A home office has the potential to cut out an expensive time-consuming commute, provide a more relaxed working environment, and allow more control over the working conditions that suit you. Your workstation is no longer restricted to a single desk; audio is free to roam the air, meaning conference calls aren't confined to a solitary room; and the use of technology now actually augments collaboration with your colleagues rather than hampers it.
Among the things to consider are how best to optimise your environment to reduce clutter and unwanted distractions. Internet of Things (IoT) devices can help you do this. The market is full of IoT devices for the home, some useful, some not so useful, and others really rather pointless. So here are eight that can actually help reduce distractions whilst making a positive impact on your work environment at home.
Smart speaker
A smart speaker is the nucleus of your smart home office operations. (Image: Google)
A cornerstone of any smart home and the nucleus of your operations is the smart speaker. In your smart home office, this simultaneously acts as your digital PA, an extension of your phone, and a hub to control your other smart devices, which are increasingly picking up smart speaker integration. It could also just help your productivity to be able to use your voice for work-related research or a quick query as opposed to picking up your tablet or opening another window on your PC.
There's a bevy of smart speakers to choose from and the number of choices are ever increasing[1].
Google's offering, Google Home, which features the Google Assistant, is now available on more than 5,000 smart home devices[2] --