Optimize your work area for better productivity — no ‘standing desk’ required
Computerworld – Here’s a sobering statistic: With a 40- to 45-hour
work week, many Americans spend about 25% of the year on the job. For
those of us who stare at computer screens all day, that amounts to more
than 2,000 hours with our keisters glued to chairs. In less technical
terms, we’re practically married to our desks.
For as many hours as we whittle away at our workstations, though,
most of us put surprisingly little thought into optimizing our offices.
Quick: When’s the last time you actually stopped to think about how
efficient your physical workspace is? If you’re anything like me, the
answer is probably “never.”
Workstation optimization can make a significant difference in your
ability to get things done.
Believe me: I’ve slowly but surely been
making changes to my own humble office, and with each adjustment, I’ve
noticed more productivity and less time wasted (unintentionally, at
least — my midday YouTube-browsing habit shows no signs of subsiding).
The best part: It doesn’t take much to do a workstation tune-up. Here are five simple tips to get you started.
1. Take a comfortable seat — then get out of it.
The hot trend du jour is ditching your chair and turning your workstation into a
standing-room-only experience.
But while standing all day might burn more calories, it’s not going to
help you get more done, according to Dr. Alan Hedge, director of the
Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory at Cornell University.
Sitting is more conducive to productivity, Hedge says — it uses 20%
less energy and allows you to type and mouse more effectively — but that
doesn’t mean you should park your busy buns all day. Just ask the folks
from NASA.
“We haven’t evolved to sit
or stand all day,” says Dr. Joan
Vernikos, a former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division who
researched the effects of gravity on the body while working at the space
agency. In her book
Sitting Kills, Moving Heals, Vernikos argues that regular movement is the real solution.
“What’s important is the change in position,” she says. “We need to
routinely be moving, and we need to be moving every little part of us.”
Vernikos and Hedge both recommend finding a comfortable chair and
desk setup (make sure the chair is adjustable and offers good lower-back
support), and then standing and moving regularly throughout your day.
Hedge suggests a quick two- to three-minute stretching break every 20
minutes, and then a longer break once an hour, in which you actually
walk around and do something different.
“But wait,” you might be thinking. “If I stop working to stretch or
walk around, people will think I’m slacking.” That’s why it’s important
to educate your boss and co-workers about the productivity benefits that
come with mini-breaks — or, better yet, have a qualified scientist do
it for you.
“The studies that have looked at these frequent little breaks show
enormous improvements in productivity as well as improvements in
health,” Hedge says, citing research conducted at the University of
Connecticut in 1997. “You’re looking at people doing up to 15% more work
when they work like this, and it doesn’t cost the company anything.”
That approach will serve you far better than any type of complex and
costly
sitting-standing combo workstation, Hedge believes.
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