I have multiple desks to configure. Work, home, the guest room at relative’s homes where I sometimes work when I visit. This location is the one I visit the least, so I built a dual monitor setup there out of retired parts from my own desk. Older monitors I’d upgraded but were still good, and a new mount. But it was the mount I sought to replace. It was a standard dual mount monitor mount pole from Wali.
Upgrading Monitor Ergonomics
There are several inexpensive companies that make products I use for this….this one was from Wali. The pole is 16 inches long. That just doesn’t work for a taller individual…and this is not explained by most manufacturers. There is an almost identical one from Vivo.
I mention Vivo as it seems like Vivo and Wali are manufactured by the same factory. Their pole mounts have several features I like in a budget mount. For one, the plate is removable, can be attached to the back of the monitor, then slipped onto the arm and secured with a nut. Many of these arms require you to attach the monitor to the arm, which is definitely more difficult. I previously wrote about the simple Vivo Livestream Device Shelf Mount.
But I found, at my height, I was looking down at the monitor. Ergonomics experts say the top of the screen should be at or slightly below eye level. So, you can get the 32 inch tall version of the Wali. Or in my case, get the pole and reuse the arm. I actually have the 39 inch tall version in my apartment, but I also have more than one thing mounted to the arm, not just the monitor arm. This height would also allow you to have a second screen on top of, as opposed to next to the first. You can buy all sorts of accessories from Vivo and Wali…extra arms, laptop mounts for the arms, etc.
People also often use these taller poles to mount monitors in portrait mode…a configuration which has its fans.The idea is that it makes focusing on a part of the screen easier for reading. This is often in a dual monitor system, with one monitor oriented this way. There are also other considerations depending on how large your monitor is. Some have switched from the now ‘quaint’ dual monitor setup to a single ultra wide monitor…where they separate it in a similar way in digital space to the way you handle things when you have separate monitors. And that can also help with ergonomics.
Your monitor is supposed to be about arms length from your eyes, however the larger the viewing area is the farther away you might want to be from the screen. At the same time, your keyboard should be even with your elbows.
In the end, start at the recommended distance and height for your monitors. You may adjust over time as you find what is most comfortable for to get the best ergonomic monitor setup.
by Daniel Chen (https://unsplash.com/@dchestudio)
by Annie Spratt (https://unsplash.com/@anniespratt)