If the lockdown means you are now work from home here ’s what you ask to do to get your home business office set up with everything you want . In this article we ’ll await at some of the essential things you will want to get in spot and some tips that will make working from plate light .
1. A Mac for working from home
If you are golden enough to work on a Mac at piece of work and have a Mac at base you are in a really good side because you may deal your Desktop and Documents folder across both Macs ( and any other Apple devices you own ) . This is a great feature article of iCloud , which we will talk over next .
However , for now we are concerned with the Mac you ’ll be working on at home . Perhaps you have a laptop at oeuvre and you could bring it home with you . But if you work on a iMac or if you do n’t fancy haul your laptop computer home every evening then you are blend in to want a Mac at home .
If you do n’t already have a Mac at home it ’s not too late . You could bite the bullet train and buy one from Apple and have it deliver tomorrow . Or at least in theory it could be delivered tomorrow – you may experience slightly longer than usual waiting times mighty now because the2020 MacBook Air only launch in Marchand also due to Coronavirus .
The Mac mini is your cheapest option but you ’d want a monitoring machine and keyboard too . We ’ll discuss monitor below as have a monitor to use as a 2nd screen is a real productivity boost .
You do n’t have to drop that much though . You could snitch inApple ’s Refurbished Storeand bring through some money on a nearly - newfangled Mac , or you could adjudicate one of our Mac deals varlet for the previous bank discount on a new Mac .
instead you could purchase a 2nd mitt or refurbished Mac fromAmazon ’s certified Refurbished Storeor theLaptops Direct Refurbished Store .
Another way to get a Mac for less is to pull one . you could rent a Mac fromHardsoft Computers here , Hire Intelligenceis another choice .
Your last choice is that you could get an iPad or iPad Pro and expend that as you would a Mac . Many of the same programs are uncommitted on an iPad as you will find on a Mac . For example , if you use Pages or Word as a Logos processor you ’ll find the equivalent apps on the iPad . We ’d just suggest that you apply a Bluetooth keyboard with the iPad to make type on it easier and less frustrating !
2. An iCloud storage plan
We feel being a Mac using homeworker really light thanks to iCloud .
iCloud allows us to lay aside all the filing cabinet we are form on in the cloud , so we can get at them on any of our devices .
With an iCloud storage plan in place you may have your background and your Documents folder sync across all your devices . This means you’re able to access everything you are work on in the office at home – as long as it ’s place in iCloud . ( It also has the benefit of saving a long ton of blank space on your Macs ! )
You will have to ante up for an iCloud Storage programme though . We excuse how much iCloud cost in this article , https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/apple/icloud-cost-pricing-3652860/ but here is the cost breakdown :
We ’re sorry to say that you are unlikely to get by with the free 5 GB , but since you’re able to cancel at any sentence you are n’t send to any retentive - term contract .
To countersink up iCloud so that your file are synchronise and you’re able to get at them on all your devices perform these actions :
If your Mac has limited space ticking the corner next to Optimise Mac Storage and file will only be stored on your Mac if you have quad .
Now do the same on your home Mac .
You ’ll want to make certain that everything you might need is stored on your background . Alternately you could verify that you use Pages on both Macs as the files you work on should be saved straight to Pages iCloud Drive folder , the same applies to Numbers .
If you commence work like this now then everything you necessitate will be in place if you involve to work out from abode .
If iCloud is n’t for you there are other ways to put in your papers in the cloud so you could easily access them at home – for representative you could preserve everything to DropBox , or if you use Google Docs and other apps they will be site in the cloud .
3. A display
We mentioned in the beginning that if you have a Mac miniskirt at place you will need a display too . Obviously if you have a Mac laptop computer , or an iMac you wo n’t need a second display , but having the extra cover space can be a real productivity boost . And crouching over your desk working on a 13 in screen is like to quickly give you aches and painful sensation . ( In fact , we have our desk set up so that our monitor and our MacBook screens are put at centre tier so that we do n’t get neck infliction from looking down all the time – we suggest that you do the same ) .
We ’d commend catch a display . We have a routine ofdisplays we recommend in this clause . You will also need the proper cable to link the filmdom to your Mac . On that latter point , you need to establish what port wine your Mac has and what port the show has and grease one’s palms the relevant cable and adaptor – or better still a docking station for adding multiple ports ( including HDMI and DisplayPort)to your laptop – see below .
We discuss how to find out what ports you have andhow to set up a second presentation with your Mac here .
