Elsa

As is true for so many, the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic marked a huge change in my day-to-day life: My tiny 400-square-foot apartment, which had just enough room for a loveseat, a small table, and a folding chair‚ suddenly became my home office. This unconventional setup seemed bearable when we all thought the confinement would last for a few weeks—a couple of months, tops—but obviously it’s taking far longer to get back to how things used to be before 2020. Luckily, my lease was up in just a few months, and moving into a new, larger space allowed me to rethink my work-from-home setup. And it turns out many of my coworkers here at The Muse were on the same page. Most of us were adjusting to working 100% remotely for the first time—and in finding ways to make ourselves comfortable and stay productive long term, we discovered products that made a huge difference. Here are 17 things that made our work-from-home lives easier in 2020—and may help you live your best WFH life, too, in 2021 and beyond (though I hope at some point it’s more of a choice than a necessity!). Looking for general work-from-home tips? Read more here.   1. A Computer Monitor Back in the office, we were all used to working on large computer monitors (in some cases, double monitors) rather than plugging away on 13-inch laptops. During the pandemic, many on our team were eager to recreate this setup at home. “I had never really worked from home before. Once the work-from-home order occurred, I cleared off my desk and figured it would be good to have a second screen like I had in the office,” says Peenak Inamdar, Senior Director of Engineering at The Muse. After researching online reviews on Wirecutter and YouTube, he decided on a 4K monitor (which offers more pixels per inch, or higher resolution, than an HD display) to use as a second screen. “My laptop is still my primary screen—the new monitor is really used for when I need more real estate like when I’m working on big spreadsheets.” In January 2020, Travis Sanders, Data Engineering Manager at The Muse, upgraded his home office with a wide-screen monitor and a proper desk chair, both of which became all the more essential when the pandemic started. “The monitor especially has been indispensable during this whole thing,” he says. “As an engineer, more screen space means less minimizing and shifting windows when I'm switching between various software I use throughout my day. I purposefully bought a very wide monitor for this reason.”   2. A Desk There are all kinds of desks to choose from nowadays—from L-shaped to wall-mounted. You can even use a C-shaped end table by your couch as a laptop desk (as I like to do to enjoy the open living room space). It all depends on how much room you have and the type of layout you prefer. Regina Borsellino, an editor at The Muse, recently switched her corner desk—which forced her to face her walls for hours on end—to one that allowed her to make better use of the space in her apartment and have a nicer view. “With my new desk, I’m able to see more of the room peripherally while I’m working and, importantly, the windows, so that I’m getting some form of natural light.”  For Sean Kielar, a sales development representative at The Muse, a standing desk was the ideal home office setup to recover from a recent back injury. “I knew standing throughout the day would be beneficial,” she says. “I still have issues with my back and sitting or laying all the time makes it worse.” After researching options on Amazon, Wayfair, and Overstock.com, Kielar found one for about $100 that she could place on top of the desk she already had at home. “It definitely helps to have products that allow for strength and posture training, and anything that is ergonomically friendly will benefit me in the long term,” she says.   3. A Laptop Stand Not everyone has the room for a sophisticated setup with a desk and monitor at home (I sure didn’t). If you’ll be using your laptop as your main computer, a laptop stand is the key to turn any table into an ergonomic workspace. It elevates the screen to eye level, which helped me with my terrible posture.   4. External Keyboard and Mouse Whether you opt for a fancy big-screen monitor or prop up your laptop on a stand (or both), the external keyboard and mouse combo will make it easier to work comfortably for a prolonged period of time. It’s also good to have an external keyboard on hand in case your laptop goes haywire (as it’s most likely to do right before a big deadline, of course). “I needed a keyboard literally to get my job done,” says Brooke Katz, a senior editor at The Muse. “I was using a laptop with a spacebar that didn’t work—not very conducive to being productive while editing and writing all day long!”  