Whenever we design an office space or deliver a DSE assessment, we often stress the importance of quashing the bad habits that contribute to poor postures. We can supply the best workstation in the world, but if you are not sitting correctly, you won’t be able to unlock its full potential.
Recently, we have been measuring just how good our work habits are with a nifty new invention The Lumo Lift. This wearable piece of tech measures how good your posture is and how sedentary you throughout the day with angle displacement sensors. One of the first things that struck me was how simple this device is to set up and use. After I had charged it for a couple of minutes, I simply clipped the device to my shirt so that it rested just below my collar-bone. This device is very discreet and can be worn with one of the two small square magnetic pins or with the bra strap pin under your clothing. Don’t forget to download the free app on your phone. Here you can change the settings, get some handy tips and keep track of how well you’re doing.
Next, all you have to do is sit up straight. It’s important to begin with the best posture you can muster, so make sure that your chair is set up correctly before you begin and preferably have a friend on hand to tell you if there is some obvious posture problems. You then just tap the device twice to let it know that you have found a good benchmark posture (the device will respond with a reassuring little buzz).
Working for a company that is so passionate about ergonomics, I imagined that I would be achieving the perfect posture…and not to blow my own trumpet but across the morning I was. According to the app, between 9 and 1, my posture was ‘remarkable’ and between these hours I was also active. In my personal opinion, I don’t think that it was a coincidence that my level of activity directly improved my posture. In the mornings I tend to use my standing desk more (and drink a lot more coffee) meaning that I don’t have a fixed posture that’s prone to ‘slumping’.
I was surprised to learn that post-lunch, my posture had turned to ‘slouchy’. This made me rethink more than just my posture but also my productivity. Since wearing the device for a week, I have made a conscious effort to alternate between sitting and standing every 30 minutes with a Pomodoro timer to help me break up my workload with 30 minutes of distraction-free working at a time.
The gentle reminders when I slouched made me really mindful of how I was sitting or standing. When I thought I was sitting well, the posture coach made me realize that I had been leaning on one elbow and leaning into my screen when I was reading through my email.
I think this consistency is the key into helping us all to sit better, work better and break our bad habits and the Lumo Lift is a constant, easy and non-invasive way of reminding me to correct my posture. Over the past week, I have been pleasantly surprised by how effective the Lumo Lift has been. Here’s hoping that with a little bit of coaching from this handy device, I will achieve the coveted perfect posture!
