I have worked as a reporter, editor, and journalist for nearly 15 years

Like many of us, I carry a laptop when I travel for work, often spending hours in a hotel room or on a plane writing notes and articles For years, I never thought much about it, just tossed my trusty old Dell XPS 13 in my bag and hopped on a plane to wherever I needed to go

But over the past few years, I've found that I can no longer comfortably use my best laptop on the road by itself; it's good enough for a couple of e-mails or a simple document, but I shudder to think of bending over a hotel desk for three to five hours to do serious work Our bodies are not designed to bend over a keyboard attached to a screen for hours on end

I'm not even 40 yet and already suffer from serious hand, wrist, neck, and shoulder problems due to a life spent sitting in front of a keyboard I had to spend years relearning how to use my laptop and PC in a way that didn't hurt me I hope the lessons I have learned will make your journey less painful

So, if you are about to travel and plan to bring a laptop or tablet to get work done on the go, please consider doing a little research on the accessories I recommend and adding them to your packing list It can be a little frustrating trying to pack extra gadgets into your luggage when you're trying to pack light, but I promise you that your body will thank you if you bring these laptop accessories on your next trip

As you may have already noticed, working on a laptop on a desk can be quite uncomfortable This is generally because you have to crane your neck to see the screen, as well as raise your hands unnaturally high to type directly under the screen, which causes your entire body to hunch over, and I would eventually hurt like hell

That's why it's worth investing in a portable laptop stand that folds down to fit in your luggage I personally recommend the $45 laptop stand from Nexstand (pictured above), which has changed the way I work It used to be available on Amazon, and you can find many other great portable laptop stands at this store set up by Jeff Bezos

I like this cheap little black plastic stand because it is lightweight and folds down to a compact size, about 12 inches long and 1-2 inches thick It is also adjustable, giving me a few inches of room to comfortably adjust the height of my laptop

If the look is a little too thin for your liking, rest assured that there are plenty of sturdier and more expensive alternatives to laptop stands I recommend the Nexstand K2 because it is lightweight, folds up for easy packing, and at under $50, you won't feel too terrible if you lose it while traveling

Laptop stands make using a laptop on the go more comfortable, but they can make typing a bit awkward because the keyboard is a few inches above the desk

Enter the external keyboard Laptop keyboards are not very comfortable for me, so this is an important laptop accessory that I basically use all the time I have a few ergonomic keyboards that I use at home, but when I travel, I like to take them with me because they come with their own travel case and make working on my laptop much easier

There are many options for travel keyboards, ranging from price to key layout to wireless compatibility (higher-end models are Bluetooth-enabled, while cheaper ones come with a Wi-Fi USB dongle that must be connected to a laptop)

The keyboard I carry when I travel is a lifesaver for me, but at roughly $349, it is not for everyone I'm talking about my Keyboardio Model 100 ($349) It is an ergonomic, split mechanical keyboard (pictured above) and comes with its own travel case

I like split keyboards because I can reposition each half for maximum comfort At a hotel desk (or, let's be honest, on a hotel bed), you can rest your hands and arms comfortably and place the keyboard underneath them Split keyboards are even more convenient while traveling because they are more compact and easier to pack than standard rectangular keyboards

So, I would recommend investing in a split keyboard that is ergonomic, comfortable to type on, and easy to carry, but you don't necessarily have to spend more than $300 for it I'm a fan of the Keyboardio Model 100 (you can read more about how this keyboard has changed the way I work here), but there are plenty of other options that are a bit less expensive

For example, I recently asked Cameron Stiehl (aka Ergo Lady), an ergonomics expert at work, for advice on how to work painlessly and efficiently on a laptop, and he recommended an ergonomic keyboard from Human Solution (Human Solution, Inc) Specifically, the GoldTouch Go 2 (link above), a portable split keyboard that works wirelessly via Bluetooth on both the best Windows laptops and the best MacBooks It also folds up for travel, is not as compact as my Model 100, and is over $200 cheaper

"There is a keyboard I am starting to recommend more, the GoldTouch Go It's a portable, small, sleek split keyboard with a PC-to-Mac switch that anyone can use" It folds in half, and is basically two little square keyboards that can be set at whatever split angle you need, and can even be tented if you need to fully pronate your arms But you can also fold it in half and put it in a bag It's so easy There's no way not to use it"

Finally, set up a mouse that is portable and comfortable This is because you're probably less likely to reach out to use your laptop's trackpad or touchscreen while you're working than you are to type

But if you have room in your bag for a wireless mouse, put it in there so you can click and drag comfortably on the go Your hands and wrists are not designed to reach across your chest and scratch the touchpad over and over, so anything you can do to give them a comfortable rest will go a long way toward making working on the go more pleasant

Personally, I like to carry the Contour Unimouse when I travel because it is small, lightweight, and unusually foldable for an ergonomic vertical mouse It's not as small as those little travel mice you often find in airport gadget stores, but it's a lot easier to pack

More importantly, it has enough height and footprint to fit my overly large hands; the Contour Unimouse can be deployed from a 35-degree angle to a 70-degree angle, allowing me to adjust the size and height of the mouse to a comfortable level once unpacked

The Contour Unimouse's only weakness as a travel gadget is that it requires a USB-A wireless dongle to be connected to the laptop While the included USB-A to USB-C adapter will work fine with newer laptops, it can be a problem if the wireless dongle is inadvertently lost in your luggage

So if you regularly work on your laptop while on the road, consider investing $100 or more in a high-quality travel accessory that will provide a more comfortable experience I know how hard it can feel to justify paying extra for accessories when your laptop already has a perfectly usable keyboard and trackpad