Looking for work-from-home tech tips? Read more here.   5. An Office Chair A comfortable desk chair goes a long way toward WFH happiness, as Katz learned when she grew tired of working from her wooden dining chair. She pored over online research to understand what to look for in an office chair (the main takeaway is that it should be adjustable—armrests, seat height, and lumbar support) and found an affordable option at Staples. “The chair is a lot more comfortable and I’m able to sit for longer stretches without my back and butt hurting,” she says. “Though I do still get up a lot to walk around and stretch during the day.”   6. ...or a Seat Cushion This is the best budget alternative to buying a whole new chair. When Kielar was researching standing desks, she also looked into a versatile cushion that could provide back support when she switches from standing to sitting. “It’s great because it’s comfortable to sit on, helps you to maintain a good posture while sitting, takes up way less space than a full exercise ball, and allows for other core training—I stand or kneel on it while I’m working sometimes to strengthen my ankles and core,” she says. The cushion is also useful on the couch, Kielar says. “I enjoy the ability to find comfort in different environments throughout the week.” Looking for more tips for ergonomic work-from-home setup? Read more here.   7. A Foot Rest This is an ergonomic must-have, according to Muse Content Marketing Manager Kayla Ellman, who purchased a footrest to help with her posture. “I waited so long to invest in anything new because the pandemic has been so unpredictable,” she says. “But after seven months, I realized it was worth it because we are still going to be working from home for a while.” Ellman found a lot of options at various price points, and chose a foam footrest with a washable cover from Amazon. The biggest selling point was that it’s adjustable, so she could add or remove a few inches of height to ensure it was just right for her. She’s noticed a big difference: “When I actually sit with my feet planted on the foot rest, my back feels a lot better! It has helped me sit up straight more naturally and not hunch over my laptop,” she says.   8. A Webcam Cover This one is a no-brainer now that our professional and personal lives are happening all in the same square footage. Many of us already had Muse-branded webcam covers on our work laptops, but I also purchased one for my personal laptop and sent them as gifts to family members. The ability to swipe the cover on and off gives me a moment to prepare before a call, and it’s an extra safeguard (along with turning off your video) to minimize any accidental on-camera moments in front of coworkers.   9. Noise-Canceling Headphones Even when you’re working from home, good noise-canceling headphones are a worthy investment if you have to share space with others. Stav Ziv, a senior editor at The Muse, made the case pre-pandemic for why it’s worth splurging on a pair of your own for work and other settings. “I was initially dismissive about schmancy noise-canceling headphones,” she wrote. She discovered that they truly helped tamp down any noise and chatter around her at the office so that she could really focus—even without playing any music. She also found that the headphones send a strong signal to others that they’re serious about getting work done without any distractions. “I was wrong though, and I hereby declare that I have been converted to Team Noise-Canceling Headphones.” These days, you may not be trying to drown out the sounds of your coworkers in an open-plan office, but headphones can help you get in the zone if your roommate’s talking loudly, if you can hear your neighbors through the walls, or if there’s ongoing construction outside your window.   10. A Coffee Subscription In the pre-pandemic days, our team stayed properly caffeinated thanks to the nearby coffee shops as well as our steady supply of cold brew and K-Cups in the office. When we started working from home, some of us took advantage to upgrade our personal coffee stash. I, for one, missed our office cold brew so much that I signed up to get a five-liter box of it delivered twice a month.  In the case of Nicolette Finder, Sales Growth Specialist at The Muse, she quickly figured out what she needed to sustain her three-cups-a-day lifestyle. In April, she signed up for a coffee subscription that delivers a bag of whole beans once a month. “It was a necessity from the start—coffee is my most important meal of the day,” she says.   11. A Coffee Grinder and Machine Along with her monthly coffee subscription, Finder bought a grinder and coffee machine that can make up to 12 cups of coffee at a time. “Before…I had to make at least two batches of French press coffee per day,” she says. “In my opinion, that was a waste of coffee grounds and too much work during busy work-from-home days.” Finder bought a programmable coffee machine at Target for just $25, and now sets it up the night before so she can have a fresh-brewed cup ready and waiting for her every morning. “It also reminds me of going into the office,” she says. “I’d always grab a coffee or make coffee before sitting down at my desk which allows me to get right to work—no distractions first thing in the morning.”   