Protecting Your Privacy and Confidentiality
Just as you should be handling confidential documents carefully when you are at the office, you should approach these documents with the same level of care when you are handling them in your home office. No home office is complete without a suitable paper shredder.
Yes, many of us have entered the digital age. It’s the green thing to do to opt for e-billing rather than receiving “dead tree” invoices, but there are still certain documents that will still pass through in paper form. A lot of what you get from the government, for example, will be sent via letter mail. You need to shred some of this stuff in the interest of privacy.
It’s up to you whether you want to pay the premium for higher-end shredders. Some of them can carve through credit cards and all sorts of other stuff. What I do suggest is that you get a cross-cut shredder and not just a strip-cut shredder, as this can add a lot of added security. Better still, get a cross-cut shredder that’s powered by your hamster. It’ll double as his bedding and be a greener alternative!
Uninterrupted Power Supply
When you work from home, you come to rely on certain things. You come to take certain things for granted. You assume that the toilet will always flush. You assume that the fridge will always have a chilled can of Coke. And you assume that you’ll always have both power and access to the Internet.
Unfortunately, real life isn’t quite as reliable as we would all hope. Larger corporations equip their offices with backup generators and you can achieve a similar level of reliability by investing in a suitable Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS). These can provide you with extra juice when you get hit with an electrical blackout. This is particularly important for desktop computer users, because at least laptop users don’t go dark when the power goes out.
Depending on how things are set up, you can connect your modem, router, and computer to the UPS and then you can continue working right through the blackout. If you don’t choose to invest in an uninterruptible power supply, I highly suggest you at least get a properly surge protecting power bar. You don’t want your computer to fry during a surge.
The Constantly Evolving Home Office
One of the best things about having a home office is that you can upgrade and expand your equipment at any time. When you’re working in a larger office with other employees, the adoption of new technology can take quite a bit of time. When you’re only dealing with a small home office, you can evolve at your own pace and get rid of outdated technology as you see fit. Who needs a fax machine when you have a Wi-Fi multifunction printer?
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