Keeping sitting tall going when your routine changes
Dr Nicola Tik
A new job, a week away, a hot desk you have never sat at before. Changes like these can be exciting or tiring, often both, and they are exactly when habits like sitting tall can quietly slip. A little planning can help yours travel with you.
Habits are closely tied to the places and routines where they happen. Research suggests that when your surroundings change, the cues that usually trigger a habit go missing, so the behaviour can drop away without you noticing. A different chair, a new screen or a laptop on a kitchen table all remove familiar prompts.
There is a helpful flip side. The same research suggests that times of change can be a good moment to build habits, because you are already paying more attention to how your day works.
On your first day somewhere new, you could try taking two or three minutes to set up your seat and screen before you open your emails. Once work gets going, adjusting things rarely happens. Something to try:
It does not need to be perfect. A quick setup that feels comfortable is enough to make sitting tall the easier option.
Research on planning suggests that linking a behaviour to a specific situation makes people more likely to follow through. You could try one simple plan, such as “if I sit down at a new desk, then I set up my seat and screen first”, or “if I am travelling with my laptop, then I pack something to raise it”.
Trains, holiday rentals and borrowed tables do not always adjust. In those moments, moving often matters more than finding the perfect position. Getting up between tasks and shifting position regularly helps keep things comfortable. Your daily VIDA video can often be done seated, so it fits into most spaces while you are away.