Ergonomic Equipment for the Remote Airbnb Worker

I manage my Airbnbs directly, meaning I visit each property after each turnover, so I can ensure quality for the next guest.

Since we do laundry onsite, laundry takes longer than housecleaning, I have my housekeepers start the laundry, and then I hang around to finish it, getting a little deskwork done while I wait. Also, one of our short-term rental houses is my personal residence, and so when my house is booked, I'll spend the night at whichever of my other houses happens to be vacant.

Finally, I really like working remotely in coffee shops and restaurants. I have a local Mexican food place I visit nearly every morning, and they're used to me doing daily email while enjoying my tacos and coffee. In the afternoons, I like to work at coffee shops for a change of scenery.

All this adds up to a workspace that looks different day to day, and often hour to hour. And while it's fairly easy to pull together an ergonomic office setup in a fixed home office, it's harder to maintain ergonomics when you need to bring the whole shebang with you in an easily portable backpack.

Computer work done with poor ergonomics can be rough on your body. I type so much that working exclusively on a rectangular laptop keyboard is tough on my wrists, and looking down at your laptop screen invites you to slouch, hunch over, curl forward, and cause serious discomfort in your upper back and neck, with headaches to boot. This is even more acute as I've gotten older; whereas in my 20s I could twist up into a ball and type for hours and be no worse for wear; these days, no way.

So, here are a few key things I use to help maintain ergonomics while managing my Airbnb business remotely, be it at various properties, restaurants, or coffee shops.

Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Wireless Desktop Keyboard and Mouse

Microsoft Sculpt is the best ergonomic keyboard/mouse combo I've found for portable work. Well reviewed and widely purchased, it's pretty much the gold standard in wireless ergonomic keyboards.

First off, it's a split keyboard with built-in wrist rests, helping you maintain natural hand-to-wrist alignment, both side-to-side and up-and-down, as you type. The mouse is taller than you're probably used to, but it helps the hand stay in a natural curl, kinda like you're holding an orange.

You'll also notice the number pad is a separate little detached keyboard, instead of being part of the main keyboard. This allows you to easily throw the gear in a standard-sized backpack, whereas a full-sized keyboard with an integrated numberpad would stick out the top.

The set comes with a tiny wireless receiver that plugs into a USB port, and which can be stored in its own little pocket inside the mouse when not in use. 

The mouse uses two AA batteries and the keyboard two AAA batteries per keyboard. It's a good idea to keep some extra batteries in your backpack in case the ones you're using go dead, but this is a rare occurrence because the batteries last a good long time. I also like that the battery doors are magnetic, so no fumbling with little plastic tabs to open the battery compartment.

Typing on the keyboard is surprisingly quiet. I've literally returned keyboards in the past because they sounded like an old-school manual typewriter, but this isn't one of them.

And again the important thing for the on-the-move worker is portability. The keyboard is super lightweight and only fractionally longer than my 15.6" Chromebook is wide, so both fit in my backpack neatly.

The only downside of this set, honestly, is that the mouse is a tad large and heavy ... but it still fits in my backpack nicely. And if I ever had to beat down a bear, I might could use this mouse. :P

ivoler Folding Laptop Stand

The secret sauce for this setup is the laptop stand, which raises the height of the laptop's monitor, so its top edge can be roughly level with your eyebrows when you're sitting correctly in a chair.

If you suffer from neck pain due to looking down at your screen all the time, you may be surprised how much a laptop stand like this one from iVolver can help. It really invites you to sit up straighter and hold your head more upright, which translates into less strain on your upper back and neck.

I started using these years ago, back when there were only a few available. I got a bright blue 3D printed one and used it widely in coffee shops. People asked me about it All ... The ... Time; I was tempted to keep a stash of them in my backpack and hand them out when people asked.

Unfortunately, I lost that one, and after a while of looking back down at my screen and recurrence of my neck pain, I decided to pick up another. I really liked the look, function, and price of the ivoler Laptop Stand, so it became my replacement.

It's got a really slick aluminum-and-black look, and folds up for easy backpack portability.

Lenovo Casual Laptop Backpack

And finally, we come to the backpack. I use this simple backpack from Lenovo, which is inexpensive, widely available, and easy to replace should it get worn out.

It's reasonably well padded to keep your laptop safe. There's plenty of room in the central pocket, which is divided into two sections, for your laptop, keyboard, and mouse. There are two additional interior pockets and a zippered outside pocket to hold headphones, power cords, spare batteries, maybe a pen or other accessories.

It works well as a backpack, and I like the handle on top that makes it easy to grab from the car or wherever. I also like that it doesn't try to be a pair of cargo pants with too many pockets -- it has just enough.

I like the blue color, because my eyes aren't what they used to, and the brighter color helps me not forget it in shadowy coffeeshop corners, as I've done previously with black backpacks (and iPhones, and ...). But it's also available in blue or gray, if that's more your speed. I like the rougher weave of the fabric, which reminds me a little of denim.

This backpack tends to last me a few years of regular daily use. Eventually the fabric will wear out, typically around the handle. When that happens, I just throw the same model in my Amazon cart and order another.

Conclusion

This setup of the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Wireless Desktop Keyboard and Mouse, the ivoler Folding Laptop Stand, and Lenovo Casual Laptop Backpack have been perfect in helping me maintain ergonomics while working my Airbnb business from different locations.

If you have any suggestions for ergonomic equipment, I'd love to hear about it below!

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Photo by Monstera at Pexels