If you work from home, you know your office isn't always the efficient utopia it should be. There are tons of distractions within arm's reach — the book you've been meaning to read, the remote control, a kid, perhaps...and that's before you turn on your computer.
While social media is alluring, it's time to think like a boss. Manage like one, organize like one, and print like one — with a little help, of course. With apps like Pencil by 53 and printers like the Canon Color imageCLASS, you'll be working where you eat in no time.
SelfControl
According to studies at UC Irvine, it takes an average of 23 minutes to get back to work every time you get interrupted. So why waste hours determining which 90s cartoon best represents your personality when you could finish your work with time to spare? When you're lacking self control, turn to SelfControl — a free, open-source desktop app for Mac OSX. Add any site to the "blacklist" and SelfControl will block you from visiting your favorite distractions for as long as you tell it to.
Pencil by 53
Skip scanning by drawing or writing directly onto your iPad with Pencil. When paired with 53's Paper app, Pencil looks and works just like a pencil. You can draw, smudge, and even erase your scribbles with its functional eraser tip. When you're done, you can save all your notes and sketches to your iPad. (Check out what these creatives have made with it.) You'll never again have to rummage around wondering where you left that wrinkled scrap of paper with that brilliant idea you jotted down last week.
Canon Color imageCLASS LBP7110Cw Printer
Up until now, printing has been an activity that kinda feels like waiting for water to boil. You've spent hours of your life staring at paper trays whilst rollers slowly squeak to your impatient despair. Not anymore. This is 2014, and Canon's Color imageCLASS LBP7110Cw Printer is shooting prints out at a mega-quick 14 pages per minute*. Do you even know how fast that is? So fast. This thing prints like a boss.
Besides being super speedy, it's a printer you can depend on no matter what your work throws at you. Not only can you wirelessly print from your desktop, you can print straight from your phone or tablet, too. (Just link it to your device with the free Canon Mobile Printing app.)** Canon's Superior Image Technology will give you pristine prints every time, and a compact design saves space when you don't have much to spare.
Space Bar
When your keyboard and mouse are hidden under a fine layer of notebooks, paper, and devices, that's kind of a problem. Space Bar will snap your desk into shape. It's a smartly designed shelf where all your desky-things can live in an organized and neat fashion. It's built with six USB ports and is the perfect size to hold your monitor on top and your keyboard and mouse below. You'll even have room to spare for small doo-dads and your phone.
Gesture by Steelcase
Have you ever leaned back in your office chair only to discover it actually doesn't swing that way? Well, this chair swings every which way. Gesture is designed to accommodate how the human workflow is changing. These days we're increasingly working on tablets and phones rather than on desktops exclusively. This means we spend more time reclined, while our arms move around more. So Gesture was built with a flexible hinge that keeps your lower back supported — whether you choose to recline with a device or sit upright at your desk. The armrests also move up and down and in and out — pretty much any way you like to either support your arms or stay out of the way. This chair is one of those basics that will keep your body happy, so you can focus on more important things, like Insta-bragging about your enviable workspace.
You may continue to fight the urge to Netflix away your afternoon rather than type up expense reports (you're only human), but an efficient workspace will go a long way when it comes to tackling projects of all sizes. Like a boss.
Lisbeth Ortega is a writer based out of San Francisco. She was head editor at Photojojo from 2010 to 2013. Her speciality is cameras, mobile photography, and tech. She waits years to develop film.
*Print speed is based on internal testing. Print speed may vary depending on the number of copies selected as well as on the settings for size, type, and orientation of paper.
**Wireless printing requires a working Ethernet network with wireless 802.11b/g or n capability. Wireless performance may vary based on terrain and distance between the printer and wireless network clients.
Requires Canon Mobile Printing app, available free on the App store and Google Play. Compatible with iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPad mini, iPad 4, the new iPad, iPad 2, and the original iPad running OS 6.0.1 - 6.1.2. Supports Android OS 2.3.3 - 4.2.2.
Canon makes no representations or warranties with respect to any third-party products mentioned herein.
This post is a sponsored collaboration between Canon and Studio@Gawker.