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Nick Lyustiger, Selecting The Right Computer

Nov 17, '07 3:14 AM
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Nick Lyustiger, Selecting The Right Computer Furniture
Selecting the correct computer desk for use in your home office is a more crucial choice than a lot of people who work from home understand. This is particularly true for those of us who operate online businesses from home. Why? Because we are inclined to expend more hours at our desks than individuals who are working in offline projects. Anyone who relies a great deal on computers must select a desk (and desk chair) cautiously. Ergonomics is one component of the equation. What is ergonomics? The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language describes it as: "the applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort." The objective is to select office furniture that lets your torso be in the appropriate postures as you do your work. This cuts back on damaging physical effects, such as being seated without the proper back and leg reinforcement, typing in an uncomfortable posture because your desk is not at the proper length or elevation, and other circumstances.

Beyond simply being bothersome, an uncomfortable desk and chair arrangement might just be inducing you to get a lesser amount of work finished. After all, who wishes to work in such a setting? Even when you recognize that the work needs doing, a lot of people find suitable alibis to do other stuff when their bodies are being strained by ill-designed furniture. The end result of all of this is, naturally, minimal efficiency.

The additional main aspect affecting your selection of a computer desk and your work efficiency is organization. Now, I'm not precisely the world's most structured individual in my home office, but one thing I've discovered is that an unsound desk selection makes it a lot tougher to keep organized.

There's more to this conclusion than you may imagine. Possibly the greatest concern is surface area. Smaller desktops are generally a 'no-no,' since they either entice you to stack up vital documents in an haphazard way, or to place them anywhere out of the way (and thus, simply forgotten). Unless you are seriously restricted in terms of office space, investing in a desk with a big desktop will compensate for itself several times over in the following years.

There's one more excellent reason to go with a bigger desk: your computer. Small-scale office desks just don't have sufficient space for the monitor, keyboard, mouse pad, etc. Add a printer, a fax machine, and a phone, and you'll discover that there isn't space for anything else. That just isn't convenient. Pass over the small desks that look good and jibes with your other furnishings. Go with a bigger one, even if it isn't as visually attractive. Your home office, although it is within your home and you would like it to look good, is eventually about you making money.

If you search hard enough, you can get hold of a computer desk that matches both standards: ergonomically designed and big enough to assist you coordinate the essential stuff. At the end of the day, you require your furniture to be an assistant in your home office, not the adversary.