The working from home thread: tips and advice

I got one of these from my office. About 15 years old and still so comfy.

Don't skimp on ergonomics. I've spent years in shit seats and regret it. I'm now using a Backapp stool which looks horrendous but has a good balance between comfort and active sitting

I have one of these: https://www.formyoffice.co.uk/products/dynamic-sitall-sit-and-stand-stool

It's taken a while to get used to it, my back was aching for the first few weeks but eventually you stop slouching and sit properly. This thread made me realise that I haven't thought about my back for a couple of weeks now and I sit on this thing on-and-off for more than 8 hours a day when working.

I also need a new chair but my budget is more like 300 max.

Fortunately I don't need to sit in front of the desk the whole day long but can divide work in smaller chunks of 1-2-3 hours, and do other stuff that doesn't require me sitting in front of the computer in between.

I am really not sure what kind of chair to get.
Mainly, whether to get one with back / lower back support or one that specifically doesn't have a back rest, like those office 'stools' etc. - which doesn't sound so comfy but might actually not be a bad idea.
Remember talking to a physi-therapist about this a while back and she said she didn't really know what general recommendation to give either as people are so different.

ps: haha, @kboy beat me to it

The physios I've talked to all agree on one thing - change around. It doesn't matter what you sit on as long as it's not for hours on end.

To me that means trying to get up for a quick stand every 30 mins or so.

Surely 300 will buy you something decent? Think mine is about 600ish new but I got it 2nd hand for about half that

Herman Millar Aeron

They are very good if you need to do long sits. Bought one twelve years ago, think it was about five years old when I picked it up. It's taken an absolute battering but still going strong. Probably the best thing I've bought, all things considered.

Another shout out for the aeron, I've been using them for donkey's years. They used to be in every post production house back in the day. I don't use the lumbar support though, for some reason it really fucks my back up. It's perfect for me without it.

Are you certain it's not an upcycled prop from Total Recall?

Exactly how I've been feeling as of late. A shit load to do but so many distractions at home combined with f all to look forward to doesn't make for a positive atmosphere.

I hope you're better today!

Fortunately I don't need to sit in front of the desk the whole day long

Yeah, it would be a shame if there weren't time left for going out to photograph mattresses. :)

I bought a refurb Aeron back in October, it's great, as long as I manage to remember to sit back in it, and not hunch forward for hours on end.

Where's the best place to pick up a refurb Aeron?

Go back in time to the dot-com crash

Failing that, think mine came from eBay...

There's an online service that specialises in used office furniture and they had a load for good prices. fuck knows who posted it / what it was called / which thread it was in though :(

2ndhnd.com

Where's the best place to pick up a refurb Aeron?

I got mine from https://studiomodern.co.uk/

I was also checking these places for stock:
https://www.2ndhnd.com/
https://www.londonaerons.co.uk/

Thanks for the tips - will keep an eye on where they pop back in stock!

I've just got a new sit-stand desk expensed and delivered from work which I'm going to put in at the weekend. I'm going to spring for a new monitor and was thinking of this:

link

(Happy for any similar priced suggestions - I've never bought one before)

Obviously bigger is better (?) but does anyone have experience of working about 60-70cm from a 32 inch screen? I've only used up to 28's and got nothing to reference at home - is this actually too big?

4k is nice but do you need it and can your laptop run it?

Possibly. It's an intel UHD, which claims to be able to.

If not, I imagine it'll get plugged into other things at the same time and I think my xbox probably can and my wife's mac I imagine can, so I think it's reasonable to spring for it.

Aeron here too. Thou prices have changed! (obvs). I got two (one for my dad) 4 or 5 years back on ebay for £160 each!

Partner ordered a House by John Lewis chair (https://www.johnlewis.com/house-by-john-lewis-lumbar-office-chair/black/p4839110) which gets good reviews. Should arrive Friday so can compare to the Aeron...

Obviously bigger is better (?) but does anyone have experience of working about 60-70cm from a 32 inch screen? I've only used up to 28's and got nothing to reference at home - is this actually too big?

70cm away from a 43" 4K monitor:-

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/15698621/

It takes a bit of getting used to, and I tend to only use chunks of the screen at a time, rather than looking at the whole thing, but it's really helped as I can have multiple things open at the same time, spaced nicely, and also have rarely used items (email, Slack, spotify, etc) open and visible in the outer reaches of the screen.

34" ultrawide (21:9) at 65cm is fine here.

Equivalent width 16:9 would be 36".

Nice - thanks both. It'll be a nice upgrade on the 21" I've been on till now.

@Greenbank - looks like I was overthinking, yours is obviously nice and big but it still doesn't look too IMAXy or anything. Work's home office money is burning a hole in my pocket, off to look at mechanical keyboards now.

I have a 34" ultrawide which I sat about 60-70cm away from and it's fine. (This one https://www.cclonline.com/product/philips-345b1c-curved-monitor-34-inch-3440-x-1440-uwqhd-va-panel-amd-freesync-black-345b1c-00-318559/ it's a bit pricier but the one USB C cable for power, video, sound and USB hub is great.)

I wouldn't be so keen on a 4K monitor. Comparing the dimensions of that to mine I think it would be too much looking up/down if you're that close.

I wouldn't be so keen on a 4K monitor. Comparing the dimensions of that to mine I think it would be too much looking up/down if you're that close.

32" 16:9 is pretty comparable to 34" UW. The former just being slightly taller and narrower in roughly equal amounts. I'd say it's down to personal preference and how you'd use the space.