If you’re someone who works from home like our editorial staff, there are no doubt times when you’ll be wondering if there are ways to make your workspace better. Perhaps there are too many distractions around, or sitting around your home workspace is making you antsy.
It’s not uncommon advice for WFH workers to enjoy a change of scenery once and a while, but sometimes doing just that can be more tiring than dealing with the fatigue of staring at the same four walls every day.
On The Inside is our series where we ask our editors what they use on a day-to-day basis that they love.
Our Android and Carriers Editor, Joe Fedewa, explains this frustration:
“There’d be a day when I’d want to go to a coffee shop—and sure enough, my laptop would be dead, so I’d have to charge that up. Then maybe [I’d have to deal with] some software updates. And then, of course, everything I had worked on since the last them I opened it up was not there.”
In short, it was a lot of waiting, updating, and syncing to get out of the house. By that point, it hardly seems worth it to try.
Unless you want to swap to using a laptop as your main work device, there aren’t many obvious solutions to this problem, either. Even if you keep the laptop charged and updated, if you’re not using online services to keep everything you’re doing synced up, and keeping every program on each device updated, you’re still going to run into issues—especially if you’re hopping between Windows and macOS.
“I’ve used Windows forever,” Joe says, “and it would be really annoying to switch between my Windows desktop and my laptop if I wanted to go work somewhere that wasn’t my house.”
Joe, however, found the perfect solution with an unassuming accessory: A Thunderbolt 4 dock. He felt as though his MacBook Air M2 was powerful enough to be a desktop in its own right—so instead of relegating it to just ‘barely used laptop’ status, he uses the dock to make his MacBook his new workstation.
- Ports
-
1x Thunderbolt 4 (output); 1x Thunderbolt 4 (input) 2x HDMI 4K (output); 1x headset jack; 4x USB-A; 1x USB-C
- Power supply included
-
Yes
- Max display res.
-
3840×2160 @ 60Hz
- Dimensions
-
0.9 x 8.9 x 3.3 inches
With this Thunderbolt 4 dock, you can turn your MacBook into a fully-fledged desktop-like workspace. There are enough ports to plug in multiple monitors and all your peripherals, and when you want to leave the house, you just unplug the laptop and go.
“My webcam and keyboard are plugged into the dock through USB-A,” Joe explains, “then my laptop connected with the USB-C port, and it also charges with that port.” The MacBook itself is the only wire physically attached to the dock, and everything else, from the monitors to accessories, is connected to the dock itself or connected to the laptop wirelessly.
I don’t even have to think twice about it. It’s charged up. Everything’s there, super easy.
Joe even uses the MacBook’s screen as a second monitor for working when connected to the dock, in addition to his single wide-screen monitor. Using a stand to keep the laptop open and flipped up at the right angle and height makes the MacBook even more useful beyond being a pseudo desktop.
While Joe uses a 3D printed stand to keep his MacBook elevated, I use a stand from UGREEN for my own MacBook, which is fantastic if you don’t have access to a 3D printer:
- Color
-
Silver
- Weight
-
0.59 Kilograms
While this stand is marketed for tablets and smartphones, it’s also great for a MacBook Air. With its adjustable height and 360-degree rotation, you can place it in the perfect spot to use it as a second screen.
The Thunderbolt 4 dock is such a small, yet fantastic, change to Joe’s workspace that simply makes his workspace better. Not only does the MacBook itself see more use than before, but it’s easy for Joe to head to a cafe or just go into the backyard and work for a bit. All he has to do is unplug the laptop and go—no tedious charging and updating required.
If you’re having trouble getting out of your work-from-home workspace, doing what Joe did with this Thunderbolt 4 dock can be a great solution, whether you use a MacBook or Windows laptop.
Even if you don’t have a laptop and instead use a tablet or even a phone when you’re out of the office, there are ways to make your time out much easier. For example, a small, thin portable keyboard like the Razer Joro can make working outside the home a lot easier when on a tablet.
- Wireless
-
Yes
- Backlight
-
Yes
Designed for both play and work, the Razer Joro is an ultra-compact powerhouse that delivers seamless multi-device connectivity, immersive Razer Chroma RGB lighting, and ultra low-profile switches for fast, tactile keystrokes. Whether at home, in the office, or on the go, experience premium precision in an ultra-light form factor.
