Work-from-home master class

about 10 years, said having bigger monitors and higher internet speeds are a must. She also uses an external hard drive for backing up data; Seagate has a version with 2 terabytes of space for about $90. Cloud-based data backups are another option, and many WFH vets use both.

Jason Patterson works in software and has had a home office for four years. He said better routers and Wi-Fi extenders are critical. “Home connectivity is extremely important because you’re not going to be at your desk all day. You’ll probably walk around the house to take a call and you might work on the internet in a different part of the house.”

For noise, from the loud neighbor to the everyone’s favorite, the sound of a jackhammer on the street, Patterson swears by noisecanceling headphones. Look into a wireless set that also has Bluetooth capabilities for phone calls, like the ones from JLab Audio.