Home Office Tips

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, nearly all of its have felt changes in our lives. In the worst case scenarios, we have become sick or had loved ones fall sick. Other bad scenarios include loss of jobs, decreased hours, or simply the looming worry that jobs could be lost and security could be eliminated.

For those of us who have fared well thus far during the pandemic, we are undoubtably struggling with all of the obvious changes to life such as homeschooling children, distancing from immunocompromised loved ones, taking on extra chores for those who are unable, etc. . . Really, things that aren’t so bad compared millions who are severally suffering during this pandemic.

This is a time for us to step up and help others where we can. Shop for the elderly, provide video lessons for nieces and nephews, donate when possible, etc. . .

Within this blog and my scope of practice, today I would like to help you during the COVID-19 Pandemic. I won’t go into the didactic details of strength training and immune function, the role of sleep, and aerobic conditioning’s impact on increasing cardiopulmonary efficiency.

Instead, this blog is about your home office set up.

Many of us have found ourselves unable to work at our normal office. Odds are, at work you have a proper desk, a lumbar supporting chair, the option to stand/sit, ergonomic keyboards, a swivel monitor,  and the highly desirable - QUIET.

Instead, we are at home, set up at our kitchen table with a clementine box below our laptops to create a standing desk which threatens to topple your new MacBook every time the dog runs by and smacks the table leg. Your neck is sore because the computer sits too low. Pain begins throbbing through your knees from standing in the same position. A numbness develops in your wrists because you no longer have your gel support at the base of your keyboard. Finally, when you lay down in bed at the end of a stressful day, your back aches from standing over the clementine box for the last twelve hours.

Like all good coaching, we need to begin by changing our thoughts and perceptions. This begins by recognizing the problems that are causing the issues, addressing them, and rethinking our resilience to issues that will come up.

The Work Space

The easiest idea to follow is, “control what you can control.”

For example, work has become difficult because it isn’t enjoyable anymore. You’re not at the office feeling productive, bouncing ideas off of coworkers, and seeing the rewards of your work. You’re sitting on your sofa in your PJs. Let’s control what we can control. Do your best to create a “home office” in which you can get into “work mode.”

Okay, by now everyone has already addressed this problem. Let’s address the less obvious.

You’re constantly distracted by noise coming from other parts of the home. This causes you to be less productive. In turn, you’re now worrying about how your boss perceives your productivity and you begin to stress about the security of your position. Let’s again focus on making some changes to our perceptions. You need to have confidence in yourself and your ability to do your job. “Just be confident, don’t stress!” Problem solved. Easy, right?

No, it never works that way. Instead, let’s think about what steps can be taken to help foster the feelings of confidence and decreased stress so that you and your boss can perceive you as more productive.

Maybe STEP ONE is to buy some noise cancelling headphones to reduce ambient noises coming from the kids. Can you wake up a little earlier to get a jump on the workday while the house is still quiet? Maybe checklists of what needs to get done can help improve your efficiency.

I challenge you to think critically about issues that are causing you to perceive your workplace as imperfect and make some changes either physically or behaviorally to reduce the stress association.

This leads to our second topic. Often the home office is imperfect because it is physically uncomfortable. It's causing all kinds of previously mentioned pain. Here are some tips to help you recognize the problems that exist and make change to help yourself feel better.

Back Pain

​Let’s begin by looking at what causes the pain so that we can appreciate change the behavior and positions.
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Often time back pain is caused, at least in part, by poor pelvic positioning. Either we tilt our pelvis too far forward or too far backward. Our back is usually most comfortable when our pelvis sits in a neutral position which creates a foundation for our spine.

I'm not perfect.

​There are dozens of muscles playing tug-war-on your pelvis (and coincidentally, your back) all day long.

