Microsoft wants you to think about its Office 365 subscription service in a whole new light. So on April 21st, the company is renaming the service to "Microsoft 365," as it adds more AI and cloud-powered tools to make you more productive. The pricing...
What actually happens when we procrastinate? I believe each and every one of us has big dreams along with to-do lists, phone reminders to even life goals. We all want to be more productive, be the best version of ourself and be the next Elon Musk, but procrastination ties us down. Jokes aside, procrastination has been linked to self-doubt, anxiety and even depression! Behavioral psychology research has revealed a phenomenon called “time inconsistency,” which refers to the tendency of the human brain to value immediate rewards more highly than future rewards (that explains us blazing through those infinite viral lists and quizzes!) With work from home looking like the immediate future, it is of utmost importance that we get our wandering mind under control and be our productive best. This list brings you products designed to enhance your work experience, giving you the perfect work-life balance in these trying times.
This portable armrest makes working on computers much more comfortable! The Mouzen by Gašper Kumprej cantilevers right off your table, giving your forearm a place to rest comfortably, instead of hovering in space. The platform retrofits easily onto the edge of any table and takes not more than 10 seconds to fasten. The platform comes with a freely moving armrest that sits on top of it. Using a patented ErgoFlow mechanism, the armrest moves and rotates in any direction with near-zero friction, giving you the ability to freely move your hand around as you switch from mouse to keyboard and back, typing, clicking, scrolling, etc. Built to take up to 50 lbs (21 kg) of weight, the mechanism has multiple shock absorbers and silencers built in to ensure the Mouzen works smoothly and silently.
Yes, we tend to procrastinate and fidget, but what if we have a more creative outlet to our energy rather than just mindlessly scrolling on our phone? Meet the Logifaces Puzzle, a little like the tangram meets the jigsaw meets the third dimension, the Logifaces puzzle by Logideez is a nice visual and mind exercise. The puzzle comprises a series of triangles of the same size, but different heights (at each vertex), and the only rule is, “Create a form by placing the prisms next to each other to build a continuous surface”.
The TimeFlip2 Interactive Time Tracking Device is a great way to get started with being more mindful. This time tracker features twelve sides, so you can have a wide variety of tasks assigned to it. And it comes with stickers so you can customize it to your specific needs. You’ll have an embedded green LED light for visual cues of your times status, and it has a Pomodoro timer to split work into sprints for maximum efficiency. Are you feeling like Monica Geller already?!
The Altwork desk claims to be the ultimate in productivity and ergonomics….and I agree. This desk encourages productivity by molding itself to any position that you feel your best in. There is a demographic that may have health problems which makes it hard for them to sit at a conventional desk and chair in an office. This causes them to lose out on many job opportunities that they might excel at simply because there wasn’t a solution for “How will they sit in the office?” but, thankfully, technology today has given us the ability to work from anywhere and this desk’s shape-shifting form makes it a part of the inclusive design world which caters to the needs of differently-abled. However you like to work, this chair will meet your expectations!
Just a simple tinted transparent acrylic cube, the Fume by Hakan Gürsu of Designnobis acts as a rather beautiful pen-stand for your alcohol markers (something designers swear by). Its design doesn’t just have them laid out in an interesting format, it even allows you to segregate them by hue into three zones! Although designed mainly for markers, this compact organizer is a great space-saving device to store all your pens, pencils, markers and more. Not to forget, the sense of satisfaction when you see all your stationery color-coordinated and lined up.
The beautiful Focus Journal by L’Atelier helps you concentrate on the tasks that matter. Inside the book, you will find uncluttered pages that offer useful prompts. The pages help you to prioritize urgent to-dos and find time for longer projects. Furthermore, you can time and track bigger tasks to see proof of your hard work. There are no rules you have to follow, but the journal provides a framework for structuring your thoughts. As an added bonus, with your task mapping happening on paper, you have no excuse to check your phone!
The MOFT Z by MOFT Studio comes with the ability to prop your laptop at three angles, but that’s not all. The MOFT Z even transforms your sitting setup into a standing one, elevating your laptop up by as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters). The MOFT Z does this using an innovative Z-shaped folding system along with its signature PU and fiberglass material which allows the laptop stand to have a high strength to weight ratio while being thin enough to slide right into a Manila envelope. So in case sitting at one spot and working makes you angsty, MOFT Z can transform your desk into a standing desk. No more excuses for taking those 5 minute breaks that stretch into a 50 min snooze sessions!