12. A Mug Warmer Another accessory that has made WFH better: a mug warmer to keep your cup hot all day, whether you’re drinking coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. Dani Gibbs, Accounting Analyst at The Muse, purchased one online after a friend recommended it. “I would get so busy with work that I would forget about my coffee and it would be gross and cold so I would have to make a new one,” she says. No more. Now she can set her cup on the warmer and sip throughout the day without any lukewarm (or just plain cold) surprises.   13. Scented Candles Many of us remote work first-timers have had to learn the hard way how important it is to separate our on and off hours so we don’t overwork ourselves and get burnt out. For Karen Nissim, Social Media Coordinator at The Muse, splurging on fancy scented candles to change the aroma in her room did the trick. “Now that the days feel blended, it’s a nice way to treat myself and break up the day,” she says. “When I’m working I burn Auraflowne by Overose: It’s citrusy, which I read can help with alertness. It also just makes me happy. When I’m not working, I like to burn Narguile by Diptyque—it kind of smells like parties to me, which feels nostalgic now.”   14. Blue-Light-Blocking Glasses After months of remote work, Samantha Denoncour, HR Generalist at The Muse, was dealing with frequent headaches and vision problems that were affecting her work. “I knew I needed to find a resolution because I am very detail-oriented and I was missing numbers or making small errors,” she says. She decided to try blue-light-blocking lenses, though she didn’t buy into the hype about them at first. “Once my eyes were really bothering me, I became open to any suggestions— and they’ve made a world of difference,” she says. While experts say there is no need to buy special glasses for computer use, these coated lenses have become an increasingly popular trend among eyewear companies, from direct-to-consumer brands like Warby Parker to international retailer LensCrafters. Denoncour found an inexpensive non-prescription pair on Amazon that she could wear with her contact lenses, and later asked her eye doctor to have her regular glasses coated with blue light resistance. “Any symptom I was having of eye irritation or fatigue has gone away.” Looking for tips to get your screen time under control during the pandemic? Read more here.   15. A Dry-Erase Board If you love jotting down your to-do lists, a dry-erase board is a good way to stay organized and on top of your workload. While upgrading her desk setup, Borsellino also bought a small dry-erase board she keeps by her monitor to write down quick notes (along with a second laptop charger—“I also obtained a slight online shopping problem,” she says.) Sanders bought a dry-erase board for his home office, too, and it has (mostly) replaced his need for notebooks. With the board set up by his desk, Sanders can keep track of the tasks he absolutely needs to get done by the end of the day. “I always read the board before closing my laptop for the night to make sure I didn’t miss anything,” he says. “When something is finished, just erase it!” His pro tip for neater writing: “Get the finest tipped dry-erase markers you can find!” Sanders says.   16. A Tablet Even with his new laptop-and-monitor setup at home, Inamdar recently splurged on an iPad for added flexibility. “It’s about being able to physically move myself during the day or in the evenings, still get some light reading done, while being able to sit next to my family instead of feeling chained to my desk,” he says. An added bonus is the iPad’s scribble feature with the pencil (which turns handwriting to typed text). “Being able to put searchable notes directly into Evernote is a big win,” Inamdar says.   17. Bonus (When Inanimate Objects Aren’t Enough): A Furry Coworker One of the hardest parts of the pandemic has been the isolation and lack of social interaction, especially for folks who live alone. However, having a pet at home has been a huge consolation to many of us at The Muse. Our team was already an animal-friendly bunch, with Slack channels dedicated to showing off our fur babies. But in this new reality of remote work, our pets are who we spend most of our time with, and they have become honorary coworkers in a way. (I mean, whose dog or cat hasn’t sat in on at least one of their Zoom meetings?) Some of us even took advantage of this time to bring a new pet into our homes. Borsellino was inspired to adopt her dog, Cleo, who constantly reminds her to spend more time outside and take breaks throughout the day. “On a five-minute break, instead of automatically looking at my phone or another screen, I can pet my dog and that makes us both happy,” she says. “It also gives me someone to talk to—even if she doesn’t quite get it when I talk about work.” Source https://www.themuse.com/advice/best-accessories-things-you-need-to-work-from-home

