Life Behind the Desk: Great Products for Improving Your Work Day

Life behind the desk is a rough one if you don't have what you need. Staying organized in the workplace is a big challenge for all of us, which is partly some smarties out there created these awesome tools to help us out. If you're on the lookout for cool ergonomic products, gadgets, or cute, creative trinkets to help you get some work done, today's list is all for you. Here are some major must-have items that every office worker ought to consider getting. Enjoy!

Supportive Ergonomic Chair

A healthy office life begins with a supportive work chair. Without this critical ingredient, if you're sitting down at work, you're probably doing horrible damage to your back, arms, and even your legs. Rather than settling for that same rock-hard chair the cubicle came with, see if you can upgrade to something much more comfortable. Most ergonomic chairs relieve pain and are equipped with specific features to tend to most common office ailments. Prices range in as much diversity as ergonomic products do themselves. Anything with the "ergo" label is designed to cater to the individual. We recommend that every consider their unique situation and health needs before buying. Don't be afraid to call up the dealer and ask for need-specific recommendations!

Dual Screen Monitor

Most folks think of dual screen monitor arms as being only for gamers, computer gurus, and animators, but in reality, they're really for everyone! Two screens are much more user friendly than a single one for folks that spend most of their workday copying, pasting, cutting, editing, or dealing with huge swaths of data. Rather than opening tab after tab, the two screens allow much more room for users to see and do what they need to all in one place. Be sure to browse adjustable ergonomic computer arms to save desk space and prevent health risks from straining to see the screens. In addition, don't forget to dress up your desktop with a snazzy, scenic screensaver for a desk that's like a home away from home!

USB Hubs

We've all been there - stuck at work with a purse full of gizmos and no place to charge them. But this is the 21st century, and thankfully, smarty-pants rule the world. For anyone that relies on modern technology to get the job done, no desk is complete without a personal USB hub. These handy office devices are crazy affordable, and they're available in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors to appeal to everyone. They're right up there with affordable CPU holders and keyboard platforms as some of the best tech accessories for desk use in an office dependent on tech.

Desktop Organizer

Unfortunately, it doesn't always matter how neat the rest of your life is - office life can get messy. With papers, sticky notes, cords, clips, and gadgets all part of the mix, it's no wonder desktop organizers have made our must-have supply list. But just because you need one, don't settle for a boring boxy organizer straight out of the 90s. This is the age of high tech tech! If you know you rely on pencils and pens as well as your tablet and smartphone, a powered organizer to maximize workplace efficiency is always a better choice. Look for one that incorporates elements of both the old and the new. Something that's equipped with pencil trays for office convenience, as well as a docking station for your gadgetry, will help you get the job done in a cleaner fashion.

Dry Erase Boards

With all the popularity surrounding open plan office configurations it's no surprise that dry-erase boards have seen a huge spike in popularity. The fact that they're erasable, neat, paperless, creative, and convenient makes these the perfect products to promote workplace efficiency. For those that spend most of the day at a small desk space or cubicle, a tiny portable whiteboard will make an excellent companion. However, for those in bigger offices, dry-erase boards attached to other presentation accessories for office use are great too!

*Bonus tip: If you're really into the power of whiteboards don't be afraid to check out the 2014 NeoCon winner, go! by Clarus Glassboards. They're like portable whiteboards on wheels that are available in all sorts of sizes and colors for a well designed workspace.

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How To Master Your Office Chair

Today, office chairs are complex pieces of machinery designed to help keep us comfortable and focused in the workplace. However, using an office chair properly requires a know-how all it's own. Many people often end up reporting faulty products where there are none when they can't figure it out. If you can't seem to get full benefits out of your office chair, check out these tricks to mastering your chair!

Do Your Own Assembly

Rather than relying on a construction-saavy friend or a handyman to assemble your chair for you, try to see if you can do it yourself. Have your buddy look over the instructions to correct you if you make mistakes, but taking 30 minutes to assemble those new task chairs with ergonomic features yourself has many benefits. Knowing your chair often requires knowing it's inner workings, and if you've put the pieces together yourself, it's more likely you'll know what the chair is meant to do and how it's supposed to do it. This will help develop a familiarity with your chair you may need to make repairs in the future.

Read The Instructions

As simple as it sounds, reading the instructions and double-checking as you put the chair together can save lots of headache in the future. Faulty assembly jobs are often the main culprit of why consumers report bad products, when really the product would work fine if the assembler hadn't tossed the instructions in the recycle bin. Putting together high tech adjustable desk chairs requires as much focus as the office itself. Do yourself a favor by reading the instructions and storing them in a safe place. (You never know when your chair will need repairs.)

