Getting The Right Furniture

Selecting the correct computer desk for use in your home office is a more crucial choice than a lot of people who work from home understand. This is especially true for those of us who operate online businesses from home. Why? Because we are inclined to expend more hours at our desks than those who are self-employed in offline ventures. Any business personwho relies heavily on computers should pick a desk (and desk chair) cautiously.

Ergonomics is one component of the equation. What is ergonomics? The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language describes it as: "the applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort." The idea is to choose office furniture that lets your torso be in the appropriate postures as you perform your duties. This reduces negative physical effects, such as being seated without the proper back and leg reinforcement, typing in an awkward position because your desk is not at the proper length or elevation, and other circumstances.

Beyond simply being bothersome, an uncomfortable desk and chair arrangement might just be causing you to get less work done. After all, who wishes to work in such a setting? Even when you know the work needs doing, most people find convenient excuses to do other stuff when their bodies are being strained by ill-designed furniture. The end result of all of this is, naturally, low productivity.

The other major factor involving your choice of a computer desk and your work efficiency is organization. Now, I'm not precisely the world's most structured individual in my home office, but one thing I've discovered is that a bad desk choice makes it a lot tougher to keep organized.

There's more to this decision than you might think. Probably the biggest consideration is surface area. Smaller desktops are usually a 'no-no,' because they either tempt you to pile up important papers in a haphazard way, or to place them anywhere out of the way (and thus, simply forgotten). Unless you are seriously restricted when it comes to office space, investing in a desk with a big desktop will compensate for itself several times over in the following years.

There's another good reason to go with a larger desk: your computer. Small office desks just don't give ample room for the monitor, keyboard, mouse pad, etc. Add a printer, a fax machine, and a phone, and you'll find that there isn't room for anything else. That just isn't convenient. Skip the small desks that look nice and match your other furniture. Go with a bigger one, even if it isn't as pleasing to the eyes. Your home office, although it is within your home and you would like it to look good, is eventually about you making money.

If you look hard enough, you can find a computer desk that fits both criteria: ergonomically designed and large enough to help you organize the important stuff. At the end of the day, you require your furniture to be an assistant in your home office, not the adversary.