The world has been turned topsy-turvy, upside down, and I don't foresee us going back to "normal", or at least the normal we knew it, any time soon. So I wanted to get a podcast episode to you about how to make the most of your existing work from home situation.

I have been working part-time from home ever since I started my practice here in Toronto. When I am not seeing patients, I am working from home. I don't love coffee shops or libraries because I think people watching is the most entertaining thing on the planet. So I need the alone time. But, I won't lie to you: working from home is not easy. Especially when you have a partner doing things around the house, or children running around, or a partner who is taking work calls and you need to sync Google Calendars. Trust me: I get it. Which is why I wanted to give you this episode. So let's get into it!

 

[Tip No. 01] Desk & Chair Setup

To me, this is the single most important part of working from home. If your desk is not set up properly you are going to be less efficient, less motivated & in more pain than you need to be. All of these are no bueno in my books.

So what should your desk setup look like? Well that my friend is what I am here to tell you!

My very first (& I think most important suggestion) is your monitor height. Because you are at home, I am guessing that you are working off a laptop and not a desktop. While I love the flexibility of the #laptoplifestyle, it is not helpful to our bodies. So how do we combat this? Well, raise that sucker up.

You'll want to get a laptop stand. They are made to raise your laptop up so that it is at the right height. And they are adjustable so you can use them at any surface. But what is the right height? Well that is partially dependent on you. You want the top line of text to be at eye level. This means that when you are scrolling through that dreaded Google doc you are working on for a project, the top line of text should be at eye level.

I will let you in on a pro tip. I don't actually use a laptop stand. My desk in my office is two tiered, so when I am at work, I just put my laptop on the top tier. But when I am at home, I use old chiro school textbooks to raise my computer up so that it is at the right height. Use what you have available.

So now that your laptop is at the right height, you probably don't want to be typing and using the trackpad at that angle. So my second recommendation here is to get an external mouse & keyboard. These don't have to be anything fancy nor do they have to be wireless. A simple mouse & keyboard is going to make all the difference when it comes to your set up. Your back & neck will thank me.

So we've talked about your laptop, mouse & keyboard, but we're still not done with your desk setup. We now need to chat about your chair.

This is a second crucial portion of your work from home success. There are a couple things to talk about when it comes to your chair, but first thing's first. Use it. What do I mean by that?

Well for some reason, people like to sit at the edge of their chair with a good 6-8 inches between them and the back of the chair. This is not doing anything for you. The back of your chair is there for a reason, and that reason is to support you. You are not doing yourself any favours by being on the edge of your seat all the time. Sit back and let the chair do its job.

A second point to add to your chair is it's height as well. And for this, you need to consider 2 things:

• The first is the angle of your knees. You want the chair to be at a height that your knees form a 90 degree angle. Now you don't have to go out and get a protractor, but you want to observe to see if your knees are too bent, or not bent enough. If you feel like your feet aren't touching the floor enough, you might want to consider placing a couple of books under your feet to help with this.
• You also want your chair height to help with your elbow angle. This should be close to 90 degrees as well. If you can adjust the height of your chair, do so to get this angle, if not, sitting on some pillows will help as well. Why does this elbow angle matter? Well if the elbow is too bent, it will cause excess pressure on the wrists, and if they aren't bent enough, it can cause you to lean forward more than you need to. Neither one of these are ideal options.

[Tip No. 02] Environment

So that is your desk setup, but that isn't all I have to help with your work from home. Tip number two is your environment. Now I know that this seems super woo-hoo, but there is tons of research saying that a negative environment negatively affects our productivity and vise versa.

Before I give you tips on environment and what my overall workspace looks like, I do want to tell you one environment that you should not work in, and that is your bed. This is for a couple of reasons:

• It is just too comfortable. The urge to take a nap is overwhelming and you've got to have willpower of steel to resist the nap. Not worth your energy & brainwaves.
• Your posture can't really be optimal here. You can prop your laptop up on a pillow or sit cross legged and that will probably be comfortable for a half an hour, but eventually a slump will happen.
• It is not good for your sleep. Research has shown time and time again that if you work where you sleep, you simply won't get as restful of a night's sleep. Your bed is meant for sleep and sex. That's how our brain recognizes it.

