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!
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.
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.
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.

Sean McCoy is a marketing associate for Autonomous. A recent graduate of Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, Sean has since relocated to New York to begin his career as a photographer, writer, actor and storyteller. For more information or to view Sean’s photography, visit his website at seancmccoy.com/myphotography