May 20, 2024 • 10 mins
Aligning your workspace to your well-being is not a luxury, it's a necessity. In this reflection on my remote work journey, I share how I transformed my home office from a makeshift space into a sanctuary, all while reducing chronic pain.
So, whether you're a remote work rookie or a home office veteran, this episode is your personal invitation to transform your workspace and take charge of your workday well-being.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, it's Alex from Remote Work Life.
I hope this finds you well,wherever you may be Today.
In today's tip of the day, Iwant to talk about exploring
ways to improve your work fromhome setup for long-term
well-being, and this comes froma place of, I guess, thought and
a place of contemplation and,yeah, really thinking back to my
(00:26):
own days when I started outworking remotely, because I
started by working from fromhome and you may have heard from
previous episodes of the remotepodcast, remote work life
podcast, especially the episodesthe tips of the day episodes
that I've been doing quiterecently, I started off on my
(00:48):
kitchen table using my kitchenchair to do my work.
I didn't necessarily thinkabout it and then from time to
time I might shift, I might moveto a desk that I had and use
the kitchen chair to, yeah, tomake sure that I could reach the
(01:09):
computer.
It wasn't actually the rightheight for the desk and it meant
that I had to stretch up toactually reach the laptop on my
computer desk.
So I didn't necessarily thinkat that time or really
understand that you neededfurniture that was aligned with
(01:34):
your needs.
I didn't really think aboutcomfort at that point.
Believe it or not, I can'tactually believe it.
I didn't think about comfort atthat point.
I just thought about startingthe day and finishing the day
and getting my work done in theday, and if it was a little bit
painful, so be it, I would justgrin and bear it.
But soon, you know, Iexperienced and got, I suppose,
(02:01):
a message from my body to say,actually, everything's not right
here.
And I say that quite lightly,because it was quite painful in
the sense that the message I gotfrom my body sort of emanated
from my lower back.
So it was obvious to me thenthat in fact was.
(02:27):
It was obvious to me then that.
But in fact, yeah, it wasobvious to me then that, um,
something was not quite rightand that I had to improve
something.
But it still didn't occur to methat it was necessarily the,
the actual kitchen table and thekitchen chair that was the
cause of the problem.
I didn't really think about it.
Um, I mean, I knew posture was,was something, so I just went
(02:48):
along with it and I corrected myposture as as much as I thought
I could.
I sat up straight, like youknow my mom has already always
told me to do.
Still, that didn't necessarilyhave an effect or the desired
effect that I I wanted.
So, again, it was throughlearning, through conversations
with my colleagues, other peoplewho work from home, people who
(03:15):
I didn't know, people who I hadreached out to because of my
curiosity about remote work, Ibegan to understand how they
organized themselves and howthey had ways to improve and
optimize their own work fromhome setup for their long-term
well-being.
And then sort of the light bulbwent off in my own head and I
(03:38):
thought, okay, let me try someof these things, let me actually
see if some of the things thatthey're doing are going to help
me.
And here's just a list of fivethings that I incorporated into
my own setup, or at leastactually I say five things.
(04:00):
There are five things on thelist, but haven't necessarily
incorporated every single thingon this list, most of the things
.
So let's start out with numberone.
Number one is ergonomicfurniture.
So I my first investment, myfirst big investment, I thought
at the time, was a relativelyinexpensive chair with a lumber
(04:21):
support that you could inflateand deflate according to your
tolerance level.
So that was my idea ofergonomic furniture.
You know, since thenadvancements have been made in
office chairs and they'reprobably a lot more expensive
than they used to be.
But in many cases it's going tobe worth the investment if you
(04:43):
can have comfort when you'resitting at the desk.
And of course sitting is notthe preferred mode of working,
but at some point you may haveto sit.
So you might as well invest ina chair if it's going to mean in
(05:03):
a decent chair, if it's goingto mean a long, a decent chair,
if it's going to mean sort oflike a long term chronic pain in
the future.
So ergonomic furniture was onething.
