As the world cumulates data on the Omicron variant and we prepare for what may be several more months of working from home, I thought I would share a few of my favorite home-office items with you and why I love them:
Adjustable bed base
If you’ve ever researched zero-gravity work-chairs, you know they are VERY large, and extremely expensive. My home and budget: shmall.
While I happened to have a small guest room in my home at the beginning of the pandemic -- a luxury many don't have -- and converting it to a home-office may have been the natural move, I also didn’t like sitting at my kitchen table, which went largely underused. So I went a little rogue and reclaimed my kitchen space by replacing that table with a desk and rolling chair. Now. That chair is certainly more comfortable than the kitchen chairs that were there before. However, sitting in it for hours at a time still gets painful. Enter the adjustable bed frame in the guest-room: by setting up my home-office in the kitchen, I could use that as my on-camera space, and add functionality to my guest-room by switching its primary function to work-lounge.
Pros:
Work-lounge without sacrificing the existing bed setup.
Easy to adjust position gradually and set memory functions.
2 USB ports.
Considerations:
Must be placed near an outlet, but any side of the bed will work. It just can’t be set up in the middle of a room or on a wall without an outlet.
Only compatible with very low and delicately handled under-bed storage as bed wires may snag.
Works best with memory foam mattresses. My 8-inch mattress took about 2 weeks to loosen up and follow the base's bends. This loosening up part might take longer for very light people. If you’re purchasing a mattress specifically for this base, aim for thinner memory foam.
The ticker your mattress, the longer your legs have to be for the bend to actually correspond with your knees. Short legs are at a disadvantage.
I find it works best with 3 to 4 pillows: 1 under each arm to type comfortably, another under my head, and a fourth to prop up the laptop to a less neck-bending height. I think of it as my grown-up pillow-fort, fit for working comfortably. In fact, this entire post was written in that bed.
Roller-Blade Chair Casters
The floor in my kitchen (where I set up my home-office) is a hundred years old. It took a little less than a week for the wheels that came with my chair to visibly damage the boards. These have been MUCH gentler on my century old home.
Pros:
Gentle on Flooring
Didn’t require any tools to install
Con:
My century old floor is nowhere near level: Because these roll far better than the previous ones, I have to remember to tuck the chair under the desk so that it doesn’t roll across the room when I walk away.
If you don't already have one, this chair could pair well with the casters above:
Air bladder mat
I may be better set up here than I’ve ever been in a traditional office, but my back and neck still get achy. Most massage mats only offer vibration, which do nothing for me. This one offers targeted air filled compartments to move your back into yoga-like poses instead.
Pros:
4 movement modes.
Feels like going to a professional: hurts while you’re on it, but after about 20 minutes, you want it to keep going.
Easy self-care habit to observe. Consider it your new commute.
Cons:
Requires a bit of adjusting to get yourself centered on the mat.
Might be uncomfortably painful for people with shoulder mobility issues. Don’t put your arms above your head while using the mat if that is your case as some of the movements could put your arms at a 200-degree angle if you do. Arms close to your side is the safest position to avoid unecessary pain.
Please let me know in the comments if you own or have tried some of these items and if you would like to see more finds like these.
Please be well,
Anabi
* Full disclosure: the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. If you click on them to make a purchase, I may make a small commission. However, I have no affiliation with the products themselves and make nothing if you return the items so it is in my best interest to share products I genuinely find helpful only.
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