If you’re like many modern day business owners and CEOs, you probably find yourself working from your home from time to time — maybe even from the garage like several famous startups. That means that you’ll likely need some tech tools to transform your workspace into a well-functioning digital home office — one that you can rely on to help you consistently get things done.

Keep reading to learn about five essentials you need to get started.

5 Essentials for Your Digital Home Office

Your digital home office should help you focus on important priorities while you grow your business, not bog you down with clutter and inefficiencies. Here are five must-haves to help you transform your space.

1. A Reliable Laptop

It seems impossible to get anything accomplished without a laptop, doesn’t it? They’re portable which makes them easy to use in your home office (or anywhere you choose). Of course, it has to be reliable or else you’ll have to trudge back to your off-site office to get stuff done.

My laptop of choice is a Microsoft Surface Pro, a hybrid machine. It has all the features I need and I love that I can detach the keyboard and use it as a tablet. It also has a built-in kickstand for when I’m using it as a laptop. It’s pretty versatile and best of all, no tech issues so far. Winning!

Btw, if you prefer a desktop, go for it! My favorite productivity set up includes at least two monitors.

NFL Teammates & Cupcake Shop Owners – Brian Orakpo & Michael Griffin

2. Email, Calendar, Storage for Digital Assets, More

Of course, having a laptop is not enough. No digital home office is complete without software — especially the type that lets you send e-mail, manage your appointments, create docs, and even stay connected to your team. That’s where Google Suite comes in.

The G Suite package includes:

  • Docs (create documents and collaborate on them in real-time)
  • Drive (store your important files)
  • Forms (survey peeps, create forms)
  • Hangouts (for virtual meetings and webinars)
  • Sheets (create spreadsheets)
  • Sites (make your own website)
  • Slides (make killer presentations)
  • Much more!

It’s basically everything you need to collaborate with your team (and clients, too) and stay productive. And, just in case you’re wondering, several G Suite products are a big part of my digital home office.

In fact, I use Gmail every day and love the Smart Reply feature. It suggests a quick response I can give when answering an e-mail and actually learns my reply habits. For example, I tend to say “No worries!” instead of “No worries.” so Smart Reply adjusted the options to sound more like me. How cool is that?

Have a look at the video below to learn how Gmail uses Artificial Intelligence (machine learning) to make replying to e-mails super simple and efficient.

Save Time by Using Smart Reply in Gmail (The G Suite Show)

3. An App to Help You Go Paperless

Papers can accumulate quickly and clutter your office. But with a well-functioning digital office, you can digitize many (if not all) of those documents so that you can keep profuse paper pile-ups at bay! When you go paperless, you’ll also:

  • Reduce costs. When you digitize your docs and other pieces of paper, you can reduce your reliance and spending on file folders, printer ink, and file cabinets.
  • Save time. Say goodbye to mounting files, unopened mail, huge stacks of business cards, piles of receipts — and wasted time sifting through all those papers! Digitizing your files can help you curb your paper clutter problem and reduce the time you spend searching for what you need. Just type in a keyword (related to the doc you’re looking for), and let your cloud storage service find it for you. Simple, easy, and fast.
  • Access from anywhere. One of the best things about going paperless is that you can access your data no matter where you are. .You won’t have to worry that you left the hard copy on your desk because you can find it in the cloud (as long as you have Internet access, your user name, and password).

So, how can you get started? A free app like Scannable (brought to you by the nice folks over at Evernote and available in the AppStore) will let you scan business cards, documents, receipts, notes, and other papers using your smartphone. You can also share your scans via e-mail or text or export them (JPG, PDF) to Evernote.

Have an Android? Check out Genius Scan or Adobe Scan in Google Play.

Introducing Scannable App

4. An App to Capture Everything and Organize Anything

Speaking of Evernote, have you tried it yet? If you haven’t, add it to your list of apps to test — especially if you want to capture and keep track of your best ideas, write your blog posts, or to even manage your company’s files and business workflows. Yes, it really can do all of that and more!

One of my favorite Evernote features is the Web Clipper. You can use it to quickly grab stuff you want to save from your Internet travels. You can also use it to save important e-mails (from Gmail). I often do that when I want to clip a specific e-mail to a project notebook so that everything is all in one spot. Time saver!

Since there are many ways you can use Evernote, be sure to figure out your workflow or project processes first and then decide how to use it (and the many app integrations) so you can execute them efficiently. Make sense? If you have questions, drop ’em in the comments and we’ll talk it through together.

How to Save Web Pages to Evernote

5. A Surface to Jumpstart Your Creativity

Brainstorming — by yourself or with others — can spark creativity that might lead to your next fabulous idea. When you’re getting your thoughts out of your head, you sometimes you just need to see them on paper. And, sometimes paper just isn’t big enough for you to clearly visualize those ideas and keep creative juices flowing.

Let IdeaPaint help. This innovative paint turns any surface in your digital home office into an erasable canvas — like a wall or even a life-size mannequin (check out the video below) into your own brainstorming and idea-making space.

And, when you’re finished, simply snap a pic of your brainsparks and save them in Evernote for safekeeping and future reference.

IdeaPaint @ Work

Of course, these are not the only things that can help you be productive when you work from home. What are your digital home office must-haves? Share them in the comments below.