If you listen to the debate over healthy work habits, increasingly you’ll come across the argument over standing desks. Here to demystify the movement behind standing desk culture is Autonomous, the world’s leading innovator in Smart Office development.
 
It’s factually supported that neither sitting entirely nor standing entirely are the panacea to a sedentary work environment. In fact, what professionals suggest more often than not is that the key is a healthy balance between sitting and standing, coupled with diet and exercise of course.
 
As we all know, the work world pulsates with long hours which can turn into, prolonged sitting; all of that sitting and stress creates some truly epic tension in our bodies. It’s easy to forget personal needs, they’re often the first things out the window when it comes to succeeding at our jobs. We’ve all been there, we’ve all felt the strain but there’s good news: Autonomous is here to get you on track for a healthier, happier workstyle. We’ve helped companies such as NASA, Criteo, Singularity, Harvard, and Orbital Insights to #WorkSmarter by bringing them into the world of ergonomics with our Smart Office furniture. From developing noiseless motors to delivering a personalized AI assistant, our commitment to refining what an efficient office ecosystem looks like is boundless. With that in mind, here’s three easy habits you can incorporate into your work day routine to help you #WorkSmarter!
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1.  Sit and Stand!
Sitting and standing for extended periods of time have both been linked to health risk factors such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and muscle strain. The truth may shock you, but humans weren't designed to sit at an office for eight hour straights! However, studies consistently show that people who frequently change between sitting and standing increase their productivity and drastically reduce the risk factors associated with a sedentary lifestyle. When you change between sitting and standing you’re establishing a routine of movement that helps promote healthy circulation. 

​2. Take Your Breaks!
It’s so easy to forget self-care during strenuous working hours, but studies find that people who break from their work for short periods of time stay focused long term. “The brain gradually stops registering sight, sound, or feeling if that stimulus is constant over an extended period of time,” professor of Psychology at the University of Alejandro Lleras writes in the journal of Cognition. Breaking from a task allows for the space of new thoughts or ideas to come into being. It’s like taking in a new breath of air, you have to exhale your lungs first in order for them to be filled again.

​3. Don’t Forget Your “Posture”
We published an article in September with Alexander Technique specialist Lauren Hill from the Alexander Technique Teaching Studio discussing the importance of posture when it comes to working efficiently in the office. Now your conventional idea of “posture” probably pictures someone tensely holding their body upright like a robot, but we want you to reimagine posture as an action instead of state of being. You can stand or sit at your desk, but if you’re holding your pencil like a warhammer and craning your neck into your computer monitor, chances are you’re probably going to do more harm than good either way. The easiest way to tune into your posture is by asking two questions: “what are you touching?” and “where are you breathing?” By acknowledging these two questions, your body is already tuning into the places it is tensing and you can begin the process of letting that tension go.
 
We keep these ideas at the forefront of our development. Our latest innovation, the SmartDesk 3 is the world’s first AI integrated standing desk with an office assistant pre-installed to keep your self-care a priority. Not only can the AI help remind you to sit, stand, move and hydrate but it can also assist you in accomplishing daily tasks like ordering lunch, adjusting the office environment, or just finding the mental space to take a moment to relax. In addition, the desk has an open SDK for your development team to build any app on top of the AI platform that serves their specific purpose.  The SmartDesk 3 isn’t just a SmartDesk, it’s a platform for growth in your business!
Check out the trailer below for a teaser of the SmartDesk 3 standing desk in action. 

​We know your job is about putting out fires and keeping the office on track. It’s what you do best. But what about those things that get in the way of you being a superhero? Like, the head of sales who constantly asks for your help filing expenses? Or the VP who needs to confirm the sauce options at the burger place they’ve been eating at every week for the last year. Yeah, you know that person...
 
If you’re an office manager, time is scarce. But solving tough problems isn’t the issue.  It’s the everyday, repetitive stuff that gets in the way of you doing your best work. Because those little questions, that you’ve answered a thousand times before, all add up. They pull you away from the stuff that really requires your MacGyver-like skills.   
 
If this situation sounds familiar, it may be time to consider a little automation in your workplace.
What Is Workplace Automation?Workplace automation uses artificial intelligence to cut through the clutter of the day and takes care of the requests that you’ve already answered so many times.
 
By enabling automatic responses to frequently-asked questions, your team gets the information they need ASAP, without frantic messages and emails piling up in your inbox through the day.  In turn, you are freed up to work on the complex projects where your office needs you the most.

Top 3 Benefits of Implementing Automation in the WorkplaceFor office managers, workplace automation provides three major benefits:

​1. Less Noise – Workplace automation takes care of the routine, repetitive requests. You’ll have fewer distractions, fewer emails to respond to, and more time to focus on your own work.

​According to a study by McKinsey, interaction workers spend 61% of their time answering emails, looking for information, and collaborating. In contrast, only 39% of time is spent on actual role-specific tasks.


2. Lower Costs – When you’re able to focus and be more productive, you’ll get more work done, which could limit the need for additional support staff. This will reduce overall company operational costs and could make a compelling argument for a pay increase.

3. Simplified processes – You’ve tried to create systems for ordering supplies, requesting IT support, and booking meeting rooms, but some people never bother to follow them. Sometimes it’s because they got the wrong information from a co-worker.  A game of telephone gone bad, and your thoughtfully-designed processes are out the window.  Automation limits the spread of misinformation by providing a central touch point for questions.  
 
We know that a team is only as good as its office manager.  With automation, you can elevate your rockstar game. 

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​Riciel Grace-Crudo is currently doubling as Spoke’s Office Manager and is on the Customer Success team. She previously was an Operations Specialist at a gaming company and was very involved in different communities at UC Davis. You can catch her playing volleyball, dancing her heart out at concerts, and always on an exciting adventure.

Spoke is a simpler, smarter way for teams to manage requests. Spoke makes it easy and convenient for employees to get the help they need to get their work done, and teams to spend less time organizing and responding to requests so that they can get more things done.