Ergonomic Desk Setup: A Step-by-Step Checklist

Start with neutral posture

OSHA's computer workstation guide is built around one idea: a neutral posture, where your joints are aligned and your muscles are not working to hold you in place. In that position:

• Your head is level, facing forward and in line with your torso.
• Your shoulders are relaxed and your upper arms hang at your sides.
• Your elbows stay close to your body, bent between 90 and 120 degrees.
• Your hands, wrists and forearms are straight and roughly parallel to the floor.
• Your back is supported, upright or leaning back slightly.
• Your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor, with knees about level with your hips.
• Your feet are flat on the floor or on a footrest.

Every step below is about getting you into that position and keeping you there. The order matters: set the chair first, because everything else depends on where your body sits.

Step 1: Set your chair

• Height: Raise or lower the seat until the soles of your feet rest flat on the floor.
• Lower back: Move the lumbar support up or down so it fits the curve of your lower back.
• Seat depth: Sit all the way back. The front edge of the seat should not press into the backs of your knees.
• Armrests: Set them low enough that your shoulders stay relaxed. Soft, rounded armrests put less pressure on your forearms.

If your desk is fixed and you have to raise the chair to reach it, your feet may leave the floor. Use a footrest so your feet are supported.

Step 2: Check your desk height

Your desk should let your elbows sit at about keyboard height with your shoulders relaxed. OSHA suggests 20 to 28 inches (50 to 72 cm) of clearance under the desk for your legs, and nothing stored there that crowds your legs and feet.

If the desk is too low, stable risers under the legs can raise it. If it is too high, raise your chair and add a footrest. A height-adjustable desk solves both, and it also lets you stand. For how long to stand, see how long you should stand at a standing desk.

Step 3: Place your keyboard and mouse

• Put the keyboard directly in front of you, close enough that your elbows stay near your body.
• Keep your wrists straight and in line with your forearms. If they bend up, down or to the side, raise or lower the keyboard or chair.
• Put the mouse right next to the keyboard so you do not have to reach for it.
• Keep things you use often within easy reach.

Step 4: Position your monitor

Setting	Guideline
Distance	About an arm's length. OSHA: 20 to 40 inches (50 to 100 cm). AAO: about 25 inches
Height	Top line of the screen at or below eye level
Angle	Center of the screen 15 to 20 degrees below eye level
Tilt	Tilted back no more than 10 to 20 degrees
Placement	Directly in front of you

Looking slightly down at the screen is what the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends. Watch for glare: OSHA notes that tilting the screen back can pick up reflections from ceiling lights.

If you work on a laptop, the screen and keyboard are joined, so one of them will always be in the wrong place. A laptop stand with a separate keyboard and mouse lets you follow both the monitor and keyboard steps.

Step 5: Look after your eyes

Staring at a screen for long periods can cause eye strain. The American Optometric Association recommends the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds. It also suggests resting your eyes for 15 minutes after two hours of continuous computer use.

Step 6: Get up and move

Even a perfect setup is only one posture, and holding any posture for hours is hard on your body. Research links long, unbroken sitting bouts to higher health risks, and suggests getting up about every 30 minutes. The details are in how often you should get up from sitting.

A work timer makes this automatic. The Pomodoro Technique uses 25-minute focus sessions followed by a 5-minute break, which lines up well with both the 20-20-20 rule and getting up every half hour. Pomodoroll, a free Pomodoro timer, guides a short desk stretch after each focus session, most of them 60 seconds, so your break starts with some movement.

The checklist

Print this or keep it open the next time you set up a desk:

• Feet flat on the floor or on a footrest
• Thighs about parallel to the floor, knees level with hips
• Lower back supported by the chair
• Seat edge not pressing into the backs of your knees
• Shoulders relaxed, armrests low
• Elbows close to your body, bent 90 to 120 degrees
• Wrists straight, keyboard directly in front of you
• Mouse right next to the keyboard
• Screen about an arm's length away, directly in front
• Top of the screen at or below eye level
• No glare on the screen
• Clear space under the desk for your legs
• A timer set to remind you to look away and get up

If something still hurts

A good setup reduces strain. Pain you already have may need more than that. If you have pain in your neck, back, wrists or eyes that keeps coming back, see a doctor, physical therapist or eye doctor. They can check what is causing it and suggest changes for your body.