Assuming you can learn to leave your work at the office, a few good apps and some connected pieces of tech can help any savvy worker. You can work smarter, faster, and more efficiently with the right gear. Of course, the wrong gear can just add stress to your plate. That’s why we’ve put together this list. These are the best pieces of tech and the best apps to help you transition back to work.
Redacted
You’d be wise to protect sensitive information around the office. Still, there are times you have to share photos and docs that would benefit from a little bit of cropping. When you don’t have time to hop into Photoshop, there’s Redacted. Redacted lets you hide the sensitive parts of something you need to share with colleagues so you don’t get in any trouble. Browser tabs for fantasy football. The credit card number at the bottom of a purchase. Whatever sensitive info exists can be blurred, pixelated, or covered with a black bar.
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Tumi Global Locator
The Global Locator from Tumi delivers peace of mind to the frequent traveler. The device allows you to keep tabs on your bags and luggage whenever you fly off to a meeting. You can check that your bag made it onto the right plane. You can find your bag when it isn’t waiting for your at baggage claim. You can even track multiple bags. By utilizing GPS, GSM, WiFi, and Bluetooth, the Tumi Global Locator can do far more than one of those Bluetooth luggage tags that loses track of your carry-on when it’s more than 30 feet away. While it requires a service plan, it’s worth it if your job constantly has you hopping the pond.
$150
Betabrand Dress Pant Sweatpants
PARTNER Those work pants are the exact opposite of the comfy shorts you’ve been wearing all summer. Normally, that would be a huge bummer this time of year. Luckily, however, you’re no longer relegate to stiff, scratchy work pants. Betabrand’s Dress Pant Sweatpants blend the tailored look of appropriate workwear with the comfort of your favorite sweats. They’re the most comfortable pants you’ll ever wear to the office. Available in slim, regular, and 5-pocket, Dress Pant Sweatpants boast 4-way stretch material that moves with you and clever details like a zippered security pocket for your valuables. Put on a pair and you’ll kinda feel bad for your coworkers in their tight, itchy slacks.
$98
iTranslate Converse
Anyone who does any business overseas knows the challenges with not speaking the local language. Instead of pointing and using complicated hand gestures, consider downloading iTranslate Converse, which turns your phone into a translation device. Forget about looking up words and having a convo as rough as some choppy seas; iTranslate Converse delivers results in near real time so you can talk naturally. It allows you to instantly converse in 38 languages and even offers full transcripts of every voice in a conversation. If you’re constantly catching red-eyes to Europe and Asia, this is the app for you.
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Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID
A fingerprint reader makes accessing things so much easier. Less passwords to remember. Less typing to do. Far better security. Now you can bring all of that to your computer with this keyboard from Microsoft. The Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID hides a fingerprint sensor in with the rest of the keys, so it isn’t so obvious you have one. Besides that, it’s just a good-looking piece of work tech, with an aluminum frame and high quality components. Go wired or wireless and start accessing things without punching away.
$130
AirBar
We live in a weird time when it comes to personal computing. Some of our devices are equipped with touchscreens and others aren’t. This has lead many a person to swipe right on a standard screen and search for the keyboard on a touchscreen. As we transition, consider AirBar, which is a clever device that turns a MacBook into a touchscreen computer. Yup. Just plug it in, set it up, and start swiping away.
$99
Solo G3 Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive
The Solo G3 takes the peace of mind you get with an external hard drive one step further, allowing you to rest easy should there be a fire or a bit of flooding as well. That’s right, the Solo G3 is both fireproof and waterproof. It can even be bolted down so no one can walk away with it. If you’re serious about protecting your files, this is what you need.
$280
Bear
There are note-taking apps, and then there is Bear. Bear is the best writing app we’ve come across and we can’t recommend it enough. From meeting notes to essays, Bear handles all your writing. What sets it apart? You can add to-dos to individual notes, it works across all your devices, you can search everything you’ve written, and it can even help you focus. It also happens to be clean, attractive, and easy to use. You really should just find out for yourself, as we’re confident it will replace whatever note-taking app you’re currently using.
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Mophie Powerstation USB-C XXL
The latest release from Mophie packs more juice than all the others before it. This Powerstation can handle far more than you phone; it can charge your laptop. It’s an absolute life-saver if you travel. You’ll never be away with a dead phone or a dead computer again. Plus, thanks to the dual USB charging ports, you can charge up two devices at once and be back at it making calls, snapping pictures, and firing off messages before you know it.
$150
CZUR Book & Document Scanner
Scanning books and documents with your standard scanner is a pain. Between the balancing, folding, and eventual re-scanning, you’re better off just reading whatever you’re scanning aloud to the person you’re sending it to. Better? Get the CZUR Book & Document Scanner. You can scan a 200-page book in less than 3 minutes. Not only that, you can erase fingerprints, scan to an ebook, and it recognizes curved books and adjusts to scan them correctly. It’s the scanner you won’t want to go all Office Space on.
$399
Shapr
Networking is one of those things that’s an necessary evil. While some people excel at it, many feel so uncomfortable they struggle to make those new connections. Shapr is here to help. Shapr is like Tinder, only its focus is networking, not hooking up. Put your interests and industry in and start swiping around to find people to collaborate with. Maybe it will lead to a new position. Maybe it will lead to a partnership. If those cocktail parties aren’t your speed, Shapr can help.
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