Home office starter kit: Everything you need to build a productive workspace

For those who want to take their home office setup to the next level, the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 4 is a WFH workhorse. Complete with zippy multitasking performance, a 1080p webcam ideal for work video calls, a stellar all-day battery life, and compatibility for up to three external monitors, the fourth-gen T14s is the basis for a productive work day. Our sister site, PCMag (which is owned by Mashable's publisher, Ziff Davis) tested the Intel i7-1356U configuration of this notebook and found that it had more than enough power for daily tasks, using Google's suite of apps, and even light video and photo editing for those who dabble in content creation.

Virtually everything about this laptop is customizable to your needs. The base configuration of the T14s comes with a 13th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 16 GB of memory, and a 256GB solid-state drive. Power users can easily upgrade their picks to one of the i7 processor options and more SSD storage (up to 2TB) for smoother performance, and folks who really care about screen quality might swap the entry-level IPS screen for an OLED version.

Working from the couch is seriously not worth the neck and back pain you'll end up with later. While practically any desk is better than no desk at all, we're big fans of standing desks (sitting all day sucks from a health perspective). A convertible standing desk can improve your posture and even boost your energy and productivity during your work day.

If you can swing the price, we recommend the Uplift V2 standing desk. Mashable Deputy Reviews Editor Miller Kern tried it out and found the quality to be worth the cost. She particularly appreciated the customization the Uplift offered — everything including the desktop style, size, frame design, types of grommets, and type of keypad can be customized. She was also a fan of the free accessories that came with it (who doesn't love free stuff?).

The particular V2 model she tested has a keypad with four options for preset heights, which makes it easy to program the heights that work best for you (i.e. one for sitting, one for standing, and one for walking on the treadmill). The only real complaint to note (besides the steep cost) is how heavy it is. If you live in a walk-up, you're definitely going to need some assistance. But once you have the boxes in your space, setting it up is fairly straightforward.

Sitting for hours every day may be bad for your health, but standing in one place all day can get pretty uncomfortable too. Pair your standing desk with our favorite under-desk treadmill, the WalkingPad P1, to get your steps in during working hours. With a longer deck than most under-desk treadmills at 57 inches, the P1 offers taller users space for longer strides. But that doesn't mean it takes up too much real estate in your home — thanks to its unique folding design, you can still store it under your bed or couch when you're not using it.

Thought the P1 doesn't have a ton of fancy features, its simple design is one of the things our Deputy Reviews Editor Miller Kern enjoyed about it. She noted that it was easy to set up and use, plus its connected app allowed for seamless speed adjustments. The app also lets users make workout plans and track walking distance. It's not exactly the most practical device for actual workouts, but for increasing activity throughout the day, it does the trick.

Read our full review of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Noise-Cancelling Earbuds.

You don't realize just how noisy your home is until you try to work in it. A good pair of noise-cancelling earbuds, like the Bose QuietComfort Ultras, can block out the chaos and help you focus. The QuietComfort Ultra earbuds are impressive, from their audio quality and fancy Immersive Audio feature to their comfortable, secure fit and decent battery life.

Mashable contributor Timothy Beck Werth loved just about everything these buds had to offer, but particularly noted how good the noise cancellation was. He mentioned that he'll pop the earbuds in even when no music is playing, just to silence the world around him to focus or take a nap. The comfort was an added bonus — he was able to wear the buds on a six to seven-hour flight and suffered no ear fatigue. Throw stellar audio quality into the mix and you've got yourself a pair of winning earbuds.

The only real gripes he had with the Bose QuietComfort Ultras were pretty minor: the charging case was quick to show signs of wear and tear, plus the earbuds could be a little difficult to remove from the case. We're not thrilled with the price, but our reviewer found it to be fair given the quality.

Read our full review of NordVPN.

While employers likely use a ton of digital tools to keep private data private for their WFH staff, your personal computer offers an open door to hackers, trackers, and breaches. That's where a VPN comes in handy — especially if you're a freelancer, small business owner, or contract employee. While there are a handful of VPNs we recommend, NordVPN is one of our favorites.

Well-known partly due to its aggressive marketing, we're happy to report that NordVPN does, in fact, live up to the hype. It's built for power users who know their way around a VPN and want to customize features, but it's just as easy to use for newbies hoping to boost security while they scroll, stream, and more.

Mashable Senior Reporter Haley Henschel tested out NordVPN's Standard service and found the annual plans to be a killer deal due to the highly customizable app packed with features like multi-hop connections, security extras like an anti-malware/tracker tool and a dark web monitor, and a commendable privacy overhaul (including its bug bounty program).

It's not without flaws, though. We found that it often took longer to connect than we'd prefer and it's pretty annoying that the split tunneling feature is only available for Android and Windows users. Plus, the transparency blunder in NordVPN's past still puts us a little on edge — though the company has worked hard to repair users' trust. It can certainly get expensive if you opt for a monthly plan, but the long-term deals are beyond worth it.

Read our full review of the M2 MacBook Air.

Mashable Choice winner and our top MacBook pick for most people, the M2 MacBook Air is an excellent companion for your home office setup. The base model packs 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage but can be upgraded to up to 24GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. The M2 chip is truly a powerhouse for basic computing, and the 13.6-inch display gives you more screen real estate than previous models. As of mid-2023, the M2 MacBook Air also comes in a 15-inch model with two extra speakers starting at $1,299.

Other highlights, observed by Mashable's Alex Perry upon testing, were the "rock-solid battery life, keyboard that's to die for, and enough horsepower to handle everyday tasks with ease." The 1080p FaceTime HD camera is also an appreciated upgrade from its predecessors, as well as the four-speaker setup with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support.

A few downsides of the M2 MacBook Air Perry noticed were the refresh rate (only 60Hz), the lack of ports, and the look of the camera notch. But these are all minor grievances in the grand scheme — if you're still holding onto an ancient MacBook, it's a worthy upgrade and "an ideal job companion with excellent performance and one of the best keyboards around."

Viruses, malware, ransomware, and phishing threats are all looming dangers when you're online — dangers that could lock you out of your system, uncover private work documents, or reveal banking information, passwords, and other confidential information. That's why investing in antivirus software for your home office setup is probably a smart idea (particularly if you work from a PC).

Our top pick for antivirus software, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, was tested by our sister site PCMag (which is owned by Mashable's publisher, Ziff Davis), and earned a stellar 5 out of 5 rating. Its suite of features is a force to be reckoned with — including effective ransomware protection, real-time behavioral monitoring for files and links that look suspicious, virus detection, an ad-tracking blocker, malicious website blocking, a password manager, and more. In other words, it's far more than just an antivirus tool; it's a full security suite.

The only real gripes noted in the PCMag review were the sluggish speed of the first scan (though Bitdefender’s system graciously warns you beforehand) and the fact that the VPN that comes with the antivirus software is extremely limited. In order to access the full-featured VPN, you'll need to pay a separate subscription fee.