If you’ve been working remotely for any amount of time, chances are you’ve experienced some kind of “Zoom fatigue.” We probably don’t need to explain it to you, but just in case: The phrase Zoom fatigue refers to “an overall sense of being drained after a long day of assorted video meetings,” says Tammy Allen, a professor and the director of industrial-organized psychology at the University of South Florida. The phenomenon isn’t specific to Zoom, a video conferencing platform that quickly evolved into an eponymous noun—and, for some, even a verb—referring to any kind of video meeting. Whether it’s Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, or any other kind of virtual conferencing, spending your working hours on these platforms can be an energy suck. A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology pinpointed factors such as lack of belonging and late-in-the-day meetings as major contributors to Zoom fatigue. “We had participants respond to hourly surveys over the course of five days,” says one of the study authors, Emily Campion, who’s an assistant professor of management at Old Dominion University. “We have strong evidence that the meetings cause fatigue.” There are a number of specific aspects of video conferencing that led to exhaustion, according to a study published in the journal Technology, Mind, and Behavior by Jeremy Bailenson, a communication professor at Stanford University. They are (feel free to nod your head knowingly): the consistent (and unnaturally close-up) eye contact; the cognitive load associated with trying to connect without many of the non-verbal cues we use in person and attempting to interpret body language through the screen; the consequences of staring at yourself all day; and, finally, the lack of physical movement. It’s not all bad news, though. There are several ways to prevent Zoom fatigue from ruining your day. Since remote and hybrid work setups are here to stay, it’s worth trying out at least a few of these strategies to reduce the Zoom gloom. 1.  Stop Looking at Yourself (and Everyone Else) We’re not used to staring at our own faces while presenting or even just chatting with colleagues in a meeting. This new normal can “make individuals more self-conscious,” Allen says, adding that managing our expectations around our appearances is just another thing that’s boggling our brains, leading to fatigue. And we're just not accustomed to making eye contact with groups or seeing people's faces so close up for extended periods of time. Doing so can certainly zap you of energy—and it can also be a physical strain on the eyes, Allen says. The fix for this is pretty simple: You can play with the settings of your video platform to make sure you’re not visible to yourself (on Zoom, for example, you’d click “Hide Self View”), or you can minimize the platform entirely. Even if your company expects you to be on video, you can still just listen to the conversation without staring at faces (your own or anyone else’s!). 2.  Get Your Zooms in Early Campion’s research found that people who had video meetings scheduled later in the day felt more fatigued. So it could be beneficial to meet this way earlier in the day, and try to get your company on board, too. Of course, with varying time zones, an early morning Zoom may not always be possible. Focus on doing it when you can, Campion says. 3.  Use the Mute Button “You’re on mute!” may have become the most common expression of our time—and while it might elicit jokes about why we’re still having to use it after so many months of practice with remote work, reminding people to turn on their mics is less depleting than being in a constant state of worry about disruption coming from your remote space. Much of remote work is happening in our homes, which we share with partners, kids, and animals that lack proper tech etiquette, and there’s a lot for us to balance cognitively. Video conferencing is “a little bit of an invasion of privacy,” Allen says. “You’re inviting your colleagues into your home...and if you’re speaking and your child starts yelling, ‘Mommy!’ in the background, well, that’s something very different from having an in-person meeting in the office.” In a sense, this all amounts to an involuntary blending of church and state. Campion says her team’s research found that the mute button helped folks control some of the chaos, which lessened feelings of fatigue. “If you use mute, you’re less likely to be monitoring the space around you,” she says. “You can make a noise, my cat can be off yelling—my cat really yells.” 4.  