For any office worker or home office worker, the importance of your desk layout cannot be overlooked. You spend 8+ hours a day sitting at it typing, writing, and so on - you need to make sure you can carry out any and all of your responsibilities as efficiently as possible.
In this blog, we examine the most important elements when it comes to making sure your desk has everything you need to support a productive working day. Take a look!
Screen, Mouse, and Keyboard Location
The location of your screen is incredibly important for making sure you can get work done without straining your eyes. Forcing your eyes to focus on minor details all day while being too close to the artificial light of your screen can tire them out and have long term effects.
The simplest way to make sure your screen is in the right location is to stretch out your arms. Your fingertips should just about be able to make contact with the screen. If they can’t quite reach, move the screen a bit closer. If you can reach too easily, move it a bit further away.
Additionally, it’s important that your eyes are somewhat in line with the top of your screen. If the screen is too low, try adjusting it. If the monitor isn’t adjustable, try using books or reams of paper instead. If the monitor is too high, you’ll need to increase the height of your chair.
However, it’s also vital to have the most important tools on the desk in the optimal position; your mouse and keyboard. No matter what kind of industry you are in, if you use a PC you’ll use these tools to interface with it.
Where your hands naturally sit at the table for comfort, is where your keyboard should be. Your mouse should then be placed right next to this, either on the left or right depending on your dominant hand. The aim is to make sure you aren’t struggling to reach either of them, and that you use your elbow rather than your shoulders to avoid strain.
Staying Alert
Sitting all day can make it all too easy to get a bit too relaxed. Many office chairs make it far too tempting to slouch, and you can quickly lose sight of the task at hand as you get too comfortable and your mind starts to wander.
Adjustable standing desks are a simple and effective way to make sure you don’t lose concentration. Studies have shown that the simple act of standing up at regular intervals can have a severe effect on productivity, helping you to avoid the daily lull.
How and when you choose to stand is totally up to you - some people switch at regular intervals, others split the day into two halves. Check out our blog on How Often Should I Stand at My Desk?
Enough Space?
Having enough space on your desk is vital for optimising productivity. You can’t afford to be constantly shuffling things around, or losing track of a notebook because you’ve placed some other files on top of it in order to accommodate a cup of coffee!
While some people need only a laptop, and a modest writing desk to sit it upon, others need large paper files, printers, scanners, telephones and so on. In this case, a corner desk can be incredibly useful, meaning you can have everything you need at hand without having to compromise.
Take a look at our fully adjustable Standing Corner Desks. Allowing you to reach a wide range of work materials with a quick swivel of your chair.
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Having the right desk will play a vital role in everything we mentioned throughout this article. From having the right amount of space to making sure you can switch between sitting and standing for optimal focus, an adjustable sit-stand desk is the ultimate tool for a productive working day.
At Ergo Desks we provide affordable, and reliable adjustable standing desks at a variety of price points to suit all needs. All of our desks come with Free Mainland UK Delivery, as well as various options for customisation to make sure you get a product that is the exact right fit for you.
You can reach us by telephone at 020 8064 0064, by email at info@ergodesks.co.uk, or by using the live chat functionality right here on the website.