No matter where you are in the UK, your government will be introducing lockdown measures to try and get control over the coronavirus infection rate. While many of us hoped that the original lockdown would be a one-off temporary measure, it is becoming increasingly clear that working from home is becoming an increasingly permanent reality.
As a result, it’s increasingly difficult to just muddle through. To make sure we remain as focused and productive at work as possible, we need to create a suitable working environment. In this blog, we outline some key tips you can use to make sure working from home becomes, well, just working.
Getting the Right Furniture
At the beginning of lockdown many people were happy to sit at their dining table on a regular chair, assuming that this would only be temporary and totally manageable for a few weeks or months. Well, six months down the line many of you are no doubt still sitting at said table and it’s time to make an upgrade.
Firstly, using an everyday piece of furniture starts to blur the lines between domestic and work life. Sitting down at the same table to eat dinner after you’ve been working at it all day makes it more difficult to relax and switch off from the office – and this is for people working at a dining table, many people don’t even have a set-up of that sophistication!
With potentially months of home work ahead of us, an investment in something more specialised for the task at hand is more than justified – take a look at our Standing Desks for Home Use today.
Stay Active
One of the biggest challenges in lockdown is staying active – especially true if you’re living in an area of the UK where gyms are shut down. In England the hour of exercise and off trip to the supermarket just doesn’t do enough to keep you fit, active, and burning those calories.
Over and above making use of your allotted exercise time to get your body moving with high or low intensity exercise, there’s a simple change you can make to your working day that will help to offset any issues that might arise from the sedentary lifestyle most of us are experiencing under these restrictions.
Switching between sitting and standing at your desk throughout the day helps to keep you fit. Not only does it burn more calories than merely sitting (although the amount isn’t huge, this adds up to a significant number over the course of a working week!), but it helps to avoid the back pain that can arise from sitting down for extended periods of time.
However, switching between sitting and standing can be a pain without the right equipment – especially if you prefer to change more frequently than once a day, for example changing every hour or even sooner. Our automatic electric desks make this an absolute breeze, readjusting to your preferred height at the click of a button.
So, if you’re concerned about the effect lockdown is having on your health and fitness, consider an electric standing desk today.
Take a Break!
Again, one of the biggest issues you’ll come across when working from home is the barrier between work and rest becoming increasingly obscured. It’s not like you can finish up at 5, take the journey home, and leave work behind you as you shut the door – your commute is only a short walk from one room to another!
One way to offset this in the middle of your working day is to take a proper break, at a certain time, and step away form your computer. Doing this can not only help you to associate wherever you are set up for work with, well, working, but it can also remind you that everywhere else in the house is for relaxing.
Trust us, while working from home it’s tempting to just work from 9-5 and take little breaks here and there when you feel necessary, but this has diminishing returns as your day just seems to turn into one big work session that is difficult to escape from when you ‘finish’. Try taking a scheduled break, and really stepping away from work.
Get in Touch
If you’re looking to make your home work setup that bit more permanent, take a look at the fantastic range of Standing Desks we have available at Ergo Desks.
If you're looking for more information, don't hesitate to reach out to us. Our friendly customer service team are on hand to offer advice and solutions to best meet your needs. You can use the live chat feature on our website, give us a call at 020 8064 0064 or email us at info@ergodesks.co.uk.