Tips for Keeping Warm {Even if Your Workspace Isn’t}
A Cornell University study discovered that being cold at work drastically impacts your productivity. Cold fingers cause people to make more than twice as many errors while typing, and decreased their typing rate almost in half. While you may not have control over the thermostat, try these tips to keep warm and boost your productivity.
Get Moving! When you sit for too long, your circulation slows down and your fingers and toes are the first thing to feel the cold. Every few minutes wiggle your fingers and toes to increase the blood flow. Better yet, make it a habit to take short, frequent walks throughout the day, even if it is just around the office and back.
Limit your caffeine! While it is tempting to sip hot coffee all day, caffeine actually constricts blood vessels limit the warming blood flow to your fingers. Try switching to herbal teas or decaf coffee for most of the day.
Wear comfortable shoes, or keep an extra pair at the office. Tight shoes can cut off circulation to your toes, making your feet colder, faster.
Try a warming tool. There are several great heating devices that run on less electricity than light bulb and don’t present the fire hazards of a space heater.
- Heated keyboard – This warming keyboard (which can easily be turned off in the summer) keeps your fingers warm without resorting to typing with gloves on. Warm fingers means less errors, faster typing and happier workers.
- Heated footrest – The heated foot rest is easily portable to any location and can be used as a foot rest or a radiant panel. Try this fast, easy way to enjoy warm feet at work.
- Mouse hand warmer pouch – If you use a mouse frequently and for long stretches of time, you know how quickly your mousing hand gets cold. Your mouse fits right inside this pouch, or pocket, to cover your hand and keep it warm whenever you are using your mouse.
If you struggle keeping warm at work, don’t just suffer; these tips can help. And there are great products available, such as the heated keyboard or the heated footrest, that keep you warm and help you recover the productivity that was lost in the cold.