2022 seemed like the time to get back to the work. Tackling the morning rush to sit back in the office chair you abandoned months ago. For some there’s still hope that that plan will go ahead. But for others, their back to office plan for 2022 has been hit. And maybe hit hard. With the recent news of the new COVID variant, Omicron, office workers have been faced with the work from home conversations once again.
COVID-19 has bought confusion and disruption to peoples lives – and is still continuing to do so. Challenging any plans that might have been made for 2022. Not much is know about this variant, as of yet, but for a lot of home workers they know that continuing to work from home is very possibly the answer for 2022. Whether they created that answer themselves or that answer was given to them. However, working from home may have already been the plan for some in 2022 – with people getting into a routine. But we know for a lot of people their plan has been halted. So how can you make working from home just as productive as working in the office?
How To Work From Home Effectively
Working from home has been a tough change, with people itching to get back into the office. And with the recent news about a new variant, working from home may have reared a big black shadow hanging over you. Creating uncertainty, especially if that black shadow was just easing off.
There are many simple ways for you to be okay with working from home. An easy, and probably very obvious tip is to take breaks. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the breaks you would if you were in the office. When your time for lunch is coming up, take it. Staring at your screen all day is not good, for anybody. It not only puts a strain on your eyes but can put a strain on your productivity.
Another simple tip for working from home is to plan your day out. If you were always one to get into work with a pile of things to do, with no schedule for the day. Then this tip is for you. Take a few minutes in the morning, or if you’re super organised the day before, and plan out your day with the tasks you need to do. If you know you have something that is super important or a task that could take a long time to finish. Schedule it in for the morning. Making sure that you get the important tasks done first and giving yourself enough time to complete it. Without having to schedule in time for you to stress over a task that isn’t sorted.
Work From Home Equipment
As we said, this new variant has really swerved workers plans for 2022. But working from home can still be productive and effective. We know for pretty much everyone who was new to working from home, they did not have the right equipment. Or set up for that matter. Having a good working from home experience really depends on the equipment you have. At the start a laptop or desktop would’ve done its justice. But as time went on people have realised that you just needed more to be able to get the work done.
If you are thinking that now is a better time than ever to upgrade your working from home equipment, then these are our recommended equipment to get the best out of working from home.
Acer Chromebase 24V2 – Google Meet
With a 24″ touchscreen desktop, the Chromebase 24V2 is the perfect match for you working from home space. If you are one to always be on a call, nowadays a video call, this sleek designed desktop will not only look great in your home office but will hold great Google Meet meetings. Integrated with a 5.0 megapixel, wide angled camera, the Chromebase can easily upgrade your meetings. Giving you the highest quality Google Meet’s as if you were in the office. On a professional office set up. The 24″ touchscreen allows you to start, join meetings and open up the whiteboard – a display so easy to manage and use.
However, if anything does seem to go wrong with your Chromebase, the device includes 24/7 support from Google. Making it easy for you to get your 24V2 up and running without being shut off for hours. And taking precious work time out of your day.
Working along with the camera, the Chromebase has 2 integrated microphones and speakers. Giving you and your Google Meet participants the clearest audio of your voices. No more is the worry about having to buy microphones and speakers to accommodate your home office. Its an all-in-one device that looks professional, either sat on your desk or placed on your wall. With the help of the optional VESA mounting kit. It doesn’t mater if the Chromebase is placed on your desk or your wall, the device can still be tilted from -5° and 25°. Letting your adjust the Chromebase to how you want it – exceeding your wants and needs.
DTEN Me – Zoom
This 27″ touchscreen display will definitely upgrade your home office. If you have been one, of the many people, working from home since COVID began. Then now is the best time to update your equipment. Especially if working from home will roll on into next year. This all-in-one display is all you need to video conference and collaborate seamlessly. And it really is all-in-one. The DTEN Me has an integrated camera, microphone and speaker. Making it so simple to unbox the DTEN Me and get to work within minutes – with the display just needing to be placed on our desk. No mount needed.
However, the device does have an optional mount if you would prefer the display sat on your wall. The integrated smart camera produces a full HD quality image with a 160-degree field of view. So you’ll never have to worry about if you are in frame or not. No more going back and forth from your chair to the camera tying to get yourself into frame.
To upgrade your Zoom meetings further, the DTEN Me includes an interactive whiteboard for you to use within your meetings. Whether it’s a meeting to plan your 2022 or a meeting just to chat about a specific task. The whiteboarding feature can help with executing that meeting. You can share any files and documents with your meeting participants over your Zoom meeting – easily bringing another level of collaboration to your meeting. You can both either annotate on top of these shared files or use the whiteboard to share your ideas and plans in a creative way.
The integrated microphone array works well alongside the whiteboard. The DTEN Me is all about collaborating and with audio AI you can hear your colleague perfectly. The AI automatically reduces background noise to keep you and your colleagues voice the only thing being heard.
Poly P15 – Teams
You may not want to upgrade your equipment fully, but a change of camera can definitely make all the difference to your Teams meetings. The Poly P15 brings 4K video quality to your home office. Capturing everything your need to show with a 90-degree field of view. However you wont need to worry about manually adjusting the camera as the Poly P15 has automatic camera framing – easily adjusting to put you into frame. If the automatic framing isn’t your style, then you can manually move the camera with the Poly Lens app.
Along with automatic framing, the camera can pick up crystal clear audio. Being able to pick up your voice, and only your voice, with the Poly Noiseblock AI. This smart feature being able to block out any disrupting background sounds. So your children playing in the other room wont be heard on you Teams meeting – letting you stay professional. The camera can easily sit on top of your desktop with the included monitor mount. The set up simple so you can focus on whats important – your meeting. And not fiddling around with cables trying to connect your camera to your PC or Mac. The Poly P15 needing only a USB cable to connect and get to work.
A great part of the Poly P15, other than having a high quality camera, is that the camera has gentle health and wellness reminders built in to the Poly Lens app. The Poly Lens app is for controlling your camera with you being able to view your settings. However, Poly introduced health and wellness reminders into the app at the beginning of this year, giving you gentle reminders to take a break and hydrate. Furthermore, you can play relaxing soundscapes that can help improve your focus – making this camera a great addition for anyone working from home. Even though the camera is great for those work from home veterans, we believe that the Poly P15 is a great start for those heading back home to work.