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The number of people who work from home has leveled off since the pandemic, but in 2026, it’s still high  — 22% of the American workforce, or 34.3 million workers, according to data compiled by Remotive. For some, it’s a welcome change. You get to sleep in or hit the gym rather than commute, you don’t have to make awkward small talk with coworkers (no, Janet, I do not have a “case of the Mondays,” I simply have other things to do than talk to you), and then there’s the most underrated aspect of a home office: getting to use your own bathroom. But after you’ve adjusted to these newfound perks, you start to notice the downsides. Most notably, your employer isn’t going to furnish your home office space, so you’re left to fend for yourself when putting one together.

A full home office makeover is prohibitively expensive for most workers, so it’s often a smarter idea to focus on a few productivity-boosting gadgets and upgrades that make a noticeable difference to your workflow. There’s really no right or wrong here. Your needs are likely somewhat unique, so choose whichever upgrades make the most sense to you based on what slows you down the most. What I can offer are some of the most helpful upgrades I’ve made over my many years of working from home as a writer. From adding a monitor to expand your digital workspace to getting things organized in the physical world, I’ve rounded up five of the most impactful work-from-home upgrades that took me from unfocused and unproductive to… well, much better in both regards. So, here are some of the best ideas to consider if you’re looking to improve your home office but don’t want to upgrade everything in it.

Among the most impactful additions you can make to your home office is a good monitor. Especially for those working from a laptop, a monitor will increase your productivity by giving you room to view multiple applications and switch between them with ease. It can also improve ergonomics, which is essential for long hours in front of a screen.

Which monitor to pick is a more personal quandary. If you’re trying to get some office work done, look for a high-resolution display that will render work documents in great detail to avoid straining your eyes. 1440p usually strikes a good balance between cheaper 1080p models and high-priced 4K displays. For panel technology, look for IPS, which is a type of LCD technology known for great viewing angles and low glare. A high refresh rate matters less on a work monitor, but a rate of 75Hz or greater will make most actions feel smoother. Some popular brands for work monitors include Dell, Asus, and HP, and there’s a cheap monitor we actually recommend.

If you’re a visual creative, such as a photographer or video editor, it’s worth shooting for a 4K resolution to ensure you’re able to see every detail of your work. Color accuracy is crucial, so pick a monitor with support for the Rec. 709 and DCI-P3 color spaces, preferably with factory calibration. Companies, including BenQ and Apple, have long catered to this segment.

Lastly, if you want to kick back and game after a hard day’s work, prioritize frame rate, resolution, and VRR features. 1440p is the sweet spot if your graphics card doesn’t handle 4K well, but you should ensure a refresh rate of at least 144Hz for modern games, and look for Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync capabilities to prevent tearing.

Recently, I got fed up with the state of my desk. Documents had turned into a paper explosion, with various gadgets and knickknacks dotting the landscape like rubble. The mess was beginning to affect my productivity, my mind mirroring the disorganization of my environment. So I embarked on a mission to impose order on the chaos. In other words, I bought a bunch of desk storage on Amazon.

Your individual needs may vary, but here’s what I bought for my situation. First, a Westree monitor riser with drawers, which freed up space under the monitor and allowed me to put small items like staplers and USB-C dongles out of sight. Next, a Nordik by Design valet tray gives me easy access to my wallet, phone, and keys. Important documents I’m actively using go in the paper tray (pilfered from a family member, so I have no idea which brand it’s from), while older ones get filed in a Sooez accordion binder instead of cluttering up the desk.

These simple changes, which collectively cost me under $100, were the best upgrades I’ve made to my home office in years. When I need something, I know exactly where it is, so I never have to break out of my flow state to hunt down a USB drive or notepad. Rather than purchasing the same products I did, you’ll be better off identifying your own friction points and finding the best products to solve them. For instance, a filing cabinet may make more sense than an accordion binder for someone who works with a large number of physical documents.

