Remember March 2020? ‘Self-isolation’ was still a novelty, we danced to Supalonely with abandon and collectively lost our minds to Tiger King. Of course, we also thought we’d work from home and be ‘back in the office’ in a few weeks.
Oh, how silly we were.
While lockdowns may be a thing of the past, plenty of us still work from home for at least a few days of the week. Which is great — the flexibility you get while working from home is a gift.
However, if you’re like me, you probably never properly set up a home office situation and either hunch over the dining table or rotate between the bed and couch when things call for a switch up.
Considering working from home (at least some of the time) will likely be a permanent thing, here are a few changes to make to your set-up that your back and brain will thank you for.
Get a second monitor
Invest in a second monitor. Hunching over a laptop five days a week isn’t great for your back, eyesight and general workflow. However, if your job involves looking at spreadsheets or using software like Photoshop, a second monitor is a must for clarity.
My co-worker Ben even suggested getting one and setting it up really high so it forces you to look up. I can genuinely feel my spine unclenching just thinking about that.
Get a printer
I know laptops and tablets are amazing, but let’s be real — having a hard copy of stuff can help you get through creative brain slumps.
Luckily for us, printing Lord HP has teamed up with the WWF to protect and restore more than 21,500 hectares across the forests of eastern Australia, in a partnership that addresses the impacts on forests from the total amount of paper used in HP printers, including impacts from non-HP brand paper. Through this, HP is taking responsibility for the indirect environmental impacts of their business and becoming the first company to pilot science-based targets for forests with WWF in their pursuit to become the world’s most sustainable (and just) tech company. Sounds like a bloody ‘uge task, but we reckon they sound up for it.
This all means you can enjoy reading off a good, old-fashioned piece of paper when your brain needs a break a little more guilt-free. If you find yourself mulling over a task for ages to no avail, printing your documents out and reading/scribbling all over them can help you arrive at a lightbulb moment way quicker.
Get an ergonomic chair
They may be on the pricey side of things, but investing in an ergonomic chair is basically saving you the money you’d spend on physio/chiro in the long run. Get one that is actually set to accommodate you and your height, and you’ll be working comfortably for the rest of eternity.
Use a footrest
I am a short queen and often find myself shoving a foot underneath a thigh to switch up my sitting position. This usually results in pins and needles or bending my body into a pretzel shape that requires a whole lot of stretching to get out of.
Getting a little footrest to plant your tootsies on can help you sit with better posture and resist the urge to assume pretzel form for an afternoon.
Sounds pretty simple, right? We’ve evolved in soooooo many ways since March 2020, so get with the program and update your darn WFH set-up to follow suit.
You can read all about how HP and WWF are restoring 21,500 hectares across the forests of eastern Australia here, and suss out their range of printers and printer solutions here.