home office

How to Have an Ergonomic Chair and Desk Without Spending Thousands

December 5, 2012 by Des Walsh

Home Office Command Centre by Zach Beauvais via Flickr Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0

If you’ve set up a home office recently you’ll know it’s really easy to spend thousands of dollars on those old basics, a good chair and desk.

And why not, if money is no object? Especially if you are working full time from home and are going to be spending a lot of time in that chair, at that desk.

I have in the past spent that sort of money on home office furniture. With what I know now, I wish I’d economised on the furniture and put the money I’d saved into marketing and lead generation.

“But”, you may be asking, “what about the ergonomic considerations? Shouldn’t we take all the care we can to create a healthy working environment?”

No question about that. I’m just saying you should not feel you have to spend thousands to cover that aspect of creating a healthy environment.

In fact, from some research I did for an article I wrote a few months ago, Designing an Ergonomic Home Office, I was able to establish to at least my own satisfaction that you could set up a whole, ergonomically sound home office for less than $1,000.

Including an ergonomic chair + desk combination.

So before you head off to buy up big at your local office suppliers, do yourself a favor and consider what’s essential for an ergonomic office chair and desk setup. You’ll find it all spelled out in that article I mentioned above, on designing an ergonomic home office.

Make sure you note the tip there about using a laptop or notebook computer on your desk. Using a simple stand – as I mention in that article, I bought mine for under $50 – will work wonders for your posture, because you actually won’t be able to slouch without affecting your ability to read the screen. Of course you’ll need an external keyboard and mouse, but they will not be budget-breakers.

Image Credit: Home Office, Command Centre, by Zach Beauvais, via Flickr, Creative Commons CC BY-SA

Some Expert Advice on Being Sensibly Organized

October 13, 2009 by Des Walsh

Home Office Organizer Brandie Kajino Shares Some Wisdom on Being Practical About the Junk

First, a confession: I have never had a consistently tidy desk.

There, I’ve said it – and that wasn’t really so bad.

It was so good in those days long ago when I had a secretary who used to organize my desk, my schedule etc. But once I chose the home based business option – and really, I have never looked back – I found I had to take action, on a fairly regular basis, to sort things, toss some and generally re-establish some semblance of order.

As for example yesterday, when I decided I could not work another day with the piles of paper and books that threatened to cascade all over my desk if I made any sudden move. I had a big sorting, throwing-out and filing for an hour or so and was then able to get back to business.

Which kind of works for me. But still, when I meet people who are experts on how to organize your office and probably your life, my first reaction is somewhat of an attack of the guilts.

Take Brandie Kajino, for instance.

Actually, when you meet Brandie you won’t feel bad, because she is such a delightful, happiness-spreading person.

And she is an expert organizer, specializing in helping people sort out their home offices. Actually, she is The Home Office Organizer.

What brought all this on was my reading today a post by Brandie in which she basically admitted she is human and does not have some regime of tidiness which is in practical terms unattainable by some of us less naturally neat mortals.

And if you have ever worried, as I have, that you are not as organized as you should be, you owe it to yourself to read Brandie’s wonderful post, “Organized” is NOT Code For “Perfection”.

Just as a taste:

Being organized doesn’t mean you have to have color-coded cabinets or files, have everything (including the dog) labeled and forgo your work to keep everything spotless. What it DOES mean is some semblance of order that makes sense for you and your life. And that means a daily decision to keep things in working order.

If you want to see whether Brandie might be able to help you, why not take advantage of her no obligation 15 minute consultation?

And no, FTC and whoever else might ask, I don’t get a commission. I just know Brandie knows her stuff (and how to help the rest of us from letting our stuff get in the way of our business).