Learn Your Adjustments

Now that you've got your office seating put together, it's time to test it out! The great thing about popular ergonomic chairs with versatile applications and features is that they are super adjustable. Users can mold their chair to fit them personally, adjusting tilt, back angle, height, arms, and other key components. Learn your chair's features by checking the adjustments on a regular basis, even after you've had the chair for a while. If you've got a really fancy chair, it's probably designed to heal. As the body changes, more adjustments will need to be made for maximum comfort.

Practice Basic Maintenance

Once per quarter, users should perform a periodic maintenance check on their office chair. This is when that old instruction manual will come in handy again. Take a few minutes to look things over, check adjustments, tighten screws, and oil the pneumatic cylinder that adjust the chair's height. You can also check the chair's casters (wheels) for fodder and debris it may have picked up rolling around the last few months. Finish up by cleaning the fabric, leather, or mesh with a wet wipe or leather conditioner. While you've got the tool box out, go ahead and do a routine check on your desk and helpful must have office accessories to ensure they last!

Consult With Your Physician

Heading to your doc for a checkup can help you identify potential problem areas with your health. It may sound surprising, but certain high end ergonomic chairs such as the cool Chakra Chair by Eurotech are designed to do more than relax. Many chairs are equipped with features designed to heal specific ailments. For example, articulating backs and chairs with a "shoulders-back" shape relieve back pain by improving posture, and waterfall seats help improve blood circulation through the legs. Go ahead and tell doc about your new chair and it's ergonomic benefits to hear how certain features can benefit you. You'd be surprised how many physicians are big believers in ergonomic design!

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Create An Adjustable Workspace With ESI Products

In today's modern world, ergonomic office accessories are something no workspace should be without. Unfortunately, too many business owners just don't know what's out there that could help their business. Well, there's good news! ESI Ergonomic Solutions has everything you need to improve the comfort, health, and efficiency of any office. With these high tech accessories offered by ESI, users can transform their office, and improve work experience tenfold in a snap!

Keyboard Trays

Keyboard trays are a wonderful innovation for anyone that experiences hand or wrist pain while typing. Often, the problem that causes this pain can be traced to a keyboard that sits atop a desk, forcing users to bend their wrists unnaturally to type. Choosing affordable keyboard trays for office use from brands like ESI allow users to type from a more natural position. By mounting underneath an office desk, platforms can rise, fall, and tilt for users to type comfortably. Over time it reduces the risk of joint pain, wrist pain, and aching hands, in addition to improving circulation and reducing the chance for problems like carpal tunnel syndrome.

Monitor Arms

Monitor arms are another ergonomic solution that can greatly reduce pain in the office. ESI offers a number of high tech single and dual screen monitor arms that make computer work an efficient, pain-free experience. Models like the EDGE2-28 2 Screen Monitor Arm by ESI are wonders at relieving pain caused by misplaced computer screens. When users strain to see their computer, they stretch over desks and leave their heads in unnatural positions for extended periods, causing crippling neck, upper back, shoulder, and muscle pain after several days. ESI adjustable monitor arms for computer use work by mounting computer screens to desks or walls, and allowing users to adjust the screen to their optimum viewing position. The EDGE2-28 even offers a two-screen option for faster, more productive work!

CPU Holders

Anyone that's ever spilled coffee on a hard drive knows how devastating the feeling is. After the sparks clear, the slow realization that nearly all your work might be gone can ruin anyone's day. Instead of waiting for the accident to happen though, why not stop it before it does? As a producer of smart ergonomic office products, of course ESI offers a brilliant solution to save hard drives from office spills.  Rather than leaving computer CPUs on the ground, ESI recommends CPU holders to keep hard drives out of the way. Wheeled CPU holders offer mobility while ergonomic CPU holders under desks keep hard drives out of the kick zone and out of the splash zone. Many of them even offer easy access features so users don't have to crawl to the back of their desk to rewire circuitry. For ESI, affordable ergonomic CPU holders are just money savers in disguise.

Lighting

Office lighting may seem like a simple necessity, but for ESI, lighting is an art. This brand produces an array of lamps and overhead lighting features to brighten your workday, and many of them even offer bonus features! Options like the Solstice Dual Purpose LED Lamp by ESI not only light up workspaces, but it also provides a charging station. Rather than sacrificing a power outlet or flash drive to charge your smart phone, simply plug your device into the Solstice lamp and let it do it's thing. In no time at all, you can have phones, mp3 players, and other handhelds charged and ready for use, without ever having to unplug your lamp to charge them. How's that for high tech?

Specialized Products

Although many other brands cannot match the price and innovation of ESI ergonomic products, many of them do offer some of the same devices. Monitor arms, lamps, and keyboard trays aren't exactly new to the office world, but ESI offers many specialized devices that are! In addition to all their high tech accessories for office use, ESI also offers great ergonomic workstations like the WOW, and ergo footrests to prevent foot pain in the office. There is even the ORION-COMBO Tablet Mount by ESI, which is basically a monitor arm for tablets! All in all, ESI Ergonomic Solutions lives up to its name. It brings high tech answers to workplace problems that most don't even realize are there, but once you find the answer, you'll never go back!

