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1. 1 Monitor is Never Enough

Now you don’t have to go balls to the walls like Morgan here, but if you are still only rocking 1 monitor, you’re doing it all wrong. It’s scientifically proven (by me of course) that you’ll be x times amount more productive depending on how many monitors you have (x being the number of monitors you have). More screen real estate means more space to spy on your competitors, copy their code and paste it in to your notepad docked on your 2nd monitor – all done without having to switch tabs. The benefits here are awesome! You can also get your non-productive stuff out of the way, like watching porn, by watching them simultaneously on each monitor rather than 1 at a time. Win!

If you’re new to the whole multi-monitor thing, make sure your computer’s video card has outputs for multiple monitors. I’d suggest looking into Samsung monitors as they have great warranties and I haven’t had a problem with the many I currently own and have owned. I’ve currently got a 6 monitor setup that I’ll post when I clean my space up a little more.

2. Smartphones Galore!

You’ve got a lot of choices when it comes to a mobile phone. You can go for the brand before real functionality and performance iPhones, or some of the less expensive yet full capable Android’s, or the all business, no BS Blackberrys. Yeah, I’m not a fan of Apple’s overpriced, underpowered, limited builds. Android phones let you do so much more, with some of the newer phones being brought out with dual core processors, dedicated video cards, and 3d capable (some being more powerful than many netbooks currently on the market). There are also plenty of business apps available to help you get shit done.

For the business purist, pick yourself up a Blackberry. The new 99xx series is faster than any other BB on the market before it. I’m loving the physical keyboard which makes getting real work done, say when I’m in the taxi or waiting for a friend at the bar, easy. BBM makes it easy to communicate for free with other Blackberry users. A lot of corporations provide their employees with Blackberrys for free due to the productivity boost that comes with them.

3. Ergonomic Chair of Comfyness

Herman Miller seems to be the chair of choice when it comes to having a nice chair. Think about it. If you’re anything like me, you are in front of the computer 80% of the time that you are awake. All nighters are hellish on a kitchen chair or a cheap office swivel. Treat your back to something nice because the $500+ you’ll spend on the chair could save you thousands on medical back treatments you might hit after years of sitting from bad posture on poorly designed chairs.

4. A Kick Ass Pair of Cans and a Sound Card

I most get into my affiliate groove while I’m completely isolated from the rest of the world. Some of us aren’t lucky enough to have our own private island with flowing with natural sounds to take us away from the hustle and bustle that’s going on outside our window. That’s where a nice pair of headphones and a decent sound card kick in.

I’m no audiophile, but I can tell you my Shure SRH840s sound amazing. They aren’t too expensive (a couple hundred bucks in Thailand, much cheaper stateside), and they’re closed back which keeps the minimal outside sounds I hear at my place to an absolute minimum. They’re also loud enough that I can turn my volume way up and use them as standard speakers.

If you want top notch sound quality from your PC, you need a sound card. These will also help speed up your PC as your motherboard will no longer have to process the audio signals itself. I suggest a setup from HT Omega. Do some research to make sure your motherboard can support an additional sound card. With the SRH840s and my Asus STX soundcard, listening to a concerto makes me feel like I’m sitting in the front row, and listening to some drum and bass makes me feel like I’m in the middle of a rave. It’s eargasmic!

5. Back It Up

I’ve gone through my fair share of data loss. I’ve accidentally wiped my entire affiliate marketing data hard drive, and I’ve gone through 2 hard drive failures this year. Well, no more I say! On top of backing everything up online to my own private server, I’ve also got a home server with two seperate raid arrays running in RAID 5. This means I have a my data on my PC, which automatically backs up to one array on my home server, which then clones itself to the other array on my home server, which is then backed on my online server. It’d take a worldwide disaster to take my data down, now. It’s one of the best investments I’ve made so far, and while I haven’t had to use it to replace any broken data yet, I know the day is coming soon!

What gadgets could you guys not do without?