The Ultimate
Write-From-Home Guide

47 Must-Haves for
Maximum Word Counts

I’ve been working from home as a freelance writer since 2016, and my office has been through dozens of configurations.

I’ve cobbled it together using spare parts and furniture. Burned through three laptops, only to switch to a desktop. Lugged my desk to five different rooms. Drafted copy with a leaf blower running in the background.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way, because there is no coffee shop that gives me the same levels of productivity at home. (Even with my kid playing in the other room.)

So here’s my breakdown of my must-haves for writing my book, running my coaching business, and freelancing for the occasional client. We’re talking:

  • Books

  • Food & Drink

  • Furniture

  • Hardware

  • Office Supplies

  • Software

Note that this guide contains affiliate links, which means I get a teensy commission (at no extra cost to you) if you choose to purchase one of my recommendations. Thanks in advance for supporting this AAPI-woman-owned business!


Books 📚

See more at my Bookshop page for other categories.

Food & Drink 🍵

16 oz. Hydro Flask water bottle. Drink water! It’s good for you! The larger size and bright color also motivates me to get my 64 oz. for the day. (I add chlorophyll drops in the morning, and a splash of apple juice in the late afternoon).

Herbal teas. I always kick off my 6:30 am writing sessions with herbals—usually lemon balm (Great for calming the nervous system), ginger turmeric tea (Fantastic for its anti-inflammatory properties), or dandelion root (Which helps with flushing the kidneys and water retention). It’s only after my daughter wakes up and I’ve finished breakfast that I reach for…

Caffeinated teas. I love making homemade London Fogs with creme de la earl gray tea, or matcha lattes—both with steamed oat milk and a dash of maple syrup.

Corksicle Coffee Mug. They’re well-made, have a variety of colors, keep my drink warm, and (bonus!) can go into the dishwasher without ill effect.

Zulay milk frother. The best $16 I’ve ever spent.

Instacart+ membership. I love how I can push a button and have groceries at my front door (from stores like my local co-op to Costco!) in a few hours. Use my referral link to receive a $40 credit to use on your first two orders.

Vitamins. My brain function vastly improved after a naturopath prescribed with a daily regimen of vitamins. There’s a noticeable difference in my productivity if I forgot to take my:

Note: I am not a doctor nor qualified to give medical advice. This is just what I’ve settled on as essential for my brain performance and resulting blood work.

Furniture 🗄

60 x 30 Uplift standing desk with Motion-X board in walnut laminate. It’s the first desk I’ve ever owned that accommodates my short legs (thanks to adjustable electric components). Love that I can also switch it up on video calls with the push of a button.

Eames leather office chair in white leather. Love the buttery leather and that it’s stayed, despite having a kid who runs into the office to steal a pen. It’s also nice knowing that if something breaks, I can call Eames directly for a replacement part.

Manduka PROlite Yoga Mat. Because the brain works better after physical movement. I’ve tried other brands and always circle back to this one. (Mine’s over a decade old, and use it every day.)

Zafu Zabuton Set. Confession: Most of the time, I use the cushion as a yoga bolster during pigeon poses. But the bright floral print cheers me up, and reminds me it’s okay to sit, close my eyes, and think through next steps instead of gunning through a draft.

Hardware 🖥

24-inch Green iMac with 4.5k Retina display. Obviously, you can’t lug this machine to the coffee shop. But I’m happy to trade in the portability of a laptop for the speed and performance of a desktop—everything runs so much faster now without having to purge my Downloads folder. The pretty green color is a bonus.

AmazonBasics mouse. I’ve tried the Apple Bluetooth mouse, and prefer this wired one. Plus, how can you beat the $8 price tag?

AirPods with charging case. Expensive, but I don’t regret buying them for a second. My only gripe is their four-hour battery life (though that might have more to do with my daughter misplacing the charger, forcing me to buy a new one off eBay.)

Brother laser printer. Call me old fashioned. But after every writing session, I print out a draft of the chapter I worked on, mark it up with a pen, and then resume writing and revision on my computer. I figure it’s worth the cost of toner (Psst: It’s cheaper at Carrot Ink!) to get the polish I want in a final product.

Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad. Note: This is not the keyboard that came with my iMac, I had to buy it separately. I prefer the larger size, swear by the media keys, and bought it solely because the sound didn’t wake up my kid while she napped in the other room.

M2 chip MacBook Air. When my Pro laptop finally bites the dust, this is the machine I’m replacing it with. You can’t beat the portability of the Air if you favor working in coffee shops or writing on the road. (I took an older version to Vietnam for three months and had zero issues doing work for clients.)

Office Supplies 🖇️

Copic Multi Liner Pens (0.5 mm). An art store employee recommended these over my usual Staedtlers and I am so happy I made the switch! The writing is smooth and the colors are more saturated. Beware, left-handers: Unlike the Staedtlers, these do smear.

Post-it sticky easel pad. Great for visualizing my chapters when legal pads don’t suffice. Plus, it sticks on the wall for easy reference (and doesn’t leave a sticky residue for me to clean off). Note: Suddenly these got expensive, so I will stock up when the price goes down.

Yellow legal pads. I’ve tried journals and more expensive sketch pads, but honestly can’t tell the difference. Perfect for mind maps, to-do lists, and brain dumps before bed so I know what to work on first-thing the next morning.

Software 💿

Brain.fm. After exhausting all the Deep Focus playlists on Spotify Premium, I finally paid for Brain.FM’s yearly subscription and haven’t looked back. Their music is backed by science and you can use my referral link to get the first month for $1.

Spotify Premium. I am continually studying how songwriters use words to tell stories, so the Premium subscription is a must-have for our family. Plus, have you ever made a playlist for your characters? Such a fun exercise!

Notion. Everything I write starts in Notion—from drafting contracts to keeping track of client notes to brain dumping ideas for a chapter or newsletter. In a pinch, it even works as a (very basic) webpage mockup tool.

Google Docs. As much as I love Notion, it’s not ideal for collaboration and revision. So I move the text over to Google Docs when I need quick feedback from my book coach, editor, or one of my critique partners. HOWEVER. If you’re working on a longer document (like a book), you will quickly learn of its limitations beyond 100 pages. Which means you need…

Microsoft 365. If you’re working on a manuscript or submitting to a literary magazine, agents and editors will always request a Word document. So after I finish line edits in Google Docs, I move the text into a Word doc and (try!) to keep from doing anything but minor copy edits.

ProWritingAid. There is no substitute for having another person look over your work. But when budget doesn’t allow for it, ProWritingAid helps me catch all of my run-on sentences, yells at me for using too many ellipses, and makes my writing more concise. I also like that you can adjust the settings, based on the type of document you’re writing (in my case, creative or web content).

Readwise. If you read books on Kindle, Readwise is a game-changer—it imports all of your highlights into their app, or a searchable database of choice (in my case, a Notion page.) Perfect for getting inspiration from other writers or remembering what you loved about a book.

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