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Top Things Every Small Business Needs in 2014

Got a great idea? Thinking of starting your own small business with it? Well, it's the new year. What better time to start than now? Starting your own business can be hard work. There's all sorts of things to consider, like who to hire, how to market, and most importantly, where to start. Don't worry though. We're here to help you out. When starting a business, its a good to lay the groundwork first, and that starts by laying down the furniture. Today's post highlights the top things every new business ought to have in 2014!

Considerations

Before starting your small business or shopping for furniture, take plenty of time to consider things. Try to think of all the facets of your business. What will different employees be doing? Will you have in-house customers or guests? How much space will you need? As the business owner, it's your job to know what your business will do, and shop accordingly. Try to think about the activity levels in each office or room. In places of high activity, its likely people won't have the time to sit down for a while so luxury is probably not vital. Clunky furniture will get in the way of people walking, so standing desks are probably better than sitting desks in these sorts of environments. In places of low activity, it's the opposite. Comfortable chairs are a must for people that sit down all day and large desks are likely more useful. Owning the business means knowing it inside and out. If you need help deciding what to get, ask your employees for their opinions. You may get some great ideas you never would have considered otherwise!

Ergonomic Chairs

This is definitely a biggie. Trying to start a new business, whatever it may be, is hard enough without trying to tackle terrible furniture. Choosing task chairs with ergonomic design is definitely a better way to go than keeping rickety old office chairs you've had since the 90s. These days, most people know that the benefits of comfort go beyond, well, comfort. Most ergonomic chairs are scientifically proven to improve office efficiency and work ethic by relieving common office aches like back pain. Few people realize that there are ergonomic chairs out there designed to relieve all sorts of unique problems like joint pain, poor circulation, tense muscles, and even poor digestion. In fact, ergonomic chairs like the 22011 Verte Ergonomic Chair by RFM are often heralded as the most comfortable chairs in existence because so many of them boast features that conform to the spine's natural movement. When starting your new business, consider what you'll be doing. Will you be working at a computer? Will you have employees? Guests? If so, chances are they'll like to have comfortable chairs. Going with ergonomic mesh chairs for office use is a great way to seat everyone comfortably that won't break your budget. Overtime, you may be surprised to find everyone in a better mood because they aren't distracted by discomfort!

Good Desks

Here's another big step that actually takes quite a bit of consideration before starting your new business this year. Choosing the right office desk can be a big challenge that could potentially cost you thousands. When choosing your office desk, consider your environment. Do you have a small office space or a large one? In a tiny space, its a better idea to go with small computer desks for office use since they're generally more compact. Executive desks are better for large spaces since they're impressive and provide more room to get things done. Another thing that should never be looked over are employees. If they need desks too, try to consider how many will be needed and what designs would be better for employees with unique jobs. Modular workstations like the E53 Custom 4 User Workstation by Mayline can house numerous individuals comfortably in a relatively small space. However, for those who prefer closed desk configurations, cubicles can also make a nice alternative. Today's models even come with windows so employees get the privacy they need without feeling so trapped.

Accessories

Accessories are a great asset to an up and coming business. This year, most businesses will likely make use of the great inventions of 2013, and keep an eye out for 2014's own business-booming ideas. Things like ergonomic monitor arms for computers and CPU holders have already proven their worth in small and large businesses all across the nation. While monitor arms allow users to adjust their computer screen so they don't have to lean over desks or strain to see their computer, CPU holders mount under desks to keep hard drives out of the way and out of danger. Both of these items are ergonomic, meaning they have been scientifically designed to improve the comfort, efficiency, and productivity of the average workplace. Choosing to neglect the benefits of great office accessories like these can leave any new small business struggling to keep up.

Go High Tech

Once a technology is invented, there's no going back. 2014 is likely to produce all sorts of great technological inventions that companies everywhere will flock to make use of. To give your new business a fighting chance, make sure you stay up to date on all the latest apps and devices for marketing and business purposes. iPads make great tools for business use as there are tons of great apps for marketing strategies and keeping track of business productivity. Card reader cubes are wonderful for  small workplaces of high activity as they allow users to scan customer cards right on the spot using a smartphone or other smart tech device. If your small business sees to lots of in-house guests and customers, it's never a bad idea to include affordable flat screen TV mounts in your office. Visitors can watch while they wait for a representative to get to them, and business owners can use them as marketing tools by playing DVDs or Powerpoint presentations that highlight the services of their company. One thing is certain, the new year will definitely see a rise in tech savvy business!

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