Another thing, another item ofergonomic furniture which I used
was the sit stand desk.
So a sit stand desk issomething, again, that was
necessary for me because I hadthe type of role which required
(05:30):
that I sat down for quite longhours of the day and I didn't
want to do that.
So I kind of broke that up withthat sit-stand desk.
So invest in comfortable andergonomic furniture to support
good posture and reduce physicalstrain during long work hours.
That's one thing.
Number two is natural light.
So, again, natural light.
(05:50):
You want to position yourselfin position your workspace near
a window to maximize naturallight which can improve mood and
reduce eye strain.
And again, I live in a country,the uk, that especially in
winter, um the nights or theevenings get dark very quickly.
(06:11):
So I want to make the most ofthe natural light coming through
and, you know, see the, the sunin the sky, see clouds in the
sky, see, you know, just seedaylight, because it's it's it's
a a rare commodity in the inthe winter time especially.
So I cherish the naturalnatural light and always seek
(06:33):
out places where I can benefitfrom the natural light and
position myself in the optimumposition where I can have light
but at the same time, have aclear video call with my you
know, my colleagues or withpeople I'm meeting with.
So natural light is number two.
Number three it's probably theone thing that I need to do more
that I don't, which is plantsand greenery.
(06:54):
So incorporating plants andgreenery into your workspace to
bring nature indoors and improveair quality.
And there's been research whichsays that plants and greenery
can actually improveproductivity levels.
I think it was carl ifuniversity of the school of
psychology, um has done researchon this, and I'm sure there are
other institutions that havedone research as well.
(07:16):
But just having green, havingplants around, having flowers
around, having color, vibrantcolours around and the smell
sometimes can stimulate mysenses at least, anyway,
hopefully you don't have anyallergies that can have the
(07:36):
opposite effect to that, but youknow what I mean.
So having those visual, thoseaesthetics in your office can
make it all the better, andthat's the beauty of the home
office.
You can set it up in any waythat you want.
So that's number three.
So number four is mood boostingelements, which I've spoken
about before.
(07:57):
So it could be artwork.
I've got a picture of.
It could be artwork.
It could be photographs.
I've got a picture of I likecricket photographs.
I've got a picture of, uh, Ilike cricket.
So I've got a picture of one ofthe former cricket captains, a
signed picture of one of theformer cricket captains in my
office, um, I've got a pictureof my, my, my wedding day, um,
(08:22):
in my office, and that everytime I look at that, that gives
me a good feeling, a good sense.
Whenever I feel as though I'msort of under pressure, I just
take a look at that, take a lookat the picture of my kids and
just things that I like, thingslike that, and it creates a
positive and inspiring workplacefor me at least anyway.
So that's mood boostingelements.
(08:44):
And number five is again Iprobably repeat this, one more
than anything else but wellness.
And if you don't have yourwellness, if you don't have, if
you're not well, if you're not,you know, as fit as you can be,
then that can impact upon your,your work.
Health is wealth, as they say.
Health is just the, it is justthe root of everything,
(09:08):
essentially because it makesthings more difficult if you
don't have your health.
So doing things like morningstretches, going for a walk,
recharging your batteriesoutside, can all help to improve
your work-from-home setup andyour long-term well-being.
So by exploring ways to improveyour work home setup and your
long-term well-being, so byexploring ways to improve your
work from home setup andlong-term well-being, remote
(09:31):
workers can experience increasedinspiration, I believe,
increased mood and enhancedoverall well-being.
So you know, treat your workfrom home environment with care.
You know, be intentional aboutyour work from home environment
with care.
You know, be intentional aboutyour work from home environment,
improve it where you can learnfrom others, see what they're
(09:51):
doing, ask questions and makesure that you're working in the
optimum environment for you.
I just want to say thank you forlistening today.
If you find this, found thisepisode useful.
Please do consider sharingamong your colleagues and
friends If you have anysuggestions.
I'm sure that I mean the list Igave you was not exhaustive by
any means.
Any other suggestions?
