Set up your workspace
Your workspace is like your desk at school. If it's comfy, bright and quiet, it's easier to think. If it's messy and noisy, your brain gets tired fast.
- Pick one spot that is "work only" if you can, even a corner of a table. It helps your brain switch into work mode.
- Screen top at about eye level, an arm's length away; feet flat; elbows near a right angle. A laptop stand or a stack of books plus a cheap external keyboard helps.
- Light in front of you or to the side, not behind you (better for eyes and video calls).
- Reliable internet: test your speed and know a backup (phone hotspot, library).
- Headphones with a microphone make calls clearer.
- Move often. Canada's 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for adults recommend breaking up long periods of sitting as often as possible and limiting sedentary time to 8 hours or less a day.
- Take a photo of your workspace before you change anything.
- Choose one spot for work only, even a corner of a table.
- Raise the screen so the top is at about eye level, an arm's length away. Use a laptop stand or a stack of books and a cheap external keyboard.
- Put your feet flat and keep your elbows near a right angle.
- Move so the light is in front or to the side, not behind you.
- Test your internet speed and note a backup, such as a phone hotspot or the library.
- Set a repeating reminder to stand up and move for a few minutes every hour.
- Take an after photo. Check: your screen, light and chair follow the checklist.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "Working from home starts with where you sit."
[Screen: laptop raised on books with external keyboard] "Screen at eye level, arm's length away. A stack of books and a cheap keyboard work fine."
[Screen: light from window in front] "Light in front of you, not behind you."
[Text on screen: Break up sitting] "And get up often. Canada's movement guidelines say to break up long periods of sitting as often as possible."
Set up your workspace using the checklist above. Take a photo before and after. Set a reminder to stand up and move for a few minutes every hour.
ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude
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For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "Remote Work Skills" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Set up your workspace". What the lesson teaches: - Pick one spot that is "work only" if you can, even a corner of a table. It helps your brain switch into work mode. - Screen top at about eye level, an arm's length away; feet flat; elbows near a right angle. A laptop stand or a stack of books plus a cheap external keyboard helps. - Light in front of you or to the side, not behind you (better for eyes and video calls). - Reliable internet: test your speed and know a backup (phone hotspot, library). - Headphones with a microphone make calls clearer. - Move often. Canada's 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for adults recommend breaking up long periods of sitting as often as possible and limiting sedentary time to 8 hours or less a day. The exercise I'm working on: Set up your workspace using the checklist above. Take a photo before and after. Set a reminder to stand up and move for a few minutes every hour. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Set up your workspace" from the course "Remote Work Skills". Here's what the lesson says: Your workspace is like your desk at school. If it's comfy, bright and quiet, it's easier to think. If it's messy and noisy, your brain gets tired fast. The activity: Set up your workspace using the checklist above. Take a photo before and after. Set a reminder to stand up and move for a few minutes every hour. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults 18-64 (CSEP): csepguidelines.ca/guidelines/adults-18-64/
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Quiz
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