1) Head/eye interaction to source 

2) Hands to device being used 

3) Body to chair 

4) Feet to floor surface 

> Discover more about these four elements - click here 

> See how different workpaces may be adjusted - click here

Intuition leads to simply raising the screen of your laptop to a more appropriate and comfortable height. YES, this is the correct thought, but laptops come with a unique challenge with this quick fix.

Raising the laptop so the top of the screen may be near eye level, in many cases, brings the keyboard right along with it creating an undesirable upper extremity (shoulders - arms - wrists - hands) position while keyboarding.

We tackled how you can address this challenge safely and creatively at home to avoid neck and shoulder discomfort from a seated or standing working position. 

This truly depends on the nature of work you are doing and the frequency in which you use each monitor.

Ask yourself…

- How often am I using each monitor?

- Do I use one monitor significantly more than I use both of them?

- What tasks am I using these monitors for?

One Primary Monitor 

If you can identify that most of your work is being done on one monitor - go ahead and claim that as your primary monitor. This is especially important if you are doing labor intensive tasks such as navigating a spreadsheet or long term typing.

---> Follow the steps and discover what this setup would look like - click here

Two Primary Monitors

If you can identify that you are operating equally between both screens – go ahead and claim them BOTH primary monitors.

---> Follow the steps and discover what this setup would look like - click here 

Pictured examples of both setups - click here

If you need to buy a new chair, look for these features:

- Adjustable height of the seat, adjustable armrests, adjustable back and angle of seat.

- Check the lumbar support.

- Find something that is comfortable for you.

If you do not have an office chair at home but you have one at work, ask your employer if you can bring the chair home.

Armrests

If your chair has armrests, use the armrests provided. Make sure they are level or slightly above the surface you are working at while being able to relax your shoulders. 

If your chair does not have armrests, make sure you sit close enough to your desk or table to be able to rest your arms on the surface while using your keyboard. 

For a visual explanation, click here.

- Keep items that you repeatedly use closer to you in order to limit the amount of extended reaching you do.

- The normal working area would be within your normal reach. Determine your reach with your back up against your chair without leaning forward. This normal working extends to the back of your laptop and anything from there to the edge of the table.

- The maximum working area is as far as you can reach with your arms extended on your table with minimal bending. This maximum working area holds things you occasionally use.

- Anything outside of this area would be items rarely used. To grab these items, you would have to excessively bend or even get out of your chair slightly to grab them. We want to limit this action.

- For a more detailed diagram of these working areas click here

If you find yourself on the phone often throughout the course of your day, especially while using the computer, a hands-free option would help eliminate neck and arm fatigue.

Bluetooth devices allow you to keep a natural working posture with limited arm elevation and non-neutral neck postures.

When using a Bluetooth device, you can avoid using one hand for the computer while the other hand is holding your phone or holding your phone by squeezing your neck and shoulder together.

For more information and a visual click here