Many people have been working from home in the last decade, especially with the internet providing a ton of opportunities for everyone, but the 2020 covid19 pandemic and the lockdowns that followed around the world had forced many office-based employees to the work-from-home set up to perform their jobs in the comfort of their own homes.
If you’re one of these people who recently enjoyed working from home, you know that considering your computer monitor is a MAJOR part of your workspace at home. If you’re new to this, here’s why you should spend more time choosing your display:
Maximize your desk space.
Not all monitors are built to be mounted on the wall (some are compatible with VESA mounting systems while others are not).
Also, not all people want just a single monitor. Multiple-monitor setups may require varying specifications (for example, one vertically oriented and the other a traditional horizontal layout). Even two monitors can be mounted to the wall if you wanted to.
Bringing monitors up (instead of leaving them taking up space on your desk) allows you to move more freely and have more areas to work on.
Configure your monitor’s position.
The monitor you choose (along with the accessories you buy for it) can determine the monitor’s position.
If swiveling the monitor is important to you, find a setup that will allow you to move the monitor’s position vertically, horizontally or at any other angle. There are even set-ups that allow you to swivel 360 degrees, which is perfect if you’re particular with customizing your display’s height or position whenever you want.
Improves work productivity.
It doesn’t matter what kind of work you do, from basic computing tasks to highly complicated design work via CAD. Having a suitable computer monitor for your job will quickly improve your productivity.
Just imagine how much more work done you’d be able to complete if you had a dual monitor set-up. One monitor could display information you need static, such as a stock market website or app, or a tutorial page for the task you’re trying to complete on your main monitor.
If you don’t like a multi-monitor setup, just an upgrade in size or resolution could help in reducing eye strain, which in turn, could increase your productivity.
Improves posture.
People who have back problems should consider proper monitor size and setup more than others. This is because using the computer at extended periods could affect your posture and cause varying levels of discomfort.
If your monitor is big enough, the problem might be its monitor stand, your table height vs. your chair’s height, and other accessories. Either way, fixing the angle of your monitor to a level your back, neck and eyes are most comfortable should be your goal.
Not only will this consideration prevent any unwanted back pains, having a setup customized for your height and preference actually improves your posture.
Increases focus.
People usually underestimate the distractions they see and instead focus on noise distractions. But anything in your field of vision could actually distract you while you work.
If you have a bigger-sized monitor that could also serve as a “wall” to separate your work space with the living room, then consider getting a bigger monitor size. If you’re not keen (or have no budget) of upgrading right now, you can try to move around your computer setup until it limits the distractions that you keep on seeing during work hours.
While it increases focus, it also improves learning. An example is Pytorch learning rate scheduler.
You’d be surprised how this simple change can affect your productivity as a whole.
Prevents back and neck pain.
Working from home usually means you’ll be spending more time sitting down than usual. In some cases, work-from-home employees even complain of longer work hours. These complaints are valid and are often true, but they become more disruptive to your work if the extended work hours lead to physical body pain, such as backaches and neck pain.
What people don’t know is that one way to prevent these body pains from happening is by having a setup that promotes good posture. Like what I said before, eye-to-monitor, neck-to-monitor and chair-to-table levels are considerations you should take seriously.
Of course, the monitor isn’t the only thing you should consider when building your workspace at home. If this would be your permanent work area for a year or so, also consider investing in ergonomic computer chairs, a better PC table (that meets your height and preference), extended mouse mats, monitor mounts, and other monitor or PC accessories.
The plethora of options available means you can find an option you can afford that may compromise a few considerations (such as size or resolution), but will still provide you with the computer monitor required for your work-from-home setup.
