Here is something I have never seen at a coffee shop: a laptop stand. I have been in a lot of them, and what I see is a sea of people curled over their screens like question marks, tables at the wrong height, wooden chairs or benches with little back support, coffee going cold. It is the most visible version of a problem that shows up everywhere people work outside a well set up office. My actual setup on the back patio. A rigid garden chair transformed with an OPTP thoracic

Most people don’t think their desk is the problem. They think the problem is their back. Or their neck. Or their wrists, which have been doing something uncomfortable at night that can’t quite be explained. They’ve been to the chiropractor and had massage. They bought a new chair. They Googled “why does my shoulder always hurt” at 11pm and fell down a rabbit hole of stretches that helped for about four days. The desk, the actual physical setup of where they spend eight hours

Updated May 2026. Originally published August 2024. I got a call not long ago from someone who wanted to book a lunch-and-learn for her team. She asked if there was enough material to fill 30 minutes. I told her yes. More than enough. In fact, when I do these sessions they typically run 45 to 60 minutes - and could go even longer. Because ergonomics covers posture, equipment, setup, and habits. And all of those things matter. She was relieved, and a little surprised. Most peo