When your company works from an office, there are certain things that you take for granted. Your company provides you with a desk, a chair, computer, keyboard—maybe even a plant! This equipment is all a part of the general “work from office” setup. So what happens when most companies end up needing to go fully remote or adapt to a hybrid work model? You’ve suddenly got a lot of decisions to make about your own personal office.
Even though some things will be simpler (hello, no commute!), it can be overwhelming to decide how to design, organize, and arrange your home office. But remote work is also a lot of fun in this regard because you can create a totally personalized experience right from your home!
In “normal times” at Trello, more than 65% of our company works remotely from all over the globe—and today it’s closer to 100%. While we don’t have many official rules for working from home, we strongly advise that a home office has a door that closes for a quiet workspace, fast internet, and the best tools for creating the best work. After all, it’s pretty tough to get anything done if you’re feeling distracted or battling a weak internet connection.
While most have been working from home for a while now, learning how other remote workers set up their home offices (and find the right tools) can be a great way to figure if your arrangement needs some tweaking.
Setups vary from role to role and person to person, but one thing is consistent across the board: We’ve all carved out our own spaces, and we spend a ton of time in them. Our company strongly believes that giving employees autonomy in the management of their home office will ultimately make them more productive.
Read on to see how a handful of Trellists GSD at home by customizing their space. And, as always, we’d love to hear how and where you’re Trello-ing by using the hashtag #WhereITrello on Twitter and Instagram!
Name and company role: Leah, Content Marketer
Location: British Columbia, Canada
What office gear helps you work best remotely?
- Das mechanical keyboard (brown switches) and wireless mouse
- Laptop stands to keep screens at eye level
- Natural light and interesting background for better communication on video calls
When it comes to time management and remote communication, what ONE app is most vital to you as a remote worker?
Trello is my go-to for both work and personal projects since my professional and personal lives are so intertwined working from home.
What are your favorite snacks to have on hand throughout the day?
I always try to keep on hand copious amounts of coffee, tea, sparkling water, and soda (usually my desk has at least 3 glasses on it) and a really good loaf of seedy bread for avocado toast.
Name and company role: Alexia, Mobile and Platform PMM
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
What office gear helps you work best remotely?
- Good wireless headphones
- Computer stand to hold my laptop
- A perfumed candle
- Apple mouse
When it comes to time management and remote communication, what ONE app is most vital to you as a remote worker?
Headspace to take the time to step back a little from my work during the day.
What are your favorite snacks to have on hand throughout the day?
Water flavored with fresh fruits, cereal bars, and fresh fruit. When working from home, it’s too tempting to be snacking throughout the day, so I try to only have healthy snacks on hand.
Name and company role: Rachael, Data Scientist
Location: Washington D.C.
What office gear helps you work best remotely?
- Ergonomic setup for maximum productivity: Good quality office chair, standing desk, ergonomic keyboard
- Good headphones
- Coffee grinder
When it comes to time management and remote communication, what ONE app is most vital to you as a remote worker?
Trello! Also Google Calendar, Zoom, and Slack for chatting with my team throughout the day.
What are your favorite snacks to have on hand throughout the day?
Apple sauce, lots of tea, and coffee.
Name and company role: Amanda, International Content Marketing Manager
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
What office gear helps you work best remotely?
- Headphones are a must for concentration.
- Wireless mouse
- A second screen (I always miss my second screen when I travel. I wish there was a folded one I could easily carry around!)
When it comes to time management and remote communication, what ONE app is most vital to you as a remote worker?
Trello (obviously). Even for my personal life, I can’t live without it.
What are your favorite snacks to have on hand throughout the day?
Mixed nuts (to replace salty/fatty snacks), dates (to replace chocolate), juices, or smoothies.
Name and company role: Matt, Principal Engineer
Location: A small village in Oxfordshire, UK
What office gear helps you work best remotely?
- Video lights, to better communicate visually on video calls. I have one clamped to each top corner of my monitor.
- A fast internet connection, preferably wired, not WiFi, for more reliable video calls.
- Comfortable headphones with noise-canceling to avoid distraction by noisy children!
When it comes to time management and remote communication, what ONE app is most vital to you as a remote worker?
What are your favorite snacks to have on hand throughout the day?
I actually find that working from home means I snack less, as I can make proper meals in my kitchen to keep me going longer.
Name and company role: Kara, Tester
Location: Madison, WI
What office gear helps you work best remotely?
- Latte
- Aeron Chair
- A set of headphones
When it comes to time management and remote communication, what ONE app is most vital to you as a remote worker?
TechSmith Capture! I really need to show people what I see and TechSmith Capture is a really good screen capture tool.
What are your favorite snacks to have on hand throughout the day?
Berries, hard-boiled eggs, kombucha (but I live above a grocery store so I often take breaks to get snacks there).
Name and company role: Jamie, Engineer
Location: Chicago, IL
What office gear helps you work best remotely?
- My Bluetooth headphones (I like the Bowers & Wilkins P7)
- A whiteboard
- A good keyboard (I like the Apple Bluetooth keyboard with the number pad)
When it comes to time management and remote communication, what ONE app is most vital to you as a remote worker?
Anything to communicate with my teammates, particularly video conferencing apps like Zoom!
What are your favorite snacks to have on hand throughout the day?
Depending on the season I love to have either fresh fruit or cereal that’s really bad for you (like apple jacks or lucky charms). I’m also pretty particular to dried mango and cold brew coffee.
Name and company role: Aaron, Developer
Location: Boston, MA
What office gear helps you work best remotely?
When it comes to time management and remote communication, what ONE app is most vital to you as a remote worker?
Slack, of course 🙂
What are your favorite snacks to have on hand throughout the day?
72% Dark Chocolate
And don’t take it just from us! We’ve teamed up with many other companies who have been in the remote game for years, and we’ve gathered all the tips and tricks into one handy dandy guide. Learn more here: