7 Tech Upgrades to Enhance Your Productivity When You’re Working From Home

Working from home is enjoyable and relaxing. However, it becomes a nightmare when you have a slew of tasks to complete and you’re devoting more than eight hours of your day to doing them all.

Fortunately, some readily available technological upgrades can increase your productivity and allow you to complete more work in less time.

1. Make the switch to fiber optic internet and online faxing

In 2020, the DSL coverage in the United States and its territories were around 86 percent. Unfortunately, DSL can’t completely satisfy the bandwidth demands of most remote work jobs. So, if better internet connection technology like fiber optics is available in your area, you should immediately switch.

Assume you’re a photographer or videographer on a team that sends raw file data to other team members. In some states, the fastest DSL speed is around 50 Mbps. Forget about receiving and downloading files.
The main issue with DSL—or, more specifically, ADSL—is its slow upload speed. With an old ADSL connection, a 100GB uncompressed file could take an entire day to download. With fiber, you can reduce upload time to a few hours or so.

Don’t be concerned about losing your fax capabilities because you may lose your fax and phone line if you switch to fiber. You should be aware that you can obtain the best online fax service to replace your physical fax line and machine.

2. Make Use of a Password Manager

Whether you’re working or playing on your computer, you’ll have to deal with and remember a plethora of usernames and password combinations. If remembering your user credentials isn’t enough of a hassle, some websites and businesses will require you to frequently update and change your passwords, making logging in and out of websites a huge hassle. And if you inadvertently forget one, be prepared for some time-consuming verification and password reset procedures.

All of these issues can be avoided by using a password manager. Furthermore, you can secure all of your passwords and accounts with a single app. You can also log in to all of your accounts with a single password.

The best thing about most modern password managers is that you can use them on all of your devices and gadgets. It’s a one-of-a-kind convenience that can boost your productivity on its own.

3. Install Browser Extensions

To be honest, most remote work is now done through an internet browser. Instead of requiring employees to use a custom or proprietary app, most businesses instruct them to use popular internet browsers.

Fortunately, most internet browsers are now fully customizable, and you can easily integrate additional functionalities into them (via browser extensions or plugins) to increase your productivity. Some popular plugins are frequently added to help people with their work by integrating notepads, calendars, grammar checkers, and even time trackers.

4. Become Familiar With Macros And Scripts

Even if you aren’t a programmer or a tech-savvy employee, you can create a macro, script, or program to automate some of your routine tasks. For example, if you’re a graphic artist who spends a lot of time every day applying the same filter and effects to tens or hundreds of photos, you can record all of your actions in a macro.

After that, the macro will be able to repeat all of your actions by pressing a single key on your keyboard. It is extremely convenient and does not necessitate a high level of technical knowledge.

5. Purchase a Macro Keyboard

If the programs you use do not support macros and you do not want to experiment with third-party scripting software, you can get a macro keyboard instead. A macro keyboard has extra keys that can be programmed and used as special shortcuts in your operating system and programs.

Some video editors frequently add two more keyboards and dedicate all of their keys to various video editing shortcuts. With a macro keyboard, you can work with a single one without having to worry about taking up too much space on your desk. Always remember that being efficient with the tools you use can increase your productivity in the long run.

6. Find Free Web Applications

If the extensions available for your internet browser aren’t sufficient to meet all of your productivity-boosting needs, you can search for and collect free applications and remote work tools on the web instead.

Don’t, however, just download and install anything. As a precaution, learn more about each application you intend to use on your computer. Most free software may contain viruses, malware, and adware.

7. Upgrade Your Computer Or Its Components

When working from home, it’s usually the equipment that limits your productivity. And, because you’re working remotely, you might only have one device on which to rely. If it’s already running slow, consider upgrading it or its components.

If you’re still running your operating system from a hard disk drive (HDD), consider upgrading to a solid-state drive (SSD) (SSD). Furthermore, if you’re using DDR3 or DDR4 RAM, swap it out for DDR5 RAM sticks and upgrade to a motherboard that can support your upgrades. As a result, you may need to upgrade your CPU to make it compatible with the board you’ll receive.

Conclusion

These are the top seven technological advancements and things you can do to increase your productivity when working from home. Of course, you should not limit your upgrades to this list, as there is always newer technology on the web that can help you with the tasks that your job entails.