(10:12):
I welcome feedback.
You can link with me onLinkedIn.
You can leave a review below onyour podcast app and please
leave a rating as well, and Iwish you all the best for the
future.
Hey, it's Alex from Remote Work Life.
I hope this finds you well,wherever you may be Today.
In today's tip of the day, Iwant to talk about exploring
ways to improve your work fromhome setup for long-term
well-being, and this comes froma place of, I guess, thought and
a place of contemplation and,yeah, really thinking back to my
(00:26):
own days when I started outworking remotely, because I
started by working from fromhome and you may have heard from
previous episodes of the remotepodcast, remote work life
podcast, especially the episodesthe tips of the day episodes
that I've been doing quiterecently, I started off on my
(00:48):
kitchen table using my kitchenchair to do my work.
I didn't necessarily thinkabout it and then from time to
time I might shift, I might moveto a desk that I had and use
the kitchen chair to, yeah, tomake sure that I could reach the
(01:09):
computer.
It wasn't actually the rightheight for the desk and it meant
that I had to stretch up toactually reach the laptop on my
computer desk.
So I didn't necessarily thinkat that time or really
understand that you neededfurniture that was aligned with
(01:34):
your needs.
I didn't really think aboutcomfort at that point.
Believe it or not, I can'tactually believe it.
I didn't think about comfort atthat point.
I just thought about startingthe day and finishing the day
and getting my work done in theday, and if it was a little bit
painful, so be it, I would justgrin and bear it.
But soon, you know, Iexperienced and got, I suppose,
(02:01):
a message from my body to say,actually, everything's not right
here.
And I say that quite lightly,because it was quite painful in
the sense that the message I gotfrom my body sort of emanated
from my lower back.
So it was obvious to me thenthat in fact was.
(02:27):
It was obvious to me then that.
But in fact, yeah, it wasobvious to me then that, um,
something was not quite rightand that I had to improve
something.
But it still didn't occur to methat it was necessarily the,
the actual kitchen table and thekitchen chair that was the
cause of the problem.
I didn't really think about it.
Um, I mean, I knew posture was,was something, so I just went
(02:48):
along with it and I corrected myposture as as much as I thought
I could.
I sat up straight, like youknow my mom has already always
told me to do.
Still, that didn't necessarilyhave an effect or the desired
effect that I I wanted.
So, again, it was throughlearning, through conversations
with my colleagues, other peoplewho work from home, people who
(03:15):
I didn't know, people who I hadreached out to because of my
curiosity about remote work, Ibegan to understand how they
organized themselves and howthey had ways to improve and
optimize their own work fromhome setup for their long-term
well-being.
And then sort of the light bulbwent off in my own head and I
(03:38):
thought, okay, let me try someof these things, let me actually
see if some of the things thatthey're doing are going to help
me.
And here's just a list of fivethings that I incorporated into
my own setup, or at leastactually I say five things.
(04:00):
There are five things on thelist, but haven't necessarily
incorporated every single thingon this list, most of the things
.
So let's start out with numberone.
Number one is ergonomicfurniture.
So I my first investment, myfirst big investment, I thought
at the time, was a relativelyinexpensive chair with a lumber
(04:21):
support that you could inflateand deflate according to your
tolerance level.
So that was my idea ofergonomic furniture.
You know, since thenadvancements have been made in
office chairs and they'reprobably a lot more expensive
than they used to be.
But in many cases it's going tobe worth the investment if you
(04:43):
can have comfort when you'resitting at the desk.
And of course sitting is notthe preferred mode of working,
but at some point you may haveto sit.
So you might as well invest ina chair if it's going to mean in
(05:03):
a decent chair, if it's goingto mean a long, a decent chair,
if it's going to mean sort oflike a long term chronic pain in
the future.
So ergonomic furniture was onething.
Another thing, another item ofergonomic furniture which I used
was the sit stand desk.
So a sit stand desk issomething, again, that was
necessary for me because I hadthe type of role which required
(05:30):
that I sat down for quite longhours of the day and I didn't
want to do that.
