It’s probably no secret that I spend a LOT of time with hands on the keyboard (sometimes a couple keyboards), and eyes on the screen (usually two, often three, occasionally four). Along with that comes a lot of time in a chair.
That’s not great for positive physical and mental well-being if that’s your entire day, every day, all the time. While I’m fortunate to push away from the desk and go see clients regularly, there’s still stretches of days where I’m certain someone dropped some SuperGlue in my seat.
If this is sounding like you, here’s a few things I do that seem to help get back to a more alert, positive, effective state of mind…
- Stand up. Standing up means things are about to start moving and the mind goes with me. I’ve got a keyboard that I can raise, and tilting monitors -- and with those, I’ve taken to doing some desk work standing up. It has a way of focusing, if for no other reason than it really isn’t (at least for me) the most comfortable way to work.
- Move, You’re already standing, so dance, jump up and down, take a walk (and rather than a short one to the coffee pot, maybe a little longer one to the coffee shop). Moving is energizing and a change of scenery can be good. I’ll leave it to you to guess whether I dance, jump around, or walk.
- Smile. Even if you’re alone staring at your screen, smile. Your screen won’t see the goofy look on your face and you’ll feel better. That whole “power of positive thinking” thing works and a smile can be a big part of that.
It’s easy to get glued to the chair and end up with a stuck attitude to go with it. I find that the above help to get me unstuck. Maybe you’ll find it helpful, too.
