Ask HN: How to work remotely ergonomically? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to work remotely ergonomically?

29 pointsarisAlexis19 comments

So I quit my job and started working while travelling. I change place every month so setting up a whole office in every AirBnB is not a option.In my past office I used to have a nice ergonomic desk with lifted screen and a good chair.

Now I work with my laptop. Since I started doing it some months I have back and neck pain and tingling hands. I do exercise but doesn't help much.

Please share any tips?

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For every 45 minutes of sitting get up and walk around for 15 minutes. While walking keep thinking about what you were working on to stay in the zone. For every 3 to 4 hours of working take a two hour break and do active things. Also try to avoid using a mouse and go keyboard only. Wherever you sit, roll a towel and put it behind your lower back for support

Keyboard vs. screen height is crucial, and laptops have terrible ergonomics for extended periods. Get an external keyboard and mouse and a TALL laptop riser so you can look straight ahead at your screen but type with elbows at a right angle at your sides.

To sit on, consider a yoga ball? You can deflate it to transport between locations and adjust the height at each location to match the desk height by changing how much you inflate it.

It's really all about posture. The fancy desks and chairs and screens and lifts are all there to help you to have good posture and positioning but it's absolutely possible with just about anything.

Make sure you use a chair that helps you to sit up. I tend to lay back on a couch or a bed and that messes with your spine. A high back hard chair works great. If the Air BnB you stay in doesn't have one, you can pick one up at a local thrift shop and then donate it again when you're done.

A table. Again, a laptop fits so nicely on a lap but this puts you in the wrong position. Get a table. If it's not at the right ergonomic height, put blocks under the feet.

Place your laptop on a set of books or boxes to the screen is at the right ergonomic height. This will help a ton!

Get an external keyboard and mouse. I would travel with these and carry them with you.

> Get a table. If it's not at the right ergonomic height, put blocks under the feet.

One frustrating thing I find when away from home is every table is about three inches too high.

Laptop stand [1] with good keyboard and Apple magic mouse has been great for me. I don't know if you would be able to carry that stand in your travels, I would try to find something foldable.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-DSN-01750-SL-Laptop-Stan...

Top tips from someone who's been in your situations.

Regular wooden chairs can be surprisingly comfortable if you take a pillow from your bed and use it as a back rest.

Screen height is all important, get something like this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Ventilated-Adjustable-Func...

and get a bluetooth keyboard & mouse to go with it

I really don't lugging around cords and gear, so when moving about, I use a USB powered monitor. Just set it on a tall enough box, use your laptop as the keyboard, and boom you've got yourself a work station.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=usb-powered+porta...

nice idea. is there a laptpp that detaches the screen so you can do the same I wonder

Microsoft surface and even some Lenovo laptops have screen that can be detached

I tend to not use desks at home and have my laptop on my lap. I can use a couch, chair, or bean bag on my balcony. Key is to not put strain on your shoulders or neck and move around during the day. For me, using a normal desk for extended times actually feels uncomfortable. Having to lift my arms and elbows to reach a keyboard feels wrong.

Get yourself a stand (I use and recommend the Roost) and an external keyboard plus mouse. All three are extremely portable.

This is something i'm thinking of when looking at a new laptop - working off a laptop screen at desk height kills my back but elevating it makes the keyboard unusable... so I wonder if the surface is useful here?

Another sort of tip: do some strength training.

My experience is that I don't experience any discomfort despite having at times horrible working habits (working on a laptop on a sofa for 10 hours a day for example). I attribute that to being reasonably fit for a 30+ yo person.

This is very underrated. Even as an obese office worker, doing 30 minutes of back exercises a week makes work sooo much better.

You can use an ironing board as a standing desk. It is useful for hotels!

Buy a proper setup, keep the boxes and re-ship to every destination. The purchase costs and the shipping costs would be a legit business expense.

Buy a chair, a desk you can raise, a good sharp display with usb-c connection and a usb hub, a nice low profile keyboard and a nice computer mouse.

you mean to travel with a chair or buy a chair and desk in every place i visir every three weeks :)

After doing something similar for about two years, really the only thing that seems to work is co-working and office rental options. Airbnbs just aren't set up to be worked out of. Most of the places that tag themselves as including an office / laptop station in actuality don't. I had the best luck with airbnbs that were actual homes people rented out, those sometimes included a nice work space. No company or person doing the vacation rental thing cares about that amenity.

Tried shipping things, with customs taking so long in some countries it didn't work out at all.

It seemed most feasible to create an ergonomic standup work space, then you just need an external keyboard and mouse and something to stand your laptop on.

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