There is another option depending on the historic period of your Mac and the old age of your iPad ( assuming you have one ) . Sidecar – a feature in Catalina , the 2019 version of macOS – progress to it possible to plug away in an iPad to employ as a 2nd blind with your Mac . We discuss thecompatible Macs and iPads and how to specify up Sidecar and Universal Control here .
4. A mouse and keyboard
These are also of the essence and easily overlooked especially if you have a laptop . While the trackpad on a Mac laptop computer has some great functionality if you are using a laptop computer without a keyboard and mouse for a long full stop of metre RSI could follow as you are always look down at the concealment and keyboard .
check that to snap up yourself a mouse and a disjoined keyboard . That mode you could set up your Mac ergonomically , so that the display is at optic level and you are n’t always stoop to read what ’s on the screenland . you could then keep your black eye and keyboard set back from the screens and apply them well .
5. A hub, docking station or an adapter
Speaking of mouse and keyboards , and other peripheral … If you are forge on a modern Apple laptop probability you are probable to have four USB - C or Thunderbolt 3 port at most , one at least . If the spare keyboard and mouse you have at home do n’t have a USB C connexion then you might be feeling a scrap frustrated . Other quondam Mac laptops might also have a USB - A interface , even a HDMI interface if you are really lucky but you may still be feeling somewhat restricted by the larboard usable to you .
Luckily there is a resolution . you could grab a USB hub and plug in multiple devices using the multiple connecter . Or you could get a USB - C to USB - A adaptor . We have around up of USB adapters and hub here .
For instance , this UGREEN USB - C Hub has four ports allowing you to connect clump of older USB - A devices to your MacBook and it costsfrom £ 12.99 .
If you want a larger array of ports and perchance connect a pair of external displays to your MacBook , then a docking station is what you need . We tested thebest dock for MacBooksto reveal the right one for your frame-up .
6. Software for working from home
We ’ve mentioned some of the software package we used to make work from home easier already . For example , we use Pages and Numbers at work and at dwelling just for simmpleness . The biggest welfare of using Pages and Numbers ( and Keynote if you need a PowerPoint equivalent weight ) is that the software is completely free .
Office apps
If you use Microsoft Office apps at workplace you may well need to continue to utilise them at home ( although you may still use Pages to open and edit Word document , Numbers for Excel spreadsheet , and Keynote for PowerPoint presentations and all of those options are spare . )
If you would favor to go along to use the Office apps we have inside information of how to get your paw on them here : part for Mac purchasing guide .
If you need to get a copy of the Microsoft apps to use on your Mac at home you have a few options :
Web browsing
One utilitarian tip would be to make a leaning of any websites you frequently visit when you are at body of work , that will avoid any panic when you are at menage and ca n’t remember what the uniform resource locator is . Although , if you utilise Safari , you might be able to regain get a tilt of the urls open on your Mac at oeuvre if you see Safari on your iPhone .
If you use Mail on your Mac it ’s pretty gentle to fed your work email into it . We coverhow to set up e-mail on your Mac here .
It may also be possible to access your employment email via a web web browser .
Alternative ways to communicate
We use Slack to communicate with our colleagues in the bureau . you could get a gratuitous reading where your squad can set up various canal to claver about projects in , or just what the weather is like where they are , or whatever .
It ’s a great path to keep in touch and talk over things with the the great unwashed you are working with . Sometimes it ’s even good than chatting face to brass because everyone gets heard and you have a phonograph record of what ’s been say .
Meetings and conferencing software
When it comes to confluence your team might require to try out Google Hangouts . One of the best thing about setting up a meeting this way is that you do n’t have to pay to call in , it ’s all done over the internet .
To set up a Google Hangout Meet perform these actions :
Of course you could always use Apple ’s FaceTime to communicate with your colleagues , as long as they have Macs , iPads or iPhones . If you need to knowhow to use Group FaceTime to make a call to 30 hoi polloi read this .
A VPN
A VPN could also be a utilitarian summation to your software program especially if you work with sensitive data as the VPN will inscribe the data you are get at and share with colleagues . This means that your classified data ca n’t be translate by anyone else . A VPN also permit you to access websites that are unremarkably blocked in your country – it could earmark you to access US Netflix from the UK to access its expand catalogue for model , which might help you entertain yourself when you are n’t form .
VPN apps are mostly very easy to instal and use , but for a stone’s throw - by - step guide , readhow to set up a VPN on a Mac .
We have around up of our favourite VPNs here . Our current favourite religious service is NordVPN , which is a well price all - rounder and costs from£2.68 a month .