Determined to never have random loose wires corrupt the visual balance of his spaces, Andrew Ferrier designed the Cable Cradle, a simple, innovative twist on the plug-point. Ferrier’s redesigned plug-point comes with an extended lip that gives you a channel to wrap your spare wires around. Almost like a thread and a spool, the wire can be looped as many times as needed to make your space look neat, and to prevent you from accidentally tripping over that pesky little wire that’s aimlessly strewn across the floor.
Working from home can get taxing and caffeine is our relief! Tap and Drop by designers Jeonghyun Ahn, Donghong Seo & Jo Gwanghee aims to revolutionize how we get our fix, making efficiency and simplicity the key features. The satisfyingly smooth curves used for the top of the device guide the coffee beans into the machine, eliminating the possibility of the beans from getting stuck, and making the filling process far smoother. Although, you may not have long to admire the elegant design as the coffee-making process can begin before you are even downstairs; an equally as beautiful mobile application allows for the selection of the desired drink from anywhere, and an array of parameters are available so you can ‘make’ the perfect drink! No more waiting for that perfect cuppa and wasting time!
If noise and phone distractions are your kryptonite, the Helmfon by Hochu Rayu will be your savior! A portmanteau of the words Helmet and Phone, the Helmfon isn’t just a noise-canceling device, it’s also an elaborate pair of headphones. Equipped with a system board, microphone, speakers, accumulator, magnifier and space on the inside for a smartphone, the Helmfon enables wearers to watch videos, organize Skype conferences and even make calls from within the helmet. Sure, it looks like you’re wearing a giant helmet, but if it helps you focus and finish up work effectively, then I am all for it!
Ukrainian product designer Julia Kononenko created the ‘Eco Pot’, an intriguing little product that organizes your desk and adds a pop of green to it! The multipurpose desk accessory is basically a flower pot with an integrated pen holder. So give your eyes a much-needed break by talking to your green friends and get back to work asap!
The School of Life presents the Phone Detox. A palm-friendly, phone-sized book that contains insights, ideas, and meditations that help you get over your heavy dependency on your phone, social media, and validation addictions. The book covers relevant topics like Addiction, Monasticism, Poetry, Nature, Dating, Utopia, and even Death. Its aim is to allow us to take a step back, breathe, and contemplate a little, rather than simply consuming content the internet keeps throwing at you.
The Bedchill by Constant Ducos will revolutionize how you both work and relax in bed as the fully-fledged design has all of the bases covered! The roll-over table rapidly transforms the bed into a plush office with vast desk space. If it’s even more usability you are after, then the Bedchill Plus is the one for you; it is kitted out with power outlets, USB ports, adjustable mood lighting, and even Bluetooth speakers to ensure that the innovative workspace can cater to your needs! Being in bed is no longer a reason to not be working!
Given how much we use and abuse our keyboards every day, we never really reinvented the wheel on that design. Or did we?! Keyboard designs are a fundamental building block of our workday setup and whatever your style, we have a keyboard here that will solve your woes you did not know you had. A wave-shaped keyboard that lets you rest your palms in a more natural format to a keyboard made for designers to help them switch between software with ease – we have a keyboard here that will solve your woes! Happy working from home.
Say hello to the Kolude KD-K1 by Jeremy Lin, a sleek external keyboard with a pretty interesting twist. With circular keys that sit within a machined aluminum base giving it a neo-retro vibe, the Kolude KD-K1 keyboard is a visual treat with tactile scissor-switch keys that make it a great keyboard to type on too. Designed to be the sleeker brother of Lofree’s keyboards, the Kolude KD-K1’s twist lies right above those keys. Built right into the back-face of the KD-K1 is a USB hub, complete with USB-A and USB-C ports, an HDMI port, and two card-reader slots.
Vinicius Araújo has designed a gorgeous keyboard to aid in the transition between each Adobe program, saving the user hours of switching between Photoshop to Indesign to Illustrator to Lightroom. Accented with stylish LED colors and eye-catching material changes, the Adobe Keyboard is the designers’ must-have.
