Desk of DEATH: 10 Ways to Avoid Breaking Your Back While Building Your Digital Business!!

If you spend your day in front of a computer you know the pain. It hurts to stand up, it hurts to sit down. You tell yourself to stop slouching but you just can’t control yourself! It’s called the digital crouch, and it’s sparking back problems for digital workers across the nation. 

As a digital agency, our days are spent at our computers, and our backs are begging for mercy. Business may be booming, but our bodies are paying the price. In order to save ourselves, we found 10 ways to prevent the digital crouch, and decided to share them with you!

1. PRACTICE GOOD POSTURE: 

The easiest way to prevent the digital crouch, and the pain that comes with it, is to not do the digital crouch. Much easier said than done, but by focusing on keeping your feet flat on the floor, back pressed against your chair, and ears above your shoulders, you can maximize work and minimize pain.

2. STAND: 

It’s as easy as putting your weight on your feet and picking your butt up off of your chair. Standing occasionally, or working while standing, will reduce the strain on your back and keep your posture in tip-top shape!

3. WALK AROUND:

Take standing to the next level with this incredible new therapy! It’s called… walking. Yeah.

4. ADJUST YOUR SCREENS: 

It’s all about angles. If you have to bend over to see your screen and type, then your back is going to hurt! Try moving your monitors to eye level, and angle your keyboard so you don’t bend to type. A good monitor/keyboard placement will force you into a proper seating position.

5. PRACTICE PROPER BREATHING:

If you play a wind instrument or sing, you know all about proper breathing. Inhale by pushing out your stomach. Don’t worry, you aren’t bloated, that bump under your shirt is made up of muscles and filling it with air helps keep you upright. It’s also a much more effective way to breathe!

6. MAKE GOOD CHAIR CHOICES: 

Quiz: Which is more expensive? A one-time payment for a quality chair, or a lifetime of chiropractor bills?

7. LESS PHONE USE

We tend to bend our necks forward to check our smartphones at our desks. Prolonging this motion is literally a pain in the neck. Pull your phone up to eye level, and try checking social media, email, and other applications on your computer rather than your phone. 

8. DISCOVER NATURE’S OFFICE: 

Spring has sprung and Summer is only a few weeks away. The great thing about a digital business is the ability to work from everywhere. Your bed, your kitchen table… What about outside? With social distancing in effect, parks and public pools may be out of the question, but a backyard or porch features the beauty of nature, coupled with relaxing, reclining chairs which will take the stress off of your spine. (Side effects may include increased productivity and a suntan).

9. TRY A BACK PAD:

There are tons of products on the market that promise to keep your back feeling 100% by adding padding, support, heat, or massaging, to your standard desk chair. Are they really going to save your spine? Probably not, but some of them are pretty cheap, so it might be worth it to give a couple of them a shot.

10. REMEMBER WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE HUMAN:

Figure out where you can take a break from digital a bit. It won’t really help your back but it could help your mind to disconnect. Hands, fingers, pencils, pens; a lot of digital activities can be performed manually! Try taking notes on your Zoom meeting on a piece of paper, rather than through a word processor. You can always scan your notes to your computer later if need be! Slack messages are an incredible tool for inter-office communications, but an old fashioned phone call is more personal, just as easy, and a lot more rewarding. Plus, you don’t have to be looking at a screen or sitting at a desk to pick up the phone. A digital business doesn’t have to mean a digital lifestyle.

No pain no gain? We believe in gain without the pain. Hopefully with these tips, your digital business can keep crushing it, without breaking your back!

-Andrew Shaqfeh