Wikipedia defines ergonomics as “the science of designing the job, equipment and workplace to fit the worker”.

As I mentioned in my previous post, ergonomics isn’t just about sitting at your desk correctly, it’s also about maximising productivity.

A recent article in the Guardian highlighted a research study led by Andrew Oswald, Professor of Economics at Warwick Business School, into the link between mental well-being and productivity.  The researchers found that being mentally happy could improve your productivity by up to 12%.  It would seem that employers should take note of this and devise strategies to ensure workplace happiness.

But what about those of us who work from home?  How can we make sure we’re “happy”?

As a Virtual Assistant, one of my principle aims is to save clients time and money.  In order for me to do this I have to work as efficiently as possible.  It’s no use charging a client 2 hours work for something that should’ve taken me 30 minutes!  It’s not their fault, for example, that the printer is located 3 minutes walk away from my desk!

(FYI – my printer is actually on my desk :-))

There are several ways of maintaining high efficiency therefore leading to increased productivity:-

• Take regular breaks:- Every 45 minutes or so, get up and stretch, or walk to another room in the house.  Not only will this give muscles and joints a chance to rest, but it also gives your eyes a break from the computer monitor.  I try to go for a walk every lunchtime (with my MP3 player), this helps refresh my hard-worked brain 😉 and gives me a change of scenery (of course being in Ireland my umbrella also comes with me!).

• Vary the work:- I find that if I change my tasks regularly, my day is a bit more interesting and it passes a bit quicker.  I tend to change between computer work / filing / phone work every hour.  It also helps break up repetitive activity.

• Organise office equipment:- I make sure that my everyday objects are organised in the most efficient place for daily use, there’s not much point having the phone in the other room or the mouse on the left of my computer (I’m right-handed)!  Having things placed correctly also helps overcome any awkward reaching for items.

• Plan the day:- Make a list the evening before of what needs to be done and set realistic deadlines.  This will help reduce stress levels.  There’s nothing worse than knowing you’ve got too much to do and not enough time to do it, and work related stress could lead to ill health and reduced performance & productivity.

Finally, one tool I found (which I now can’t work without) is an online alarm clock.  http://onlineclock.net/ Such a simple idea and one that reminds me to take a break every 45 minutes!