The Off keyboard by Marko Oljaca comes with soft, rounded keys that are elevated on independent “stems” rather than recessed into a solid surface. Not only easy to clean, but it also prevents the buildup of dirt and residue. Better yet, its seamless design makes it spill-proof and water-resistant. Its organic form is also ergonomically adapted to maximize wrist comfort.
The Aura by Vince Wang functions without a screen and that’s all down to the rather clever Eye-tracking Infrared Illuminators that locate eye-details and reflection patterns to project the image directly onto the user’s retinas! The futuristic technology doesn’t end there; in addition to the lack of screen, there is also a concave keyboard with Glow Thru keys that’s been paired with an adaptive input service for maximum productivity!
A combination of a keyboard and tablet, Slide, as its name implies comes with a ‘sliding’ element. The tablet can be easily pulled out or pushed in, enabling it to hide sneakily below the keyboard. When you’re only using the keyboard, the tablet snugly remains a part of it. Designer Cheolsu Park added a lock button to the product, pressing it prevents the keyboard from sliding up and down, keeping it firmly in position. The edges of the product have been centered using a weighty material, ensuring that the product does not tilt in its extended form, especially when you’re typing on the keyboard.
The Hidekey keyboard by Yeong Seok Go has a secret! Its number pad is in hiding. Tucked away on the backside of the keyboard, a quick sliding movement reveals the number pad. The pad can be easily pulled out whenever needed. Once it has been used, you can effortlessly slide it back in. This ensures you always have a number pad at your disposal, improving the efficiency of your work, without taking up too much space.
The first thing you notice when you see the ERGO K860 is its camel-hump, or as Logitech calls it, the WAVE. Logitech’s design team states that when completely relaxed (like your muscles would be if you were floating underwater), your hands don’t lay completely flat. They relax at a slight outward angle. The ERGO K860’s wave detail gets your hands to rest in that exact same angle to deliver a more natural typing experience. The split-keyboard layout guides your hands into a spread-out shape too, so you’ve got each key covered by your fingers. The keys, rated for a 10 million keystroke lifespan, come with a slightly scooped concave shape, allowing you to orient your fingers better and type more confidently.
The Lofree Four Seasons is quite similar to the Mac built-in keyboard, so it won’t be a drastic change for Apple users. However, the keyboard is compatible with iOS, Windows, and Android. The keys are supported by Gateron blue switches, which reduce pressure on your fingers as you type, preventing the risk of developing Repetitive Strain Injury. It can be used wirelessly and with a wire, so it’s quite easy to carry around. Equipped with an LED backlight, you can adjust the lighting of the keyboard which comes in three levels, so you can easily use the keyboard no matter where you are. The Lofree Four Seasons allows you to connect and work with three different devices, your smartphone, laptop, and tablet.
Modern technologies and retro styling collide and create a nostalgic piece of kit with Azio Designs’s Retro Keyboard. The timeless design may be what grabs your attention, but it’s the beautiful integration of modern technology that will keep it; ‘Blue’ mechanical keys offer tactile feedback that is both hugely satisfying and reminiscent of typewriters back in the day! LED backlights gently illuminate the keys, adding to the beautiful blend of modern and retro design.
Royole’s RoType is a neat, rollable keyboard. Unlike those hideous flexible silicone/TPU keyboards that you now find on novelty gadget shops, the RoType is slick, professional, and classy. With a miraculously transparent keyboard that embraces and becomes the surface you place it on, the RoType feels sort of like typing on air.
If you’ve ever tried to text in the cold, you know that your fingers tend to lock because of the low temperatures… so imagine trying to type on a keyboard in the cold. Whether you’re working or gaming, the Breez desktop hand-warmer keeps your fingers toasty as you clack away at the keys of your USB or wireless keyboard. The horizontal radiator design uniformly warms your hands as you type, covering the entire keyboard so there’s never a cold-zone near the Numpad.
Believe it or not, I have a decent amount of experience in this field. Ever since I began working full time at YD, I’ve done it from all parts of the world… but 99% of the time, I’ve done it from my home.
