't find the button right away on the screen.
Promising reviews: "A must-have for remote work. My remote working experience just got 1,000 times better. This little speaker was just what I needed to reduce background noise and make meetings more effective." —Cheryl
"Very convenient, great audio quality. Better than my MacBook. People were complaining about the noise from other things at home when using my MacBook, but this one cleared all the noise and my voice was crystal clear on the other end." —Uday Poosarla
Get it from Amazon for $74.99 (available in three colors) — don't forget to clip the coupon to save 20%.
10. A sturdy phone holder that makes it *so* much easier if you take video calls for work on your phone — or for taking those midday breaks to scroll TikTok. You can prop your phone up vertically or horizontally and keep it charging at the same time!
This holder also has grippy pads on the bottom so it doesn't slide around or scratch your desk!
Promising reviews: "A WFH must-have. This phone stand is wonderful to have on my desk while working from home. It would make a great stocking stuffer, too!" —Audrey McDonald
"I bought this for all of the Zoom meetings I was conducting at home. It works great! It’s very sturdy and allows me a good angle when speaking to clients. Would recommend." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $8.99 (available in seven colors).
11. A Rocketbook smart reusable notebook you can fill with handwritten notes, then blast them straight to your smart device for storage, wipe the pages clean, and start over. Not only will you be able to look back on them for your own reference, but it *also* means you'll be able to send notes from that important Zoom meeting directly to your boss as an attachment and look super organized.
Promising review: "My new work-from-home must-have. I am a big fan of handwriting notes. I have tried a few digital note taking solutions with the Apple Pencil, but it never felt 100%. This notebook bridges that gap. This notebook has been perfect to keep aside my keyboard to jot notes, to-dos, and reminders that I can then easily import to apps to track if I haven’t completed them by the end of the day. If you are a note-taker, I highly recommend you pick one up. I am already eyeing up the planner version." —Jonathan B. Fischer
Get it from Amazon for $25.69+ (available in two styles and 16 colors and patterns) — don't forget to clip the coupon to save 20%.
12. A super lightweight ergonomic lap desk for when you need to move the "office" to your couch or bed, because it's just one of those days. That said, it also works great at a desk, with an anti-slip wrist pad for comfort and to prevent your laptop from sliding down. Plus, a handy storage slot in the back is designed to prop up your phone or tablet.
Get it from Amazon for $39.99+ (available in four colors) — clip the coupon for $12 off this price.