I love my new WorkFit -PD Sit-Stand Desk by Ergotron. For many years I have had serious issues with my neck and back. I blame an old whiplash injury from 29 years ago. Mainly because that is how far back I can remember being in pain. But maybe it was many contributing factors and not just that one thing. The sedentary lifestyle of office work, the physical labor of new store openings, long flights, long car rides, walking trade-show floors or the stress of a crazy busy life. I now have a very different life. I am not working any less, I am writing this blog at 5 am, it's just different. ​

My new stand-up desk enables an effortless sit-to-stand work style.
​I move from a sitting to a standing position whenever I want. It's just a click of a lever. I chose the PD 24-280-927 model in walnut. It blends in nicely with my home office furniture and provides me the flexibility I need to move it around my work/living spaces.

It features 19.5-inch (50 cm) height adjustment—patented CF™ technology which allows me instantaneous, tool-free, non-motorized re-positioning while I work! And the integrated brake secures the table top in place and easily releases to change heights.

Stanford Study tackles low back pain. The study, “Impact of a Sit-Stand Workstation on Chronic Low Back Pain Results of a Randomized Trial,” published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM) by Stanford University researchers Grant T. Ognibene, BA, Wilson Torres, BS, Rie von Eyben, MS, and Kathleen C. Horst, MD, concluded that low back pain may be improved by the introduction of sit-stand workstations which enable “postural variation” throughout the workday.

Here are their key findings:

• Reduced pain: At the end of the study, participants who used the sit-stand workstations were 78 percent more likely to report a pain-free day than those who worked at their regular workstations
• Quick intervention: Participants began to experience a difference in approximately 15 days after the sit-stand computer workstation was installed
• Increased concentration: Participants reported significantly lower back and neck pain, noting the pain was significantly less likely to interfere with their ability to concentrate

“These results reinforce the importance of movement and activity in creating a healthier workforce and population,” said Carrie Schmitz, senior research manager for Ergotron. “Businesses have a real opportunity to not only help their hurting employees start to feel more productive, but also proactively address the issues associated with prolonged sitting before they occur.”

The researchers conclude that when given access to a sit-stand workstation, participants with chronic lower back pain reported significantly lower pain levels over time when compared with the control group. More study is needed to fully understand the impacts on pain and prevention of pain but until then, this study is a terrific starting point for workers and businesses alike to explore new alternatives to helping their employees feel better on the job and off.

For the whole article:
http://blog.juststand.org/2016/01/14/stanford-study-tackles-lower-back-pain/  
For more on workplace wellness:
http://www.juststand.org/

For more on Ergotron:
https://www.ergotron.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

Ergotron's Benefits stated: 

For Computer Users

• On-demand sit-stand workstation—improve your energy and productivity by standing or sitting as you work, and then switch positions whenever you choose. Standing a little more each day burns extra calories, tones muscles, improves posture, increases blood flow and ramps up metabolism
• Safe, easy-to-use—comes fully assembled and offers effortless operation
• Designed to meet North American and European ergonomic standards
• Robust weight capacity holds multiple displays, keyboards, books, phones ... whatever you need in your workflow

For IT and Facilities Staff

• Ships fully assembled! IT deployment friendly—simple and quick
• Flexible, open-architecture design is scalable for future computer equipment
• Durable, robust structure, designed to ANSI/BIFMA X5.5-2008

For HR/Risk Management and Company Cost Savings

• Manage the cost of healthcare premiums by promoting wellness in the daily work routine
• Comfortable computing offers provable ROI on investment—healthcare costs associated with unhealthy computing and missed time are reduced while productivity increases
• Standing supports healthy neck and back conditions. According to the 2007 OE Medicine Journal, back and neck pain are cited as the most costly conditions affecting employees
• Studies in office ergonomics show productivity increases of 12%–18% following an ergonomic intervention where employees are provided with well-designed ergonomic furniture**

 

​Sometimes you just need to create your own opportunity.
I have been blessed in my life.
I have been able to do work that has been fulfilling. Hard work, long hours, many sacrificed dinners and evenings away from my family.  Whatever it takes. That was one of my favorite sayings. But nonetheless,
​I loved what I did. 
 
I mean who wouldn’t love being in the education/toy business, the business of making learning fun.  Travelling all over the world looking for the next big win, the hot product of the year, then watching the reaction of children as they explore new possibilities, because of a product that I helped bring to market.
 
The tag line for the first company I worked for was: “Helping You Make Learning Fun!” Their audience consisted of Teachers and Parents (who valued education and wanted to participate in the learning process at home).  The next company I worked for, the one that moved me from Canada to Minnesota, their tag line was “We Make Learning Fun!”  They were a manufacturer/publisher.  While simple and straightforward, these tag lines perfectly explain their organization’s mission: to aid in making learning fun for children all over the world. Through play children learn in many ways, and they don’t even realize it, because they
are having fun.
 
The business of making learning fun is the industry I loved and gave my heart and soul to for 25 years, including building relationships with vendors and consumers.  I helped build powerful brands by identifying what was going to be popular; and then making sure the inventory was available to meet the demand.  I found the challenge of picking the winners, out of thousands of new products each and every year, exhilarating.  And, it appears I have a gift for this.  Having launched hundreds of successful products. I trust my instincts, I use analytics to confirm, and then I build the strategy to bring the product to market.  This includes product development, pricing, packaging and promotion.
 
As I began networking and searching for my next opportunity, I discovered that while I have extensive industry experience, a great background and many transferable skills the employment opportunities in Minneapolis that would leverage my passions and experience were limited.
 
So what’s a girl to do?  …  Create her opportunity!
 
Having marketed products to teachers for all those years I know something very important …   Teachers are women (95% of all elementary school age teachers in America are women), women are mothers, aunts, grandparents. They shop as women and as teachers at the same time.
 
So while I am still open to and exploring leadership opportunities that would utilize my experience, I am going to leverage my new business Altogether Anna LLC. Curator of Treasures that Simplify Life! And “make working fun for me!” 
 
My first fun and fabulous find is SCRUBBY Soap! 
Made in the USA, this multi-surface cleaner was inspired by the freshness of Florida Oranges, and it is one strong all natural cleaner. 

A natural soap infused with a scrubber, it removes paint, dirt, grease, oil, sap, ink, dye, tar, graphite, brake dust, fish odor, urethane, wood stain, fiberglass, & flux.  
​SCRUBBY soap cleans plastics, vinyl, pots, pans, & stainless steel.

​SCRUBBY soap cleans and conditions hands and paintbrushes and the citrus essential oils smell amazing.