Working from home is boring, un-productive, and is filled with distractions. I won’t lie. Being alone at home every day can sometimes affect your mood, and that tends to undermine one’s productivity. You’re less likely to report to work exactly on time, and under the lack of supervision, chances are you’ll have Netflix or YouTube open in a browser window right beside your work. To be honest, remote work isn’t for everyone, and just like it takes time to get into the rhythm of a new job, it takes time to adjust to the new experience of working from home. The good news is that this shift, for the most part, isn’t permanent. It’s a phase that’ll soon pass, and recognizing that really helps you work/study better.
This Is Covidiculous
Given the threat posed by COVID-19, a majority of companies and schools around the world are shutting their doors and instituting temporary ‘stay-at-home’ policies to prevent the risk of spreading the virus. Several colleges on the east coast are telling their students to stay at home, while larger institutions like NYU are shifting to online-based courses as a stopgap solution. Companies like Google and Washington Post have shut their offices too, and I can only imagine what living in parts of China, Italy, South Korea, Japan, and Iran feels like, where the situation on the ground is even more serious.
If you’re a designer or student who’s being told to work/study from home, here are a few ways to avoid the stay-at-home blues and actually be productive and get stuff done.
Separate your Work Life and Home Life
The biggest problem, or complaint rather, with working from home is that it undermines the sanctity of your home being your place of zen, to escape work. People prefer keeping their work in the workplace, and not bringing that stress back home with them… so when you have to reply to emails, make powerpoints, or attend conference calls from the comfort of your bed, that boundary gets blurred.
If you want to effectively work or study from home, un-blur that boundary by separating your workspace from your home space. Fix a designated spot like a desk or the dining table for your working or studying rather than opening your book or laptop in bed. Being productive is a state of mind and needless to say, being in bed won’t help you reach it.
Take breaks / Stay Social
Nobody ever works or studies non-stop for 5-6 hours. Every couple of moments, you feel inclined to stretch, talk to the person beside you, or convene near the water-cooler for some chit-chat. When you bring work home, it’s important to bring that work culture home too. Keep in touch with friends or colleagues via chatting apps. If you’re more of a lone-wolf at work or school, try surrounding yourself with chatter by listening to music or a podcast. If you like reading articles, I recommend checking out Read2Me, a website that does a pretty amazing job of reading out articles to you.
Reward yourself by setting goals
Sometimes (if you’re a little like me) those breaks become a little longer than usual. A 10-minute coffee run perhaps stretches to half an hour long. You promise to watch one YouTube video suddenly you realize you’ve wasted half a day. The best way to hack yourself into being productive is to use the carrot and stick tactic. Start looking at that break as a goal you need to achieve by completing a task. Rather than just getting up to grab a coffee at a certain hour, allow yourself the coffee only after having completed a task or a chapter. That way, the break feels more deserved, so taking a few minutes extra won’t matter either… because you got work done in the process!
Learn a new skill / Work on a passion project
Here’s where working/studying from home is truly a blessing in disguise. It gives you the independence and freedom to actually focus on stuff you wouldn’t be able to at work or in college! Try learning new software, reading a book, building or updating your portfolio, or working on self-initiated projects! You could finally carve out a few hours in the week to take part in one of Instagram’s many designing and rendering challenges, or better still, work on an idea for a product you’ve had in your head for a while now. And when it’s ready, send it over to a design competition, or submit it to us and maybe it could get featured on a design blog!
The absence of a boss’s supervision or a college’s rigorous schedule can be exploited to achieve amazing things!
Give yourself something to look forward to
Some people love working from home, some people don’t. That’s just how the cookie crumbles. If you’re the latter, just remember that setting goals helps you get to them. A footballer without a goalpost is just a person kicking a sphere (I made that up myself!) The best way to get through the day is to look forward to something at the end of it, like a movie or a game. Looking forward to a plan at the end of the day is a great way to get through work/studying without the blues getting to you… and while you’re at it, remember three things. Remember not to slip into bad habits like randomly opening Instagram every few minutes to check for messages, remember that this is just a temporary phase and you’ll be back at work or college before too long, and most importantly, remember to wash your hands! Stay safe, YD fam!
Microsoft's all-in-one Office app is ready for primetime. The mobile-first application, which the company announced last November, has already been available as a public preview. That version was limited to Android users that signed up through a spec...
