by Stu Kershner, Personal Trainer and Physical Therapist
Are you ready to work from home?
Well, all this “stay at home” time has really changed our way of life. The kids are homeschooling, workouts are at home or outside, we are walking the dog multiple times a day and many of us are working from home.
If you are working from home, how do you go from your familiar office setting (with big monitors, docking stations, keyboard trays, comfy chairs) to your home? And if you don’t have an office, how do you manage to make it work? Sitting on your couch with your laptop is not a great solution. But with a couple of easy modifications, you can make this work much better than you think.
Here are my Top Three Tips to improve your work at home situation:
1. Create your new office at home
First, find an area in your home you can dedicate as your home office if you don’t have one. For me, it is the dining room. We often eat as a family at our small kitchen table and only use the dining room for big family gatherings. Well, there aren’t any extended family dinners happening anytime soon, but it gave me a spot to set up my “home office”. Choose a chair that allows you to reach your keyboard comfortably and if the dining table idea doesn’t work for you, get creative. My back-up idea would be a folding card table in the corner of the living room
2. Next, get some key equipment
If you are working from a laptop and don’t already have an external keyboard and mouse, order some or go pick them up. Find a way to raise your laptop so that the top of your screen is at eye level. My strategy is a cardboard box, but a stack of books would work great too. And leave adequate room for your external keyboard in front of the makeshift stand. And if you’re having a harder time reading your smaller screen, then increase your display zoom.
3. Finally, take breaks every hour.
Some may happen more easily (as your kids may be interrupting you) but if not, then set a timer or alarm. When you take your break, get up and walk around, then stretch for a minute or two. Yes, you were supposed to take breaks before, but you may have had meetings or occasions to get up more frequently before. Now is the perfect time to create better habits and routines.
And don’t forget, if you need good ergonomics, so do your kids. They are probably working a lot more on their devices than they were previously. So please make an effort to help them have a way to have a more suitable situation.
Stuart Kershner
Stuart is passionate about helping people reach their goals and overcome their obstacles. After injuring his elbow playing baseball at age 13, he went on to rehab and return to his favorite sport. This sparked his interest in helping people recover from injury and return to the activities they love. He blends his rehab knowledge as a physical therapist with his fitness and coaching skills, to help his clients by avoiding and recovering from injuries and reaching their ultimate fitness goals. Besides personal training, Stu loves to spend time with his wife and two boys while being active outdoors.
NASM Certified Personal Trainer
Physical Therapist
Orthopedic Certified Specialist
Work with Stu: [email protected]