The first consideration to make is to actually spend some time both standing and some time sitting. Mix it up. I know the whole “sitting is the new smoking” thing is popular right now, but realistically we can get just as “stiff” by standing in the same position all day as we would from sitting in the same position all day. So, mix it up. Don’t think of sitting as entirely bad and standing entirely good. Let’s change our perceptions of good and bad. Appreciate them for what they are. Sometimes stand, sometimes sit.

Second, when you stand, have options. I like to keep a soccer ball under the desk. This allows me to prop my foot up on something which will naturally bring the pelvis into a more neutral position. The soccer ball also give me something to fidget with. This keeps good circulation to the lower leg, ankle, foot, and toes.

​Now that the cause (standing or sitting in poor position) has been addressed., try a reset with a stretch. This stretch will help bring the pelvis to neutral, stretch the hip flexors, stretch the abdominal muscles, and open the chest and shoulders. It puts us in an opposite position to how we often sit or stand.

Neck Pain

Just like back pain, neck pain is often caused from poor positioning. The spine should be stacked in an upright position from the pelvis up to the head. Unfortunately, many of us get stuck in the poor pelvis position which disrupts that. Coincidentally, many of us find ourselves in a poor head position which can cause us a lot of tension and discomfort.

Let’s begin with the problem. The desk isn’t ideal, your screen is too low, and you're stressed. You have found yourself clenching your jaw, squinting your eyes to see the small computer screen, and your computer is set up too low. As a result your head drifts forward out of alignment with where your spine should be. For every inch that your head extends forward, ten pounds of pressure is added to the cervical spine (neck). This can cause the neck muscles to tighten up, become tense, and present pain.

So, again, let’s first address the problem. Number one, stop clenching your jaw. Your dental bills will thank you. Close your mouth, put your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your teeth, and breathe through your nose. Number two, Bring the computer screen up to level with your eyes so that you aren’t looking down. Number three, adjust the zoom settings so you don’t have to squint at the text on the computer.

Great, now that you have addressed the issue, here are some tips that can help your neck feel better.

With your eyes forward, place your hand on the top of your head and let the weight of your hand pull your ear to your shoulder. To increase the stretch don’t pull harder, instead try to reach toward the ground with your opposite hand.

Just like in the last stretch, but not with your head turned so that your nose faces your elbow, gently pull your head down. Again, reach toward the ground with the opposite hand to increase the stretch.

Knee Pain

Knee pain can come from standing at the standing desk all day. Again, what is causing the problem? Probably standing too much, standing on hard surfaces, and locking your knees. So let’s fix that! As mentioned earlier, you can sit sometimes. It doesn’t need to be 100% standing. There is a reason standing desks adjust.  Next, place a mat under your work station. The kind that dishwashers, factory workers, or office workers use. You can even go the economy route for now with the kids’ foam puzzle pieces or even a yoga mat. Lastly, unlock you knees. This may just take some discipline. Dance if it helps. Using the previously mentioned soccer ball should help too!

Once you have addressed the behaviors or cause of the pain, you can also throw in some stretches that may help.

Stand next to a wall or desk for balance. Lift one foot back so that your heel is near your bottom. Grab your foot, squeeze your glutes, and crunch your abs slightly. This will create a large stretch down the front of your thigh.

​Not so much a stretch, but the calf raise can be a helpful exercise for increasing circulation to your feet, ankles, lower leg and knee joint. You’ll also gain some strength in the muscles and tendons of the lower leg.

Conclusion

Obviously these are just a few of the problems we are all having during this COVID-19 Pandemic. I sincerely hope that distractions and neck pain are the worst problems you are having.d

Use these tips to help optimize your home office. Whether it is your attitude toward working at home, the physical affects of your home office, or any other issues around working form home, I encourage you to follow the same steps we went through today.

1. Acknowledge the problem
2. Find a solution to the problem
3. Learn how to avoid or adapt to the behavior or position that causes the problem in the future
4. Let your new tactics prove that your are a confident and able employee in your new home office

I will leave you with some advice for this imperfect situation, “control what you can control.”