The average American spends 34.5 hours a week in an office, which is almost a third of their life! Feeling comfortable at work is as important as feeling comfortable at home. Here is a list of hacks you could use in your office to help you get through the workday.
We at Bright Side collected some tips that can make your work life easier, more organized, and more comfortable. Look through this list to find out how to care for paper cuts, organize your wires, treat back pain, and how to relax, in general.
1. Deodorant to prevent chafing
It’s hot outside and you happily go to work in your favorite dress or shorts. The friction between your thighs when you walk or sit the whole day results in painful and unpleasant chafing. There is a simple solution to ease your suffering: roll-on-deodorant. Deodorant acts as a lubricant, soothing your skin and making walking less painful.
2. Blinder clips to fix broken keyboard feet
Most people are used to working from a laptop that’s positioned at the perfect typing angle and that’s why it can get really annoying when it breaks. You can fix this problem if you have a pair of binder clips lying around. Simply attach the metal tabs from the binders to the bottom of your keyboard and continue typing.
3. A special sandwhich bag to stop food thieves
What can be more nerve-wracking than when somebody steals your carefully-prepared sandwich? One way to avoid it is to make your food unattractive to others. Amazon offers safe plastic sandwich bags with a special decoration (“fake mold”) for this purpose. Alternatively, you can create such a bag yourself by using a bit of imagination and green paint.
4. Organize your cables with toilet paper rolls
We all have a collection of cables at work or at home which we use only occasionally. A few toilet paper rolls will help you keep them organized and tangle-free. Just put these cables in individual paper rolls before placing them in your cabinet drawer. Next time you need a certain cable, you won’t need to spend precious time on finding and disentangling it.
5. Paper cups to keep track of coffee making
You can hardly imagine your work routine without coffee, but how do you know when it’s time to make a new pot? 2 styrofoam cups will help you keep track of coffee making times. Just write the hours of the day around the rim of one of the cups and draw the arrow on the other cup. Ask your colleagues to turn the arrow to the relevant hour each time they prepare fresh coffee.
6. Use a pen spring to keep your cables from bending
To keep your cables and rechargers from fraying, use a spring from an old pen. Wrap it around your cable and slide it to the end so that it covers the hard plastic part that extends from the connector. Make sure to unplug the cable before attaching the spring.
7. Use a standing office table to get rid of back problems
It is no surprise that sitting the whole day is unhealthy. Not only does it cause back and neck pain, but it also increases blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.
A study from 2011 showed that people who use standing desks at work decrease their back and neck pain up to 54%. If you decide to make the switch, remember that it can be quite radical for your body. A perfect solution for that is a desk that can be used for sitting and for standing.
8. Bread tags as cord labels
We all have a lot of cords around our computer table and it often makes it difficult to determine which cord is attached to what. Plastic tags from bread bags can help you solve this problem. These tags are much sturdier than paper tags or sticker labels. Just make sure to use easily identifiable names for your cords.
9. Use old cassette boxes as a phone stand
A tip for those who have old cassette cases lying around: you can use them as a phone stand to keep an eye on reminders, texts, and phone calls. It can also come in handy if you want to watch a video or a movie. Let your creativity flow and decorate it however you wish!
10. A foot hammock at work
If you don’t have a stand-up desk and spend the whole day sitting in the office, it is important to at least make it as comfortable as possible. An adjustable foot hammock is a great way to prop up and relax your feet. It can be attached to 2 sides of your desk using metallic clips. A higher position can be used for resting, while a lower “work” position is similar to the one you have with footrests in airplanes and tour buses.
11. Forks as a laptop cooling pad
If your laptop overheats quickly, and you need to elevate it a bit but you don’t have a special laptop cooling stand, a quick and simple solution would be to use 2 forks. Place your laptop gently on top of 2 forks. It is better to put the forks prong side down (not as it is done in the picture) to avoid scratches.
12. Heal paper cuts with lip balm
Avoiding paper cuts is a special skill that few people master. Paper cuts are tiny but usually very painful. The wax base of lip balm can help seal the wound, protect it from exposure to air, and ease the pain.
Have you ever tried any of these office life hacks yourself? Do you have any other tips that help you get through the workday? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
