Are you sitting about more at the moment?

Take care of yourself

Many people are working from home at the moment and it’s easy to end up with all kinds of aches and pains just from sitting badly. Take a look at this image!

The good news is that it’s also easy to avoid the bad habits that cause this. Here are some simple tips:

• Find a corner of the house to work in, away from distractions and make it your dedicated workspace.
• Have the right lighting. It may seem easier to see the screen if the room is dimly lit, but your poor eyes have to keep adjusting to the different light levels, so keep your workspace well lit.
• Stand for 15 mins every hour, try for 30. No hunching over the desk or crossing your legs either!
• Support good posture by having your desk, chair and accessories arranged properly. Your screen should be approximately at eye level (or at least tilted upwards). When seated, your hips should be slightly higher than your knees, back well supported, feet flat and forearms parallel to the floor so that your arms roughly form an L-shape. Your keyboard should be directly in front of you with the mouse close by. If your feet are not flat on the floor, you probably need a footrest (a box or stool will do at a pinch) and if you are doing lots of work with the mouse, you may need a wrist rest.
• Take regular breaks.
• Take regular breaks (no, that’s not an error!). At least every hour. Frequent short breaks are better than less frequent long breaks. Either way, get away from the desk or table and get outside if you can. Do some exercise, yoga, meditation, anything that switches you off for a few minutes and relaxes you. At work, you probably have all kinds of minor distractions that you don’t even think about.

And take even more breaks and even more care if you’re working from a small keyboard and screen on a tablet. And as for working from your phone, don’t. Please.