7 Work From Home Essentials for Squirrels 

Navigating the work-from-home situation can be a freaking CHALLENGE for squirrel brains.

With the kitchen just steps away, laundry towering over the edge in the closet, and a tempting walking trail right outside, the distractions are endless.

Don’t get me wrong—it’s still 100x better than being forced to sit in a bland office from 9-5. Never, EVER, again.

I love working from home, but it takes a lot of discipline and strategies to stop squirrelling all over town and actually get shit done.

A few work from home essentials have done wonders for my productivity, even as a squirrel. 

Even if your WFH situation isn’t ideal in terms of environment, there are definitely ways you can make it a little bit more enjoyable, comfortable, and productive. Here’s a list of a few work from home essentials that make my office space feel productive and cozy. o.

I lied—one more thing to mention before we actually get started: I want to formally state that the only true WFH essential of mine is peace and quiet.

If that’s all I have, then that’s enough; don’t let my shopaholic tendencies fool you. (She says as she drafts an entire post dedicated to convincing you that you need to buy things…) 

1. Laptop Stand

I thought this was a pointless luxury item until I started writing (and, as a result, typing) for a living. About two weeks into my freelance career, I started having crazy neck pain. Turns out I had been craning my neck downward for hours on end each day. 

Enter: laptop stand.

A friend suggested this to me as a quick fix for my neck pain, and I saw a huge improvement since I purchased it!

Of course, a laptop stand alone won’t fix your problems – you’ll need to adjust your posture, too. I learned the hard way that sitting with one leg on the kitchen table, one leg tucked under your butt, and your head resting at an angle in your left hand isn’t exactly the healthiest position to work in.

While I’ve since graduated from working at the kitchen table and now have an actual office and desk, I still use my laptop stand on my desk so I’m not looking down all freaking day.

2. Water Bottle

A necessity. One of the only things I miss about my old 9-5 job is the water dispenser.

On the days where I forget to bring my water bottle to my office, I find myself looking up from my computer at 5pm and realizing I haven’t had a single sip of water all day. And then I realize that’s the source of the headache I’d been suffering from since I was 12. So, take it from me, a (preferably very large) water bottle is an absolute must in your WFH station.

To spice things up, I like to add a scoop of BCAAs into my water to help with my energy levels – my favorite is the raspberry flavor from Tropeaka.

3. An Actual Paper Planner

Even though I use Google Cal and AirTable to organize all of my content planning and meetings (and thoughts), I still need to use a physical paper planner in order to remember alllll the things I have to do. If I don’t write it down, I’m likely going to forget about it.

Fun fact: it’s scientifically proven that physically hand-writing notes helps you remember things. I’ve been using the Day Designer planner for almost a decade now, and I’ll never be able to go back to a traditional weekly planner after utilizing its *luxurious* one-page-a-day format.

Fair warning that these bad boys are a bit pricey, but completely worth it if your daily to-do list is as seemingly never-ending as mine.

Another great option is the Golden Coil planner, which my friend (and cool Broadway-star-turned-web-designer) Sarah Kleist helped blow up on TikTok!

Their planners are completely customizable, and you get to decide what the inside of yours looks like in terms of format and style of page, but they only go up to 6 months, due to the high quality of the paper.

I definitely plan to invest in a notebook from them in the future when they restock more colors!

4. A (Giant) Monitor

My life was forever changed when I finally invested in a desktop computer. Now, I don’t think it’s necessary to go out and buy an iMac (…even though I did… because I’m dramatic…), but I definitely would recommend investing in getting a monitor that connects to your laptop.

They’re not too pricey—my iMac cost less than my laptop did—and they provide a much more productive (and luxurious, even) work experience.

I’m spending most of my days referencing client notes and questionnaires while simultaneously going over my drafts, so being able to look at them side-by-side on my computer is THE BEST THING EVER. 

Yes, I’m yelling. I feel that passionately about this.

5. Reed Diffuser

Naturally, I always have a lot of paper on my desk (aka scrawled notes from discovery calls and kickoff meetings spread out everywhere… remind me why I still take handwritten notes?), and candles felt like a recipe for disaster.

To avoid all of this, I invested in a reed diffuser, and now my office smells like beautiful Springtime lilies.

6. Comfy Blanket

I know, I know. “Work” and “comfy” shouldn’t really go together. But this is my blog post and my business, and the beauty of that is: I get to decide what my work environment is.

Now that I think about it, though, when I worked my (shitty) office job a few years ago, I would sit at my desk with a blanket, haha. It was freezing in there.

My current office isn’t even cold, I just feel like having a blanket to make it more ~cozy~ for no reason. I’ve linked the Barefoot Dreams one, and while I do both own and love it, I’m still partial to my old Christmas one from Target that I got for $10.

7. A Hobby Basket for Woo

Working from home with a squirrely 7-year-old off for the summer isn’t exactly easy. So I made him a basket of things to keep him occupied while I work:

• Coloring book
• Actual book
• Puzzle
• Toy cars

And if that fails, I put him on FaceTime with friends and family—don’t underestimate the power of virtual babysitting!

Add These Work From Home Essentials to Your Cart

These WFH essentials keep my butt in the chair long enough to actually get something done during the day.

But I will admit that I love working in new spots: the swing on my front porch, the couch, or a local coffee shop, to name a few.

Whatever it takes to keep the squirrel brain from squirrelling, if you ask me! 

What are your work from home essentials? Send me a DM on Instagram to let me know! (I may or may not be the ultimate consumer and plan to click ‘add to cart’ as soon as I read your message.)

And if you want more ADHD tips, join the Sunday Squirlie, my weekly newsletter all about how to optimize your time and productivity as a neurodivergent person and business owner.