Make your workspace somewhere that you want to be. For me, I like to make sure the room is tidy because I cannot work in a messy room. I also like to light a candle and have a plant next to me? Why? Well I like plants, and I like the flickering flame. I also hate being cold, so I usually have my slippers on and a big knitted Afghan made by my grandmother.

I am sure that all that was way more information on my day-to-day than you bargained for, but they have all helped me be more productive than just chilling on my couch.

Another really great tip to improve your working from home productivity is to switch it up, if you can. The more different my surroundings are the more productive I will be. I know that it's more difficult to switch things up while we are all physically distant from one another, but it is still possible. Now that it is warming up a wee bit in Toronto, I have been taking some time to work outside. I find that I am more creative and ideas come to me easier when the sun is shining and I am outside. 

If you don't have the ability to get outside, or the day is gross, even switching up where you sit can help. I see all of you Toronto condo dwellers who are doing your work from your kitchen table. You're doing great! Even moving your setup from one end of the table to the other can make a really big difference.

[Tip No. 03] Boundaries

Boundaries play a massive role in our success when working from home. The pressure to be constantly working is something that I have felt, and I am sure you have felt. You need to create boundaries that work for you. No one can tell you what those boundaries are, but I can tell you what my boundaries are to maybe give you some ideas.

• No working lunch. I do not eat lunch and work at the same time. So what do I do instead? Well I am lucky enough to have a partner who lives with me, so we often eat lunch together, but if not, I'll throw on an episode of my favourite show as I eat & truly take the time to separate myself and not do any work while I am eating lunch.
• This one is aimed at entrepreneurs & people who make their own schedules. Schedule at least one no work day during the week. Mine is Sundays, and always has been. Taking Sundays off works best for me & my lifestyle and it allows me to have some resemblance to a weekend. On that note, I will say that I have started to work in a more intuitive way. What do I mean by that? Well, if on a random Tuesday I don't want to work in the afternoon, that is okay. I have found that I get more done when I work when I want to work and not when I "should" be working.

[Tip No. 04] Movement

Movement is so important, I can't stress it to you enough. It is so important to take the time to move your body. And no, I do not mean doing 6 HIIT workouts a week or starting to run 10km. If those are things that you want to do, then go for it, but they are not essential. In fact, they can be detrimental. If you are extra stressed during these times or have never been one to do intense workouts before, starting now would not be my go-to for two reasons. The first being that it can actually increase your stress levels, and the second being because the likelihood of you getting hurt is much higher.

So what should you do instead?

First thing's first: get up every 45 minutes. Take the dog for a walk, do 10 jumping jacks, do the dishes from lunch, just do something that is not sitting.

Second: try doing something that is not going to be too taxing on your body but is still going to get you moving. Some ideas to get you going:

• YouTube yoga: there are tons of great teachers out there giving great classes (and have been since pre-pandemic). If you have never done yoga before, you will be surprised as to how much work it actually is, especially if you are like me and have done zero balance work in the past.
• A simple bodyweight workout: think pushups, air squats, jumping jacks, lunges, burpees, etc. The key to this: start slow and work up from there. If you have any questions on how to start here, reach out. I would be happy to help or point you in the right direction.
• Therapeutic  exercise: you are probably thinking: what the heck is that? Therapeutic exercise refers to specific exercises aimed at treating a condition or diagnosis. The healing of any injury should involve exercises at some point in the process. Now, just to be very clear, I am not diagnosing anyone via this podcast. 

But, my guess is that if you have been working from home & listening to this podcast, you are struggling just a bit with your posture. You're feeling a bit hunchback-y and you'd like some additional help. That is exactly why I have created a free resource for you that goes along with this podcast. Inside this resource are three exercises that I love to use when I start working to help someone improve their posture. Now there is nothing saying that these three exercises are the best first three you should be doing. There is no such accolade (as much as I wish there were). But these three are really easy, can be done anywhere and they are super effective.

How do you get these exercises? Simple: head on over to www.drdonaldlittlewood.com/posture-exercises to get your copy today.

Well that's it, that's all from me. Hoping you have a great day, however you spend it. This has been the Convo with a Chiro podcast, episode 14!