Don’t Default to Video When a video chat could be an email (or text or phone call), make it one. Video conferencing for a quick question requires formalities that communicating with non-visual tools do not: You might have to straighten up your space, put on a bra, brush your hair, or engage in small talk that, in some cases, can feel like a chore. Allen says we should all feel comfortable pushing back on video requests, especially when they’re one-on-one meetings. When you’re asked to join what may seem like a needless video call, ask if you can switch to an alternative form of communication. And if you’re the one scheduling the meeting, well then go ahead and choose the road less traveled. It might even be helpful to have a bigger discussion with your boss or team. You could say something like, “I’m finding that I feel particularly exhausted when I have several video calls set up in one day, and I’d like to see if cutting back could help.” Or you might suggest something like, “Can we experiment with mixing in some video meeting alternatives and see how they work for us?" This way, your colleagues will know where you’re coming from, and may even want to join you in la résistance. 5.  Suggest Zoom-Free Days If you and your colleagues are on the same page—too much video conferencing is the pits—maybe it’s time to institute some Zoom-free days. It wouldn’t be unheard of: Citibank, for example, recently instituted a ban on Friday Zooms to help its employees recover from fatigue. Easing up on the video calls could benefit your whole office. If you don’t feel you’re in the position to suggest this out of the blue, you might first poll a few coworkers you’re close with and gauge their interest in implementing such a policy. If you find there’s support for Zoom-free days, you could raise the idea with your manager during a one-on-one meeting, citing companies like Citibank and resources (ahem, this article) that suggest too much video conferencing can deplete employees. Hopefully, your manager will commend your proactive approach and want to team up with you. 6.  Agree Upon Some Basic Etiquette Part of what’s so exhausting about meeting on Zoom is that you don’t really know what your colleagues are going to be doing until you show up. Ever hop into a video call only to see you’re the only one on camera? It can feel pretty awkward. To alleviate some of this discomfort, you and your colleagues might want to work on a few Zoom standards. These can differ from meeting to meeting: Maybe you write in the calendar invite whether cameras are necessary or not. You (and your colleagues) might even develop a kind of Zoom manifesto for your team or company, in which you can focus on some of the other points on this list: Request earlier meeting times, avoid certain days entirely, promote the mute button, and more. When you’re all on the same page, it’ll be easier to communicate, as many of the hiccups that make these meetings slow and uncomfortable will be accounted for. All of this will design meetings that run more efficiently, while helping to mitigate any anxiety, confusion, and the fatigue these might cause. 7.  Take a Break—and Move Around Taking breaks at work has always been important—for both your health and your productivity. Now, getting some time away from the computer during the day is critical since you don’t have built-in breaks. When working in an office setting, you at least moved from the conference room to your desk, Allen says, and often people could stand up during these meetings to stretch. Video meetings have a way of constraining your mobility, since staying in the video frame means remaining in place. One way to fight this? Turn the camera off so you can stand or fit in a few lunges during the meeting. Squeezing in short bursts of movement throughout your day will help you feel more energized and give your eyes, body, and brain a much-needed break. 8.  Find Ways to Foster Connection With Your Coworkers Remote workers say that “the lack of interaction with coworkers” is one of the worst parts of the deal, Allen says. While we may “see” our coworkers every day through video, it’s impossible to replicate the same connection and closeness of physically working together. A subtle side-eye to your work BFF, for example, just can’t translate via Zoom, Allen says. “That energy cannot be captured over a video meeting.” For some people, video meetings can “serve as a reminder of what we’re missing,” she says. The longing accumulates as we continue to meet through video, and it can be plain exhausting. Campion agrees that connecting with the people you’re meeting with can be difficult and often feels “transactional,” which is why she says it’s so important to find ways to feel close. In larger meetings, this may not be possible or useful, but in smaller department meetings, she suggests those putting in an extra effort to “create camaraderie and coherence in a team.” Try to incorporate small strategies into each meeting you organize and encourage others to do the same. The exact approach will look different at every company: Some might be game for sharing an “apocalypse meal” to mimic the connection you share when eating lunch together in the cafeteria. Others may start off a certain recurring meeting with different icebreaker questions each time so people can get to know one another better. And who says there can’t be special bring-your-dog-to-work meetings? Anything you can do to make folks feel like they belong will help make these meetings just a little less exhausting.