Setting Up The Space to Work From Home
Working from home turning your spine into a question mark?
At this point you’re probably tired of reading blog posts intros calling out 2020 - wild fires, pandemics, social upheaval. We get it. It’s a lot. For those of us fortunate enough to still have gainful employment there’s a set of somewhat minor inconveniences that, if left unchecked, can snowball into actual issues. Setting up your home working space. Many of us gave up the desktop back at the end of college. Yet faced with endless months of working remotely it’s become more and more important to sort out how you’re going to work from home without turning your spine into a question mark. Here are some strategies to help get you sorted:
Understanding the Problem
Your body didn’t evolve to be glued to a desk (theoretically it evolved for endurance hunting and gathering). While the conditions in “the before times” weren’t ideal, we’re walking, moving, and socializing even less now. Add in that our socially distant “socializing” is now over screens… and you get the idea. Part of the issue lies in our anatomy:
Your spine has a series of curves, created by the structures of the bones themselves. If you look at hunter/gatherer cultures (yes, there are a few left) they rarely sit in what we think of as chairs and mostly either sit on the ground or squat.
Unfortunately, our world locks us into desks fairly early (depending on when your school education started) and we all start slouching - gradually adapting our bodies to lose the curves. By the time you finish college you’ve spent 4/5 of your life sitting for the majority of the day - shortening the hip flexor muscles, blunting the hamstrings, and changing the lumbar curve, sacrum, and coccyx.
Combined these equal back, hip, and leg pain.
Further messing with the equation - we naturally reach our faces towards whatever we’re working on. In the case of your computer, that means jutting your head forward and rounding your spine. Your shoulder blades come up and over your rib cage in the process. Collectively, these shorten your chest and shoulder muscles, weaken and elongate the ones between your shoulder blades, and shift the muscles and connective tissues in the neck.
Combined these lead to shoulder, neck, and arm pain as well as headaches and eye strain.
Essentially: it’s all meant to work together - and when we sit like this guy all the time, none of it does.
You want to set up your working environment in a way that keeps these natural shapes to your body.
Sit on the very bottom of your pelvis - there are two bony bumps called your sitz bones on the bottom. SIT ON THEM! (not the cheeks)
Keep the curves in your spine, especially your lumbar (lower back)
You want your rib cage above your hips, your shoulders above your rib cage, and your head above your shoulders, all in a line
Ideally your monitor should be about eye level to keep you from rounding down and reaching your face
What to do about it
There are a lot of factors to be considered when setting up your home work space; but this article is going to focus on 2 main ones: Adjustments with your device, and finding the right chair.
Device
Depending on what device you’re working on there are unique considerations.
Desktop
Because you can separate your monitor from your keyboard you’ve got some freedom to work with. Some things to consider:
Your monitor should be eye level, so bring it up on a platform or stack of books
Consider a split keyboard if you can touch type
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Laptop
Laptops and iPads have a similar problem - they keyboard being locked to the monitor. The best thing you can do is get an external keyboard so you can elevate to the right height and save your eyes and neck.
Consider getting a wireless keyboard so you can elevate your monitor and sit tall
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iPad
Like laptops, the major challenge is in separating the screen from the keyboard. Unlike laptops, most stands angle the iPad. Consider getting a goose neck or another holder which can get the angle right in addition to the external keyboard.
While Apple doesn’t specifically have it’s own product, there are bluetooth keyboards that will allow you to put your iPad on a stand and save your neck
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Chair
Depending on your situation you might be stuck at the kitchen table, a weird counter, or have your own desk. Hopefully whatever your space, you have some say about the chair.
ONE BIG DON’T
My #1 recommendation to everyone reading this DO NOT WORK ON THE BED OR THE COUCH! I know it’s tempting. I know you want to. It’s killing your back and neck.
What You Do Want
Squishy chairs allow your butt to sink and tuck under, rounding your lower back. This isn’t a big deal at first; but day after day of scooping your tailbone and reaching your arms forward warps your spine and shifts the muscles and connective tissue - and then eventually you realize everything hurts. What you do want:
The right height for your work surface
A flat-ish bottom
Ideally no arms
Soft enough but not squishy
The “right” height
Kitchen tables, coffee tables, and counter tops are all going to be different than if you were at a desk - meaning the chair needs to be the right height for you and your work surface. Your feet should comfortably reach the floor and your hands to the keyboard (or writing surface) without your shoulders bunching up.
Flat-ish bottom
Some chairs (and car seats) tip back so your butt sinks into them. This sounds comfy… but eventually it will make your lower back and tailbone hurt. You want a chair that’s level in the seat
Avoid arms
Again, sounds like a good idea; but they can actually bunch up your arms by holding your elbows higher than they should be. Don’t believe the hype - go armless.
Soft but not squishy
The chair can’t be so hard it hurts; but if it’s too soft you’ll slouch. Get a decently firm cushion and find the middle ground.
Update: Chair Recommendations
Lately I’ve had a lot of questions about what chair I’d recommend. There are a million out there and not one answer based on your physiology and circumstances. However, here are 4 specific chairs you might consider:
Steelcase Gesture Chair - recommended by chiropractors and orthopedists, this chair is an investment
HON Ignition 2.0 - a lower price point with adjustable-height lumbar support. Good if you’re outside of average height norms
Dragonn Kneeling Chair - consider an outside-the-box alternative. Kneeling chairs were once the norm for typeists and keep the spine neutral
Saddle Stool - my favorite and another outside-the-box option. This stool holds your pelvis in a neutral position but still allows you to roll around.
Other chairs I recommend:
One last thing
Get up and move. Often. Set yourself a work timer and take stretching breaks. Anything you can do to promote balance to your human-level needs will go a long way through thriving in challenge.