![Julie Zeveloff in her home office](https://cdn.businessinsider.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/617ab52189b91c00185ab777-scaled.jpg)
Julie Zeveloff
- Julie is a media executive and mom of two who works two days a week from her bedroom office.
- Centering her computer, adding a rest for her forearms, and learning proper posture can help.
- She can set boundaries with coworkers and tweak her schedule to handle parenting on the job.
- If you'd like to have your WFH setup reviewed by experts, email Anna Medaris here.
Julie Zeveloff has a big job as the editor-in-chief of Insider's Life division, but a small desk and boundary-less home office from which to do it.
"I haven't really invested in my setup because I'm not always there," said the mom of two, who stays home on Mondays and Fridays.
As a result, her desk is too small for optimal productivity, her chair isn't the most comfortable, and her environment can feel chaotic. Her "office" is also her bedroom and gym, and her kids often barge in once the older is home from school in the early afternoon.
To boost Julie's comfort and productivity, Insider talked to an ergonomic specialist, creative consultant, and therapist about simple, inexpensive ways she can take her setup to the next level.
The first step is to cut herself some slack, Emily Anhalt, a clinical psychologist, told Insider.
"We need to do is give ourselves some grace and some credit and compassion because this is not the way we were actually meant to work," she said.
![Julie WFH clinic skitch](https://cdn.businessinsider.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/61783a2c5d1dca0019a110dc.png)
Julie Zeveloff/Skitch
An off-center computer can cause strain
Alessa Caridi, owner of workspace health and movement company JobuFIT, told Insider that Julie has a few things going for her: Her desk is uncluttered and her chair is simple.
"I'd rather have you sit on a rock and learn how to use your body correctly than spend thousands and thousands of dollars" on fancy chairs, she said.
Julie could develop a strong baseline posture, and then learn how to "break the statue lifestyle," Caridi said, taking time to stand up or lean back, but always knowing how to return to center.
Caridi, also a pilates instructor and dance specialist, said the Julie's keyboard and computer should be centered. "Make sure you're as even as you can be" so you don't put too much pressure on one side and cause tension, she said.
Julie should also push her keyboard back so that forearms can rest on something. Keeping her wrists raised, her fingers can drop onto the keys.
![WFH clinic Julie peloton skitch](https://cdn.businessinsider.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/61783bb1e100ad00181dc513.png)
Julie Zeveloff/Skitch
Finally, Julie might consider swapping her desk's placement with the Peloton, which appears to be by a window. That would improve her lighting and allow her to look away from a screen toward the outdoors for a break that can benefit body and mind, Caridi said.
"It's a downward spiral: If it starts mentally, then you start feeling heavy, and then you have bad posture and back pain, and then it becomes a physical stress," Caridi said.
A creative consultant recommends coordinating furniture so the room feels purposeful
Dayle Bennett is a creative consultant in Atlanta who helps companies make their workspaces more joyful. Her main message to Julie is to be more intentional about the setup. "Make it fun," she said. "This is your one opportunity to not be in a gray cubicle."
That could mean putting a rug under the desk to feel more grounded, painting the desk to match other tones in the room, and decorating the wall with a mood board, calendar, or framed photos. "Maybe use all the same colors [as the rest of the bedroom] so it looks really great when you're not working," Bennett said.
![WFH Clinic Julie Skitch](https://cdn.businessinsider.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/6178394c5d1dca0019a11099.png)
Julie Zeveloff/Skitch
Julie can also take advantage of the bookshelf next to the desk, perhaps using cute boxes to store papers and hide cords.
Bennett also suggested she make her bed. "It makes it so much better when you feel like you are stepping from one thing into another," she said.
Setting boundaries with caretakers and coworkers can help
Caring for young kids while working from home is a common challenge with no elegant solution, Anhalt told Insider.
"I'm hearing this from parents everywhere, that we can be loving parents and hard workers, but it's very difficult to do both of those things at the exact same time," she said. "The idea that parents can just put up boundaries when they're in the same space as their children is sort of a fantasy."
![Julie WFH clinic with Daphne blurred](https://cdn.businessinsider.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/617c0cb71037b1001814f06c.jpg)
Still, there may be practical ways to set boundaries. If Julie has someone else watching the kids while she's home, she should be clear that when she's in the room, she should be treated like she's not home, Anhalt said.
Communicating your situation and needs to coworkers and supervisors is key, too, she added. Maybe Julie can bucket smaller tasks like writing emails for times when her attention is limited, and plan to work on more focused tasks in the morning when her son is in daycare.
That sense of control can be just as important as the change itself, according to happiness expert Gretchen Rubin. "A little more control can have a big happiness consequence," she said.