Microsoft has followed through on its promise of a unified Office mobile app -- for some people, anyway. Following months of beta testing, the company has released the all-in-one productivity app for Android phone users. Like before, this lets you...
Remember the simpler childhood days of using the dropper to pick a color and spill it *carefully* on another sheet? We then advanced from papers to MS Paint and I doubt any of us were able to master that virtual dropper. Now we are in the Apple era but the nostalgia of the simple dropper is not lost and that was the inspiration for the iSpoid – a conceptual dropper that picks up data instead of colors and we are here for this!
The motion of using a dropper to transfer colors was reinterpreted with the data delivery interface with an Apple pencil-like tool which has been christened as iSpoid for this concept project. The group of Korean designers who came up with this conceptual product wanted to make data transfer and data sharing between devices as easy and joyful without the stress of connecting via Bluetooth, hard drives, and the quest for finding the right device to AirDrop. The product development phase involved sketching, brainstorming about usability and making the device itself as physically similar to a dropper as possible – if you observe the form, its a hybrid between the color dropper and the Apple Pencil. The action is instinctive with this device, you position the dropper on the file, press the bubble on top and watch the 3 lights on the tip light up indicating the file has been picked. You then drop it on the desired device and the lights will dim down just like releasing color from a dropper, but here it is the data.
Keeping the aesthetics of Apple, the iSpoid also has a conceptual magnetic charger where you can mount the tool in a vertical position on the sleek stand. The package design and shape are inspired from a measuring cylinder. The concept delivers on its aim to create a minimal, user-friendly, functional device that makes co-working more efficient. Will data scientists like to be called data artists after this?
Designers: Chi-Eun Jang, Hyeokryul Kwon, Jaegeun Kim, Jeongmin Lim.
Microsoft is acting on its promise to give its mobile Office apps a makeover. It just released new iOS (and iPadOS) versions of Excel, PowerPoint and Word that all tout a "simpler, faster and more beautiful" redesign. Really, that's another way of...
This sleek keyboard brings you the nostalgia of the OG keyboards with number pads and a taste of the future with macOS shortcut keys to your Apple set up. The Satechi Bluetooth Extended pad is the key to increasing the productivity of your tech set up and its lightweight build makes it a great traveling companion on work trips too.
With the extended set, the Satechi keyboard brings the functionality of a traditional, fully-functional desktop keyboard to your setup which allows you the flexibility to anchor your ship anywhere you want especially with its slim, compact aluminum build. Be it a MacBook, an iPad or even the iMac with its shortened keyboard, Satechi’s keypad is here to rescue you. Its wireless design makes it easier for it to be portable and is aligned with the Apple aesthetic – no cords, no mess just minimal design with maximum output.
The Satechi extended keyboard comes in silver and space grey so it will match any space. Its battery is charged with the USB-C port which is compatible with most other devices too and limits the accessories you need. Thanks to the in-built Bluetooth system, it does not require a receiver and remains a clean addition to your set up.
Over two and a half years after Microsoft said it'd one day kill to-do service Wunderlist in favor of its own To Do app, it has revealed when it'll drop the ax: May 6th. After that time, Wunderlist's to-do lists won't sync anymore and you'll have a l...
Microsoft wants you to think about its Office 365 subscription service in a whole new light. So on April 21st, the company is renaming the service to "Microsoft 365," as it adds more AI and cloud-powered tools to make you more productive. The pricing...
Microsoft's all-in-one Office app is ready for primetime. The mobile-first application, which the company announced last November, has already been available as a public preview. That version was limited to Android users that signed up through a spec...
Microsoft has followed through on its promise of a unified Office mobile app -- for some people, anyway. Following months of beta testing, the company has released the all-in-one productivity app for Android phone users. Like before, this lets you...
Microsoft is acting on its promise to give its mobile Office apps a makeover. It just released new iOS (and iPadOS) versions of Excel, PowerPoint and Word that all tout a "simpler, faster and more beautiful" redesign. Really, that's another way of...
Over two and a half years after Microsoft said it'd one day kill to-do service Wunderlist in favor of its own To Do app, it has revealed when it'll drop the ax: May 6th. After that time, Wunderlist's to-do lists won't sync anymore and you'll have a l...