Whether you work in a huge corporate office space or your basement doubles as your workplace, there are always ways to optimise that space by making it more functional and productive. Here’s a list of gadgets and devices that can save the workday and make every job easier and more pleasant.
1. USB Coffee Warmer
While this USB coffee warmer won’t directly affect your productivity, it will keep your coffee warmer for longer, and the benefits of drinking coffee include memory retention and alertness. You can pick one up from Cool Things Australia for $14.99 plus shipping and kiss cold coffee goodbye, once and for all!
2. Smart Lighting
If your office lacks natural light and sometimes needs help from electricity, you might want to check out smart light bulbs. Some models connect to your smartphone and let you turn them on and off, regulate the strength of the light and even change colour!
You can also set a timer for automatic turn-offs (if you’re one of those people who never know if they hit the off switch or not).
Another cool function some models have is their ability to read your GPS coordinates and turn on when you’re about to enter your office.
3. Improved Note Taking
If you’re old school and love to take notes by hand, this is a gadget for you. Smart pens automatically capture your notes and turn them into digital files that you can share with your colleagues or clients.
Your tablet or smartphone can also record audio as you write to capture any information you miss.
4. Wireless Printing
Every big office has a printing and scanning station, but if you work from home, you might not have money and space to buy professional-grade electronics. However, you don’t have to waste time on visiting your nearest printing location.
Get an all-in-one printer, scanner and copy machine. It’s best to choose a wireless model that will let you print from any device and from anywhere in your home, like this Canon Pixma Home Wireless Inkjet available from Officeworks for under $70.
And if you love to have your office clean and organised, invest in a neat little label maker to label all your filing cabinets, binders, envelopes and even food in the company fridge! Just make sure to always have some extra Dymo labels on hand!
5. Do Something Good For Your Health
Sitting in the office chair for a good portion a day is bad for your back, neck and overall health. However, since this is something you have to do, you can at least try to fix and improve your posture.
The UPRIGHT GO smart posture trainer attaches to your back via a special hypoallergenic adhesive sticker and gives you a little vibrating reminder every time you start to slouch.
Each device comes with 5 adhesives, giving you about two weeks of use each, with replacement strips available.
Some people report significant improvements in their postures after only two weeks of training!
So, make your office time more enjoyable and productive with these useful gadgets that will save you time, money and aches during long hours on the job. Some of these can also be used in your private time, making them versatile investments for both work and play.
Author Bio: Catherine is a passionate home design consultant from Melbourne. She loves making homes beautiful and buildings sustainable. She shares her advice and knowledge as a regular contributor to the Smoothdecorator blog. In her downtime, she loves reading and enjoys the occasional superhero movie. Follow Catherine on Facebook and Twitter for more great workplace tips like this!