With more and more people being confined to working from home, you might be wondering what are the best ergonomic accessories for freelancers.
In this article, I’m going to run through some of my favorite ergonomic accessories:
Why Are Ergonomic Desk Accessories Important?
Ergonomic desk accessories are important because they can reduce eye strain, improve posture, and eliminate wrist-pain. Working on a computer from home for many hours can cause people to slouch and develop back, neck, and wrist pain. Ergonomic accessories help with these issues.
What are ergonomic accessories? Ergonomic is meant to describe a product that is specifically designed to fit a certain shape. In other words, fitted for you. An ergonomic mouse would be one that’s specifically designed to fit the shape of your hand, and vice versa.
Ergonomic products can make your work sessions much more comfortable, which will, in turn, allow you to focus all your energy on your projects. The end result being increased productivity which, for freelancers, often means more money in your pocket. That’s why ergonomic desk accessories are important.
The best part is you don’t have to invest thousands of dollars into hand-made ergonomic desks or office chairs.
While a high-quality desk and chair will definitely improve your posture, with a few practical accessories, you can easily convert a regular workstation into an ergonomic one. I wrote this article assuming that you already have a workstation and you’re looking for tips on how to improve it.
We’ll also discuss posture tips for remote freelancers living out of Airbnbs and hotels, living the ultimate laptop lifestyle. I had that dream once.
Best Ergonomic Desk Workstation Accessories:
There are a handful of cool little accessories that can improve your posture, as well as reduce back, neck, and wrist, strain.
Look, I’m not a chiropractor, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. When in doubt, always consult a health care professional.
Let’s start with monitor stands. Monitor stands are great because they raise your monitor to eye-level, so you don’t subconsciously bend your neck. These have been known to reduce neck and back pain.
Funny story, the last time I visited my mom she was using a cardboard shoe box as her monitor stand. I think these are slightly better than that.
1. Bambloom Wood Monitor Stand With Drawers
| Dimensions: | Material: | Color Options: |
|---|---|---|
| 22 x 10.6 x 4.7 Inches | Wood | Bamboo or Black with White Drawers |
The Bambloom wood monitor stand is a great little monitor stand for home workstations. It’s made from sturdy wood, has two drawers, and large enough for a single, full size, monitor. It also has three compartments on the surface, in front of the monitor, for phones, pens, papers, and one cup holder.
There’s also a small space underneath the stand where you can store a wireless keyboard. What I liked most about this monitor raiser is it comes completely assembled. As someone who has spent far too long assembling Ikea products, that was a plus for me. Overall, it’s a really nice, basic, monitor stand.
2. Gimar’s Enlarge Gel Memory Foam Keyboard Wrist Rest
There’s not really that much to say about keyboard wrist-supports. When I first started writing from home, I was using a cheap Ikea table for my desk, and the edges got all warped with my wrist contact. It was kind of gross. I also had a deep groove in my wrists after long hours of typing away.
After I got one of these anti-slip wrist supports, my typing sessions were a lot more comfortable.
Alternatively, what you could do is look for a keyboard that has wrist support. You might think these wrist supports are kind of ridiculous, but they actually make a huge difference. Trust me. It’s probably the easiest way to relieve wrist-pain that’s related to computer use.
3. Gimar’s Large Memory Foam Ergonomic Mouse Pad
Another Gimars product. The title is self-explanatory, it’s an extra-large ergonomic memory foam mouse pad. These products are perfect for streamers or gamers.
It can make those long sessions much more comfortable. Even if you’re just a casual PC user, it will help a lot. Worth checking out. You could also look for keyboard wrist rest and mouse pad combos, there are a lot of them out there.
4. Ergonomic Wireless Mouse
You might have seen some ergonomic wireless mouses on display at tech-shows. You might have even found yourself thinking that they look kind of… stupid?
While that’s true, they do have a weird shape and design, the point is to make using them as comfortable as possible. There are a handful of wireless ergonomic mouses that you can check out.
Here’s a quick list:
- Anker Wireless Ergonomic Mouse
- Logitech M570 Wireless Ergonomic Mouse
- Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse
- Ergonomic Rechargeable Wireless Mouse from Lekvey
You can go with pretty much any of those. Throw one of those in your backpack with a 2-in-1 laptop and you’re good to work from anywhere.
With these ergonomic workstation accessories, your work from home life will be a lot more comfortable. And no, laptop users, I haven’t forgotten about you.
Ergonomic Laptop Accessories:
To be honest, using a laptop without external accessories, such as a mouse and keyboard, is rather uncomfortable. Sure, watching Netflix is easy regardless if the position, but if you want to get actual work done, it’s kind of a bother.
What can you do? Well, after some research and tests, my conclusion is a laptop stand is probably the best choice for you.
1. Lying Down Lap Desk
Yes, this product is taken from my article on lying down laptop stands. It fits right in. And I love it. When you set up the laptop on this desk, adjusted to the right angle, and with an external mouse, you will feel much more comfortable. You can even get work done in bed.
Now, I understand you probably can’t bring this table with you when you travel. Then again, thanks to the Coronavirus, I doubt anyone will start traveling any time soon. So that’s one suggestion. I always recommend using a laptop on a desk.
The Bottom Line:
So now you know of some great little ergonomic accessories that can make your work from home life a lot easier. If you happen to be stuck at home due to quarantine, I’ll be sending some positive thoughts your way.
Use this time to work on those projects you never had time for. Write that article. Create that website. Go for it. And don’t forget to use these accessories while you’re at it.
Good luck, stay safe.
