How to set up your workspace properly

Setting up your workspace properly is crucial, since it’s something that’s relatively easy to do, and which can help you type faster, feel more comfortable, and avoid most health issues.

 

How to position your keyboard

There are several things to remember with regard to how your keyboard should be placed:

Make sure to place the keyboard so that you are centered on the lettered part. Many people center themselves against the full keyboard, including the number pad (which is usually on the right). However, since people mostly use the letters while typing, and only rarely use the number-pad, doing this causes you to work with your body or hands slightly twisted toward the lettered part, which places unnecessary strain on your body.

The keyboard should be placed at a height and distance that allows you to keep your elbows at a 90° angle (or at an angle that is slightly greater than that). This reduces the strain on your body, and encourages the use of good posture overall.

The keyboard should be placed in a way that allows you to maintain a neutral wrist position while typing. Essentially, you want to make sure that your wrists aren’t angled while you type, either upward or downward, since this places unnecessary strain on them.

 

How to position yourself

While working, you should make sure to sit in a way that promotes good posture; this will help you position your hands properly while you type, and is good for your health in general.

Specifically, these are the things that you should pay attention to:

Your feet should be flat on the floor.

Your knees should be positioned over your feet and off the chair, and bent at a right angle (or at an angle slightly greater than that).

Your pelvis should be rocked forward, and your hips should be at the same height as your knees (or slightly higher).

Your lower back should be slightly arched, and properly supported by your chair or by a back cushion with lumbar support.

Your upper back should be relaxed and neutral; do not sit hunched forward.

Your shoulders and arms should be relaxed, and at your sides.

Your neck should be relaxed, and your head should be balancing directly on top of your spine, which should be in a relatively neutral position, without stooping forward or curving backward.

Since most of us tend to sit with bad posture, it can be difficult to get used to making so many changes at once. As such, in order to position yourself properly at first, try to go through the above list, and modify each part of your body at a time. Then, while working, check up on yourself from time to time and correct your posture, until you get used to sitting properly.

Keep in mind that it’s okay to fidget in your seat occasionally, but try to maintain good posture most of the time. If you feel that you need to stretch, get up from the chair and do it properly, rather than trying to do it while sitting down.

Finally, note that the chair that you sit on plays a huge role in your ability to maintain a good posture, and a lot of health issues that stem from bad posture can be solved easily by switching to a better chair. Since you will generally spend a lot of time working in your chair, and since good ergonomic chairs aren’t necessarily expensive, it’s something that’s definitely worth buying.

 

How to position your monitor

If your monitor is badly placed, you will likely struggle to maintain good posture while you type, and while you work in general. Accordingly, when placing your monitor, make sure that your monitor is:

Centered directly in front of you.

Placed so that the top part of the screen is approximately at eye level.

Placed around 2 feet/60cm away from you.

In addition, make sure that the screen is placed so that there is no glare from nearby windows, or from other light sources.

If something on the screen is too small for you to view comfortably, don’t lean forward in order to look at it. Instead, use a software-based solution, such as the ‘zoom’ function.

Note that if you’re using a laptop and can’t position the screen properly, consider getting a laptop stand, as well as a wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse, which could help you maintain a good posture while you work. As we will see later, an external keyboard and mouse are worth it in general if you work on your laptop a lot, since the built-in keyboard and mouse tend to lead to sub-optimal performance.

 

Supporting your arms while resting and typing

In general, your forearms and wrists should be fully supported while you’re resting. They should rest in a position that feels natural for your body, and that allows them to relax. A soft resting surface is preferable to a hard one, so if your work surface is hard (e.g. if it’s a glass desk), consider getting a soft desk pad to work on.

However, when it comes to whether or not you should let your hands rest on sometimes while you’re typing, the situation is a bit more complex.

Some people recommend keeping your arms in the air while typing, and only putting them down when you want to rest. Doing this has the advantage of helping you maintain a neutral wrist position, which is better for you in terms of hand health.

However, there are also potential benefits to keeping your arms supported while typing, since this can help you not tire out as fast, and can help ensure that you keep your hands relatively static while typing, which improves your typing speed.

Overall, it’s up to you to decide whether you prefer to let your hands float while you’re typing or whether you prefer to let them rest on something. Experiment with both options, and see which one promotes faster typing and helps you avoid wrist pain.

If necessary, you can alternate between the two options while you work. This generally means that you should let your hands rest on a comfortable surface during periods when you’re working on the computer and need to type a lot, and that you should let your hands float during periods when you’re working on the computer but you don’t need to type a lot.

 

You don’t have to sit while you work

So far, we saw recommendations for maintaining good posture while sitting, which is the most common way most people work on their computer.

However, in some cases you can choose to work while standing instead, which can be better for your overall health. To do this, you can either improvise a stand on which to put your computer, or you could use a specialized standing desk.

You can even take this a step further, and work while walking on a treadmill, which offers various health benefits. However, this option is more difficult to implement than the ‘standing’ option, and research shows that walking makes it a bit more difficult for you to concentrate on typing, as well as on various other tasks, though the difference in performance compared to sitting or standing is relatively minor.

Overall, when deciding whether to sit, stand, or walk while you work, try to find which of these options makes you feel better physically, while also allowing you to maintain a high level of performance.

Furthermore, keep in mind that you can shift between the different states if it helps you feel more comfortable. For example, you can decide to sit while you’re working, but to stand up whenever you’re taking a break, which can also be beneficial to your productivity.

Most importantly, regardless of how you choose to work, you should make sure to set up your workspace properly, and to maintain a good posture while you work. Doing this while standing or walking is not much different from doing it while sitting, with the only notable difference being the way your legs are placed.