Creating a Comfortable Workspace For Yourself & Your Body

One of the fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been that a large part of the American workforce is currently operating from home. For many employees and business owners, the work-from-home trend may continue even when the virus is finally behind us. In this scenario, it is vital to create a healthy and comfortable workspace at home.

If you foresee yourself working from home for a fairly long time to come, it’s time to prioritize your work conditions and environment at home. Here are a few tips that should help:

Minimize the Noise and Clutter

If you have a separate room available at home, select it as your dedicated workspace. Ideally, make sure the workspace has minimum distractions and is at a distance from places such as the laundry room, kitchen, and kids’ play area.

A relatively tranquil workspace will help reduce the noises and keep stress levels low. As much as possible, you should also minimize the clutter, dust, and fumes in your work area.

Maintain a Healthy Posture

If you expect to put in long hours every day in front of a computer screen, at your desk, or on the phone, you cannot afford to ignore your physical comfort. Correct placement of your computer monitor, keyboard, mouse, and other desk equipment is vital to keep away from physical ailments such as neck, back and shoulder pain, headache, wrist and elbow stiffness, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

It may be helpful to discuss with a physical therapist or massage therapist about suggestions for the correct position for your seating and workspace.

Do Not Ignore the Lighting

Your first preference should be to choose a workspace where you have access to plenty of natural lighting from windows and maybe skylights. This may not be possible in every home, and if you’re working in the evenings or at night, you may also need adequate electrical lighting.

Quality electrical lighting will minimize your eyestrain. While a good overhead light is important, you should also consider having a clamp-on or desk lamp. You can position it in a way that illuminates specific tasks that require your focus.

Invest in an Ergonomic Chair

If your budget allows you to invest in just one piece of furniture for your home office, it should be an ergonomically designed chair. An uncomfortable or poorly designed chair will gradually take its toll on your spine, neck, shoulders, and arms.

Compromising on your body’s comfort and suffering in physical agony because of a bad chair is not going to be worth it. Important elements to check for in an office chair are the distance from the floor to the seat (or an adjustable height), adjustable seating, and adjustable armrests.

If you’re looking for a new desk, I can personally recommend the Autonomous SmartDesk2 Premium (this is a referral link but you can also just browse). This adjustable standing desk has reduced my pain and tension as well as enhanced my workflow. I can also stay focused longer when I’m able to switch to a standing desk height and stretch out my legs.

Stretching at Work

Lets face it, our body needs multiple stretch breaks depending on how many hours you are going to spend in a sedentary position or performing repetitive tasks. An experienced massage therapist or fitness expert can suggest safe and easy stretches for you, which you can incorporate into your new work-from-home schedule.

Schedule a Virtual Consultation with BBT Massage Today! Balanced Body Therapeutic Massage, LLC offers proven and effective therapeutic massage services to address your body and health concerns. If you are a current client of ours and need help adjusting to the aches and pains of a new work from home routine, a virtual consultation can help you. I will suggest stretches, self care and self massage techniques specifically for the challenges you are currently experiencing or help manage pain levels until in person massage is safe again. I can also provide referrals for other health & wellness professionals based on your needs. Send me an email at info@bbtmassage.com to see if a virtual session may be a good fit for you. You can also schedule online here.