The ideal posture for your desk job

Back in 2020, I was in grad school for data science. I’d roll out of bed at 8:55am and fire up Zoom for my first class of the day. Class would run until 4pm, and then I’d hop back on my computer around 7pm for the evening shift of homework and group projects.

By the end of month 1, most of my days ended with pounding headaches, throbbing pain at the base of my neck, and an achy lower back.

I knew that sitting was a contributor, but sitting was also unavoidable. I was in a master’s program centered on a computer. I didn’t see a way out, so I went to physical therapy for answers.

My physical therapist started asking questions about what my day looked like. I told her that I had a good desk chair, exercised regularly, and maintained good posture. I don’t think she believed that last point because she made an interesting request. She asked me, “Will you take a time-lapse of yourself sitting at your desk for one day?”

At that point I was down to try anything. So, the next morning I propped up my iPhone against the wall next to my desk, put the phone in time-lapse mode, and started my day.

During my next physical therapy session, we watched the footage back together and it was eye-opening.

She pointed out how, for 2-3 hours at a time, I was sitting on the edge of my chair, neck craned forward towards my screen, legs behind me with my toes pressed on the floor.

She explained that while my posture wasn’t ideal, the biggest problem was that I didn’t change my posture for hours at a time.

The neck pain & headaches were not from occasionally hunching forward towards my screen. The pain was from staying in that position for long periods of time.

She said something that’s stuck with me to this day: “Your best posture is your next posture.”

Don’t get it twisted; posture does matter- posture and ergonomic desk setups are a topic we’ll talk about extensively in the future- but what’s even more important is building a system that promotes movement throughout the day.

My PT challenged me to find some easy ways to break up my long bouts of sitting throughout the day. I made two changes that immediately helped with my pain:

1) I bought a used desk-riser for $40 on Facebook Marketplace (the goat). This was a cheap way for me to alternate between sitting & standing throughout the day, without buying a true sit-stand desk. More time switching positions = less time stuck in one posture.

2) I scheduled two short walks, every workday, in my calendar. I’d walk once in the morning for 10-15 minutes between classes, and once for 10-15 minutes right after lunch. Usually I’d walk outside, but on rainy days would use my apartment’s treadmill as a backup. The calendar was key for me because no one could schedule over it. I treated those slots as sacred. I knew that if I didn’t, I’d continue to sit straight through them.

I harped on the importance of making time for movement during the workday in my last email, but it’s worth repeating.

Think back to a Wednesday in college. If you had classes, you were naturally getting up every hour or so to walk from class to class, to get a coffee, or to eat lunch with a friend. As desk workers- especially those of us who are remote- we don’t have built-in breaks anymore. We can very easily sit planted at our desks for 4-5 hours straight.

If you’re in your late 20’s like me, you may have another 35 YEARS of desk work ahead of you. The pain and aches you have from your desk job are only going to compound, unless you change something about your day-to-day. Nothing changes if nothing changes.

With all that said, what’s one thing you can do TODAY to break up your sitting? And how can you minimize the chance that this action will get disrupted, or forgotten?

Try that one thing for the rest of this week and let me know how it goes.

If you’re really interested in doing the time-lapse exercise yourself, I would highly recommend as well. Here are some technical time-lapse instructions for iPhone.

Talk soon!
Nico

BTW, if you could use personalized help for feeling better at your desk job, I’m available for 1:1 coaching on evenings & weekends! You can book a time here. Reach out and I’m happy to throw you a steep discount on your first session.