One item many remote workers consistently neglect in a home office setup is a good keyboard. Maybe you’re still pecking away at the oily, plastic keys on your laptop, or perhaps you picked up a keyboard at Best Buy or the Apple Store. Either way, you’re probably using a membrane keyboard, meaning it relies on a squishy silicone layer under the keys to accept inputs. For some workers, that might be fine, especially if their job doesn’t involve a large amount of typing. If it does, though, you should consider upgrading to an increasingly popular mechanical keyboard, which uses individual key switches to create a precise and consistent typing experience with tactile feedback.

The good news is that some of the best mechanical keyboards can be had for under $100 these days, whereas companies like Apple and Logitech routinely charge far more for membrane keyboards. Among my personal favorites is the Leobog Hi75, which I configured with Nimbus linear switches. It not only has a striking pastel color theme that spruces up a drab desk, but I find its comfort to be unparalleled for the price. Each keystroke bottoms out firmly but gently with a creamy clack, and the deck has an admirable amount of flex considering the rock-solid aluminum chassis.

A close runner-up has been the Leobog A75, an Alice-style ergonomic keyboard with a split layout. Though made of plastic, it feels almost every bit as sturdy as the Hi75 and comes with some extra features compared to that model, including wireless Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz modes as well as a nub in the center that acts as a D-pad for quick editing. Lastly, I’ve been a big fan of my NuPhy Air75 V2, a low-profile keyboard that slips easily into a backpack.

If your job isn’t keyboard-centric, it’s probably mouse-dependent. If you’re still clicking and scrolling with a built-in laptop trackpad, or with the cheapest mouse you could find at a big-box store, you may not even realize how much productivity you’re leaving on the table. The best productivity mice reduce friction in your workflow and save you time by making computer navigation less tedious. Even when I’m working from a cafe or airplane, I make sure to have a mouse on me. That means I have two mice, one for use at home and one for travel.

My main mouse is the Logitech G502 Hero, which is a gaming mouse. If you don’t game, you should instead consider the Logitech MX Master 4, which I tested late last year. Either way, the main benefit I find in these mice is their programmability. One of the thumb buttons is assigned to copy, the other to paste, since a large portion of my newswriting work involves in-line sourcing for articles such as this one. Yet another button is assigned to minimize all windows on my desktop, allowing me to quickly perform other tasks without cluttering up my desktop. Other features of this mouse are gaming-related and not relevant here. If you opt for the MX Master 4, you’ll find that it has far more productivity features, including the ability to use programmable “swipe” gestures, haptic feedback, and pre-made macro modes for creative software, including Adobe Creative Cloud applications.

On the go, I pack a Logitech MX Anywhere 2S

Mouse-savvy readers may note that the Logitech MX Anywhere 3S has been out for some time, packing an upgrade from Micro-USB to USB-C. However, it loses the side-scroll feature, which I use frequently on the 2S.

For longer than I care to admit, I only had a single USB-C fast charger hooked up near my workstation for device charging. That meant I had to rotate it between my phone, tablet, earbuds, and more, and often forgot to charge some of my devices. But thanks to some practical charging tech, those woes are in the rearview. I was even able to route my charging cables into my desk setup, creating a place for each of my most important gadgets to live while I work.

The most important piece of the power puzzle is your charging brick. I recommend a multi-port brick with at least 100W of total output, which will allow you to comfortably charge multiple devices quickly. If you own the latest iPhone, Galaxy, or Pixel smartphones, 100W will enable you to fast-charge a phone and tablet, as well as lower-power accessories like a watch or earbuds. A charger that uses gallium-nitride (GaN) technology is also a bonus, as GaN is more thermally efficient and more compact than traditional chargers.

The best bricks I’ve tested are the Anker GaN Prime 150W A2340 and Anker GaN 100W B121B. The former has more power output but lacks the built-in status display of the latter, which tells you how many devices are connected, how much power is being sent to each, and whether there are thermal issues. There are higher or lower priced variants of each, all with different wattages, but these hit my sweet spot thanks to their relative affordability and rock-solid performance. I notice significantly better charging times compared to the official chargers for my connected devices.