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The Top 5 Home Office Tech Upgrades for 2022
Working from home has become a permanent reality for many professionals, MLOs included. Luckily, in the 21st century, there are now plenty of gadgets and gizmos to help you add a degree of modernity, style, and comfort to your home office. From ergonomic keyboards to user-friendly voice assistants, here are our top 5 home office tech upgrades for 2022.
Speakers or headphones
Whether you spend your days blasting motivational music or sitting through meetings, odds are your laptop speakers are no longer cutting it. Research shows that music can positively impact our productivity, with two out of every five adults citing playlists as their source of energy in getting more done. Plus, with sharing spaces necessitated in recent years, tending to your audio could help further segment work life from home life.
The best speakers for working from home include wireless options, so you can benefit anywhere, Microsoft Teams-certified tech, and the very best budget picks. Headphones, on the other hand, often come down to personal preference. Regardless of taste, opt for something comfortable and, if you’ll often be on camera, perhaps a bit more aesthetically pleasing. Bonus points for noise-canceling capabilities.
Soft task lighting
Gone are the days of in-office fluorescent lighting. This year, give your eyes a break and invest in a calming desk light. After all, a well-lit workspace can promote activity, fight depression, reduce eye strain, and improve performance.
While the three main types of lighting (ambient, accent, and task) are equally important in a home office, most workspaces will primarily require improved task lighting, or the focused, directed illumination that yields productivity. This means that you should focus on track lighting, recessed lighting, and desk lamps. If you already have fixtures you love, consider simply installing some smart bulbs.
A virtual assistant
Speaking of smart, investing in tech to accomplish those lower-effort tasks can make all the difference this year. Voice assistants are now the top smart home feature and are expected to be in 555 million homes by 2024.
Apple and Amazon are two of the most popular makes, with Amazon’s Alexa accounting for a staggering 62% of the voice assistant market. If you’d like to branch out, though, there are plenty of new and exciting options to try in 2022.
Looking to infuse personal assistance into loan processing? Check out wemlo℠, we offer third-party processing services and are continually expanding the list of loan products we support.
Ergonomic keyboard and mouse
How much time do you spend typing, scrolling, and clicking each and every single day? And how much thought have you given to your keyboard and mouse? Making the small change to something more sleek, modern, and comfortable will have a big impact.
The ideal keyboard will sit at or below elbow level, so your wrists are straight as you type. Bonus features include wireless capability, a split design, elevating feet, and a padded wrist rest. An ergonomic mouse, on the other hand, will minimize movement, reduce wrist strain, and streamline everyday tasks through a vertical design, the addition of a trackball, or a pen-like form.
An external monitor
If you haven’t yet invested in a larger monitor, it’s time to give your eyes a break. Larger screens can reduce eye strain, ease multitasking, and promote productivity. Plus, it’s always nice to have a second screen available when sitting through Zoom meetings! Modern takes on the monitor include movable arms, curved screens, and even wireless capabilities. You’ll want to do some research relating to your specific needs and preferences, but there’s sure to be something within the budget that can help make working from home a breeze.
Whether you opt to tweak the lighting or the ergonomics, a few small investments in tech can overhaul your home office this year. Experiment with one or more of these high-tech tools to infuse comfort and style, streamline business, and potentially even provide better service. If you’re looking to really transform and accelerate your business, check out the ultimate broker-centric digital lending and services platform, wemlo℠.
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