So I kind of broke that up withthat sit-stand desk.
So invest in comfortable andergonomic furniture to support
good posture and reduce physicalstrain during long work hours.
That's one thing.
Number two is natural light.
So, again, natural light.
(05:50):
You want to position yourselfin position your workspace near
a window to maximize naturallight which can improve mood and
reduce eye strain.
And again, I live in a country,the uk, that especially in
winter, um the nights or theevenings get dark very quickly.
(06:11):
So I want to make the most ofthe natural light coming through
and, you know, see the, the sunin the sky, see clouds in the
sky, see, you know, just seedaylight, because it's it's it's
a a rare commodity in the inthe winter time especially.
So I cherish the naturalnatural light and always seek
(06:33):
out places where I can benefitfrom the natural light and
position myself in the optimumposition where I can have light
but at the same time, have aclear video call with my you
know, my colleagues or withpeople I'm meeting with.
So natural light is number two.
Number three it's probably theone thing that I need to do more
that I don't, which is plantsand greenery.
(06:54):
So incorporating plants andgreenery into your workspace to
bring nature indoors and improveair quality.
And there's been research whichsays that plants and greenery
can actually improveproductivity levels.
I think it was carl ifuniversity of the school of
psychology, um has done researchon this, and I'm sure there are
other institutions that havedone research as well.
(07:16):
But just having green, havingplants around, having flowers
around, having color, vibrantcolours around and the smell
sometimes can stimulate mysenses at least, anyway,
hopefully you don't have anyallergies that can have the
(07:36):
opposite effect to that, but youknow what I mean.
So having those visual, thoseaesthetics in your office can
make it all the better, andthat's the beauty of the home
office.
You can set it up in any waythat you want.
So that's number three.
So number four is mood boostingelements, which I've spoken
about before.
(07:57):
So it could be artwork.
I've got a picture of.
It could be artwork.
It could be photographs.
I've got a picture of I likecricket photographs.
I've got a picture of, uh, Ilike cricket.
So I've got a picture of one ofthe former cricket captains, a
signed picture of one of theformer cricket captains in my
office, um, I've got a pictureof my, my, my wedding day, um,
(08:22):
in my office, and that everytime I look at that, that gives
me a good feeling, a good sense.
Whenever I feel as though I'msort of under pressure, I just
take a look at that, take a lookat the picture of my kids and
just things that I like, thingslike that, and it creates a
positive and inspiring workplacefor me at least anyway.
So that's mood boostingelements.
(08:44):
And number five is again Iprobably repeat this, one more
than anything else but wellness.
And if you don't have yourwellness, if you don't have, if
you're not well, if you're not,you know, as fit as you can be,
then that can impact upon your,your work.
Health is wealth, as they say.
Health is just the, it is justthe root of everything,
(09:08):
essentially because it makesthings more difficult if you
don't have your health.
So doing things like morningstretches, going for a walk,
recharging your batteriesoutside, can all help to improve
your work-from-home setup andyour long-term well-being.
So by exploring ways to improveyour work home setup and your
long-term well-being, so byexploring ways to improve your
work from home setup andlong-term well-being, remote
(09:31):
workers can experience increasedinspiration, I believe,
increased mood and enhancedoverall well-being.
So you know, treat your workfrom home environment with care.
You know, be intentional aboutyour work from home environment
with care.
You know, be intentional aboutyour work from home environment,
improve it where you can learnfrom others, see what they're
(09:51):
doing, ask questions and makesure that you're working in the
optimum environment for you.
I just want to say thank you forlistening today.
If you find this, found thisepisode useful.
Please do consider sharingamong your colleagues and
friends If you have anysuggestions.
I'm sure that I mean the list Igave you was not exhaustive by
any means.
Any other suggestions?
(10:12):
I welcome feedback.
You can link with me onLinkedIn.
You can leave a review below onyour podcast app and please
leave a rating as well, and Iwish you all the best for the
future.
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