Working From Home? These Simple Purchases Can Help – SFGate

I legitimately did spend a few days working from a beach in the Maldives earlier this year, and have also worked across the world in airports, museums, cafes, apartments, and boats. As much as I love home, I also love the freedom to be able to travel and work from anywhere to suit my schedule. But it wouldn’t be possible without a few key gadgets that come everywhere with me.

A long charging cable

A looooong charging cable seems obvious, but also seems like an unnecessary purchase you already have one perfectly good cable. Don’t be fooled! A good, long cable is an investment. You’ll reap the benefits for years to come, and you’ll quickly realise after taking four phone calls or typing emails the whole morning from your phone that a normal charging cable has two problems. Firstly, you’re not always going to be able to sit or stand near a power outlet. Secondly, even if you are near an outlet, being able to move exactly 10 cm in each direction quickly gets limiting. Even in the Maldives, where all you really want to do is sit in one spot with a drink and occasionally go for a swim.

An adaptor

Secondly, you’ll need to make sure you can actually power all your devices, be they phones, laptops, or tablets. Which means you’ll need an adaptor which works almost everywhere in the world (seriously, it covers over 150 countries) and can charge up to six devices at a time. Then you pair that with a powerbank which powers literally everything, including ethernet cables, ports for external monitors, and more “standard” ports for your phone and so on. Now, you basically have the perfect power duo, so you’ve always got enough juice to check your emails or video call your boss.

Sim card

Ok, so power is sorted. But you’ll still need to stay connected, which is where a GigSky Sim Card comes in, meaning you always have a way to connect to the internet wherever you are. And you won’t have to spend ages searching for a local SIM card when you arrive, keeping track of your various data plans, or going out of service whenever you change country on a train. And if you’re in Europe, this is a real and regular consideration!

World clock

Add a world clock, so you don’t have to keep googling “time in California” every time you want to set up a meeting or set a deadline. These little clocks are great if you work in a distributed team with people across multiple time zones, but they’re also really useful if you’re travelling around between countries and don’t want to accidentally plan something for London time when you’ve just arrived in Moscow, for example.

Noise canceling headphones

Now, let’s get to the logistics. Working on the beach or from a remote campsite might be cool, but it’ll wreak havoc on your neck and back if you do it long term without making some adjustments to your portable office. And by adjustments, I’m not talking about the addition of a cocktail in each hand. An adjustable laptop stand will let you make a desk out of anywhere, whether it’s an airplane seat or a bed in a villa in Bali.

You’ll also want a few portable gadgets which will help make the transition to remote working seamless. And if you’re moving around a lot and boarding planes and trains, things which are foldable and/or lightweight always get bonus points. As long as they’re functional too, as is the case with portable, lightweight, foldable noise canceling headphones. Now I’m not advising this or anything, but if you want your boss to think you’re somewhere really quiet and studious when that’s umm….not the case…these are great for canceling background noise and for taking calls easily. Plus, the battery life is great and should last you a few days at least, so you won’t need to use one of those six charging ports from your worldwide adaptor every night.

Portable second monitor

Flitting between screens is annoying at the best of times, so a portable second monitor which attaches to your laptop is essential if you do a lot of spreadsheets, presentations, video editing, or anything else which requires you to have more than one window open at a time for maximum efficiency.

Folding bluetooth keyboard

And rounding off the trio of portable goodies to make remote working a possibility anywhere in the world is a folding bluetooth keyboard. Unlike bluetooth headpieces which definitely became less cool and useful once we hit the new millennium, a bluetooth keyboard is actually really handy (pun intended) for working on the go. We’re all adept at typing on our phones nowadays, but if you need to write something a bit more meaty, a bluetooth keyboard makes everything much more manageable. And this one feels sturdy enough to type on easily, but folds up to a nice compact size so it doesn’t take up snack space in your carry on bag.

A Chromecast or Roku

Finally, you’ll also want to add a Chromecast or Roku. Technically, you can work without one of these. But it certainly makes things a little bit more comfortable. After a long day of work, sometimes you just want to unwind and watch TV on a big screen, wherever you are in the world. Because ultimately, remote working is all about achieving a better work-life balance.