One of the benefits of working from home is you can make changes you can’t in a corporate office. This includes adding smarthome gadgets to improve your workspace. These devices can help your workflow and make you more comfortable.
When you choose smarthome devices for your home office, you want the same convenience you’d want for any other room. And when it comes to work, smarthome devices can increase your productivity because you can do so much without leaving the room.
After all, if you work from home, one of the hardest things is to get back into a workflow after an interruption. Here are a few smarthome gadgets that can help you remain focused.
Start with a Smart Display
A smart speaker with a voice assistant, like Amazon Echo or Google Home, is normally a good starting point for a smarthome. However, for a Home Office, we recommend you step up to a Smart Display. It gives you extra features, like visual weather forecasts, and video feeds from cameras and smart doorbells. And, of course, Smart Displays include all the usual features a smart speaker has.
Here are the two best smart displays to consider:
- Google Nest Hub: Unless you already own Amazon Echo devices, we recommend the Google Nest Hub (formerly, Home Hub) as the best pick for a smart display. This is partly due to the ambient mode, which adds all your family photos to your office and gives you a taste of home while you’re…at home.
- Amazon Echo Show: If you have an Amazon home, you can get the Echo Show. It doesn’t have an ambient screen mode, but you still get better weather forecasts and video feeds.
Add a Video Doorbell
We think Video Doorbells are one of the best smarthome gadgets you can own. When you combine them with a smart display, their value only goes up, especially for your home office. The last thing you need is another interruption—especially, from solicitors. A video doorbell and smart display enable you to ignore salespeople while keeping an eye out for packages.
Given their advantages when coupled with a Smart Display, there are two main video doorbells worth your consideration:
- Nest Hello Video Doorbell: If you have a Google Nest Hub, then the video doorbell from Nest is a no-brainer. When someone rings your doorbell, the video feed appears almost instantly on the Nest Hub. Then, you can talk to the person, ignore them, or send a preselected message. Nest Hello provides high-quality video, and it’s the only doorbell that offers 24/7 recording. The downsides are you need doorbell wiring that works, and a Nest Aware subscription to get the best features.
- Ring Video Doorbell: If you’re already in the Amazon Echo system, or your doorbell wiring doesn’t work, the Ring Video Doorbell is a great option. They come in both wired and battery-powered versions. Ring also offers a Door Cam that doubles as a peephole. This video doorbell doesn’t record 24/7 but, with a subscription, you can access the video of any motion or doorbell presses.
Smart Bulbs Light Your Office and Keep People Out
Want to control the lights in your office without rewiring your switches? If so, smart bulbs are for you! And, if you purchase colored bulbs, not only can you change the ambiance of the room, but you can also create a warning system.
The most significant source of interruptions when you work from home is the other people who live there. When a closed door isn’t enough (and it often isn’t), a light system might make all the difference.
