15 cool things you need to upgrade your WFH station

Lacklustre, lukewarm coffees can ruin the morning. Fresh-ground, brewed coffee deserves to be imbibed at its best – even when you’re stuck at home. The Ember smart mug can keep your cup of joe at a precise temperature for over an hour so the last sip is just as good as the first.

If you’re partial to meals at your desk, this volcanic stone diffuser from the Curators Collective might not be a bad idea. Essential oils such as rose and bergamot have purported calming and stress-reducing effects – at the very least, it’ll leave your home office smelling a little less like whatever you had for lunch.

The biological benefits of getting sunlight include boosted serotonin (the feel-good hormone) levels and vitamin D. Apart from mandatory breaks lounging in the terrace, we can ensure that the lighting in our room is spot-on. Enter Deskspace’s Solar Sun lamp. The stylish orb is made of ethically mined golden calcite that is hand-shaped to evenly emit a warm yellow glow, mimicking our solar system’s star. That being said, for all the chic minimalism it brings to your desk, it can’t replace time in the outdoors – but it’s certainly a ritzy way to remind yourself to head outside once in a while

We’ve already covered home workout equipment extensively. However, the Floatdeck balance board by Fully allows one to incorporate light exercise into your daily routine. It accompanies the use of a standing desk by providing slight instability. Though it’d feel a bit like surfing on land at first, balance will eventually become intuitive with the added benefit of strengthened core, hips and knees. It’s made of bamboo and suitable for bare feet as well as shoes.

Tempting though it may be, resist the urge to pour yourself a finger or three before noon. Thereafter, all bets are off. We aren’t advocating for day-drinking, but craft Irish distillery Glendalough’s quarter of a century old expression of the single malt might convince you otherwise. The spirit goes through a three-step maturation process: it begins aging in charred Bourbon barrels, then an Oloroso Sherry cask before a final rest in virgin Irish oak. There’s only 1,800 bottles of the stuff out there, so we’d hurry.

Splinterworks’ Dime wall-mounted liquor cabinet, made out of crown-cut American walnut, is a sleek and classy solution to alcohol storage within the home office. The rippled sycamore veneer works well with most classic interior decor, and can be customised to suit your needs if necessary. Easy to operate and easier on the eyes, the Dime liquor cabinet is the perfect place to store all of your liquid encouragement for quick access throughout the rest of the circuit breaker period.

Our weather gets unbearably hot at times, so if you’ve been sweating at your desk, this nifty little gadget will help keep you cool while you work. Its mini size makes it portable and convenient to use, and, with its built-in water tank, doubles up as a humidifier. Hack: add ice cubes into the water tank to get an even cooler breeze. No promises that it’ll help you keep your cool when dealing with infuriating colleagues, though.

Chances are, if you’re working from home, you’re somehow sitting down for longer hours on end than in the office. This mesh lumbar back support helps to correct your spine posture so you won’t be aching all over at the end of a long work day. You can use it on your office chair, car seat, dining table chair… if it fits, you sit.

Being sedentary for long hours, even with a back support and proper posture, isn’t great for your health. A standing desk is great if you want to get some circulation going, enhanced focus, and better digestion after a heavy lunch (read: standing up also helps fight the dreaded food coma). This standing desk is adjustable, so you can sit down or stand up when you feel like it.

Everyone knows that a foot rest makes sitting down THAT much more comfortable. This portable foot hammock gives you just that, with a fun twist, so you can swing your legs around to shake off some of that stress.

If you’ve been hunched over working on a laptop instead of a desktop computer, you may find that your shoulders, chest and neck are really tensed and tight. Your posture needs to be upright and open, but that can’t happen when you have to stoop down to look at your screen. This adjustable laptop stand is the answer to all your problems. Take note, though, that it might work better paired with a USB or wireless keyboard, depending on how high you adjust your laptop to be.

Working from home with the entire family at home can result in bedlam, to say the least. If you desperately need to shut the noise off and the distractions out, consider investing in noise-cancelling headphones. There are so many different and fantastic noise cancelling headphones and earphones in the market, catered for different users, so do your research before buying, as these can be a lil’ pricey.

Perfect for those who need a cuppa to get those gears turning in the morning. This mug warmer with a ceramic heating sheet will keep your coffee from going cold, maintaining it at the perfect temperature of 55 degrees celsius.

This is a lifesaver if you need some zen to quieten those frazzled nerves. All you need is water, lavender essential oil (lavender aromatherapy helps to reduce stress and anxiety), and your work station will soon be reminiscent of a calming, soothing spa. Ahhh…

Because sometimes, nothing helps except a much-needed power nap, and taking a nap on your much-too-inviting bed spells danger. This multifunctional nap pillow allows you to take a nap right at your workstation – you can rest your head on your table or lean back into your chair. Best part? It has a cut-out for your face so there’s ventilation, and a hollow for your arm so it won’t be numb when you wake up. Ingenious.

A version of this article was first published in The Peak.