You have mad tech skills. You’re highly motivated and love going to work. But physically; your eyes are bleary, your body aches and you look like you haven’t slept in a month.
Start at the top:
1) Your Webcam: Eyes. (see “The pains of eye strain”)
- Check your monitor. Is it at the right level to prevent eye strain?
- Check your lighting. Even if it’s impossible to change the lighting around your workstation, there are small fixes you can make like adding a small desk lamp or rearranging your desk to maximize or minimize the light you have.
- Check your eyes themselves. For people who work on computers all day, it is vitally important to have an eye exam at least once a year whether you wear glasses or not.
Look at the exterior:
2) Your casing: Skin and workstation.
- Check your skin. The skin is often the first place you notice that something is wrong with your health. It could be allergies, bad diet, lack of sleep or simply that you’ve been neglecting your laundry. However, if your skin looks really off-colour or if you see a spot that wasn’t there before; go and see a doctor asap.
- Check your workstation. Are you suffering from a buildup of too many germs and dirt in and around your keyboard/phone/mouse/desktop? Either clean it up or have it cleaned and keep it clean. Look at your configuration. Is there something you can do to optimize your workspace and make it more efficient and healthier?
Look at the interior:
3) Your Hardware: Head, neck and spine.
- Check your posture. Could a different chair or seating arrangement help? Is it possible? (See my 3 blogs – It’s a sitting situation.)
- Check your mattress. A bad mattress can affect your posture tremendously.
- Check your eating habits. If your weight has changed a lot (up or down) in the past year or if you’re overweight it can adversely affect how you sit and stand.
- Check with your doctor. Particularly for your spine, it’s important to check with your doctor to make sure that there are no more serious causes.
4) Your Power sources: Nerves, arteries, and organs
- Check your nervous system. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you stressed out? Are you working super long hours? (See “Clear your mental inbox”). Take some time to address these issues. If you’re exhausted your work will suffer.
- Check the arteries and organs. Two words: Nutrition and exercise. It’s impossible to take care of business if you neglect to take care of yourself.
Last but not least:
5) Your Platform: Feet and legs.
- Check your legs. If you’re sitting for too many hours at a stretch it is, quite simply, too dangerous. (See “Stand up for your health”)
- Check your feet. Bad footwear can mess you up. They can ruin your posture; affect your sleep, your digestion, even your hearing. It doesn’t matter if you have to wear dress shoes to the office or if you’re telecommuting and running around in fuzzy slippers it is vitally important to have footwear that is comfortable AND which supports your body properly.
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