Have you ever stood up from your desk after a hard day’s work and had your joints creak and click, as well as have to stretch out tight muscles that have suffered from being in the same position for hours? It’s a sign that you need to spend a bit of time thinking about your health and posture by improving the ergonomics of your desk, chair, and general working environment. Here are a few things to examine and improve when it comes to ergonomics and how you can improve how you feel during and after your working day, particularly in your home office.
A Lesson on Sitting Down
Your chair does a lot of the heavy lifting, so to speak, when it comes to ergonomics when you’re working in your home office. You want to choose something that is very adjustable and promotes good ergonomics through science-backed design, like those available from Branch Furniture. Ergonomic chair height is important and Branch’s ergonomic chair height guide has some great tips and information about how to set up your office chair to the correct height, along with other points of adjustment that should be properly set up and considered.
Don’t Forget Your Desk
The last thing you want to do is buy a generic desk that doesn’t work for your needs. Together with careful adjustment of your chair height, you want your desk to be at the right height so that you don’t need to dangle your feet or bend your knees past 90 degrees – and that your elbows can be flush with the desk height. There has been a movement recently in abandoning sitting altogether and opting instead for a standing desk, which has ergonomic considerations of its own. You could also opt for an adjustable height desk so you can switch between these two working modes for the best of both worlds.
Setting Up Your Computer
Your computer is responsible for a lot of bad habits and posture issues when it comes to just sitting at your desk and working. If you’re working on a laptop positioned flat on the desk, for example, you’re likely hunching over for the best view of the screen and comfort on the keyboard. You’re not doing your body any favors though, so it’s time to adjust your computer’s position and setup.
The first thing to do is to make sure you lift your laptop or computer screen off the desk so that your eyes are level with the top bezel of the screen. There are some great products available to help you do this, many of which can be adjusted to be perfect for your setup. This will improve your spine alignment, particularly in your neck. It’s also an opportunity to get an external keyboard and mouse with better wrist support to prevent injuries to your wrists like RSI and carpal tunnel syndrome.
The 20-Minute Rule
It’s not all about furniture and how you set up your desk, chair, and computer. It’s also about moving around and taking breaks while you’re working. Making time to take these breaks is important, and some clever and free software can help you manage when to take them.
To prevent eye strain and related headaches, a simple app like EyeLeo can help you remember to take mini breaks and longer breaks to get up and move around. The 20/20/20 rule is a great one to follow. For your body, a good rule of thumb is to spend about 10 minutes out of every hour away from your desk, even if you’re just ambling around the house or taking a walk around the garden for some fresh air. It has the added benefit of giving you a few minutes to let go of some stress if you’re having a particularly busy day.
Lunch and Hydration
It’s easy to forget about the time and skip lunch or forget to drink enough water during your day. Even worse, you might find yourself opening the pantry or refrigerator and choosing snacks over proper meals out of pure convenience. Avoid this by planning or preparing your lunch in advance, and keeping a flask or bottle of water at your desk. It might be a good idea to integrate your lunch or water breaks to ensure proper diet and hydration with your eye strain or movement breaks to remember to properly hydrate during your workday.
You won’t regret the cost and time investment you’ll put into creating a proper working space that is customized to meet your needs. If there is more than one of you working from the same home, try not to share workspaces. Instead, create your own so that your setup and configuration of chair and desk is always to your exact needs and preferences.
