This post is about eating breakfast / lunch / any other snack safely at your desk while working. Lets get the elephant out of the room before we begin: Eating at your desk is a terrible habit that is bad for you both physically and mentally. If at all possible you should switch off the computer and go somewhere else to eat. However the sad reality is that many of us regularly do so. In my case my computer is an integral part of both my work and my leisure and eating at the desk is a common occurrence. In fact this became so common during the enforced covid lockdowns that I learned, through trial and error two tips for eating at a computer desk and it is these tips that I wish to pass on today.
Tip 1: Never place a beverage cup between you and your mouse. I am right handed and the intuitive position for me to place a cup of coffee is slightly to my right about 20cm from the edge of my desk. Unfortunately this is also the default position of my mouse. My first reaction was to move the mouse slightly to the right and to keep the coffee closer to me but this resulted in multiple spills when I absentmindedly overturned the coffee cup while reaching for the mouse. Now my coffee cup has been exiled to the far right outside the zone of the mouse. This makes it a bit more awkward to reach for the coffee but it has solved the spill issue once and for all.
Tip 2: Keep a tea towel to hand at all times and use it to cover the desk while you are eating. Never eat anything directly over your keyboard. That's just gross and you will regret it later as your keyboard clogs up with the remnants of previous meals. The tea towel is also handy for wiping your sticky fingers before you touch your keyboard / mouse.
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