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Evaluating the Home Office Chair That's Right For You - An Evaluation Form

Before you settle down into your office chair, think again. Are you really comfortable? Taking care of yourself is taking care of business!

© 1998, by Marilyn Zelinsky

Most of us don't pay much attention to the chair on which we work. We are used to having a chair provided for us by a corporation. So when we begin to work at home, we tend to put our physical comfort low on the priority list. We spend the same amount of time picking a new mattress as we do a new office chair...about 3 to 5 minutes!

But we spend hours of our day every day in our beds and chairs. For some reason, we don't give enough priority to our comfort and well-being when working at home.

Why? We say we can't afford a quality office chair for our home office. But aren't we worth it? Don't we deserve a quality chair to sit on while we work hard at building our home-based business?

If you've finally made the decision to abandon working in your home office on your dining room chair or your fold-up lawn chair and are ready to buy a "real" piece of furniture, you'll want to know how to choose a new chair. Do yourself a favor and buy a chair that costs over $200--it will last longer and offer more comfort. The most you have to pay for top quality in an office chair is $800. If you can only afford a $99 chair, just realize it will only last a year or two with daily use.

Print this evaluation form out, copy it a few times, and bring it with you when you go to a store, dealer, or showroom to look for a chair. Take your own comments seriously when choosing a chair, and don't rely on just price to make the decision for you. Spend at least 10 to 15 minutes with a chair to get a good feel for it, to understand how the chair functions, to experience how the chair can be adjusted, and to be able to answer the following questions.

Evaluation form Store:_______________________________________________________________ Manufacturer of chair and model # ___________________________________________ Choose a number from 1 to 4, 1--poor, 2--passable, 3--good, 4--excellent. 1. How comfortable do you feel in the chair? 1------------------------ 2-------------------- 3----------------------- 4------------------------- 2. What kinds of adjustments does this chair feature? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 3. Can adjustments be easily made from a seated position? 1------------------------ 2-------------------- 3----------------------- 4------------------------- 4. How appropriate is this chair to the kinds of tasks you will do in your home office? 1------------------------ 2-------------------- 3----------------------- 4------------------------- 5. Does the chair feel sturdy? 1------------------------ 2-------------------- 3----------------------- 4------------------------- 6. Do you feel comfortable with the price of the chair and does it reflect the value of the chair? $________ 1------------------------ 2-------------------- 3----------------------- 4------------------------- 7. Do you feel comfortable with the warranty and life cycle that is guaranteed on this chair? 1------------------------ 2-------------------- 3----------------------- 4------------------------- 8. Overall score of the chair. 1------------------------ 2-------------------- 3----------------------- 4------------------------- Comments:   Total Score:

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© 1998 - 2000 Marilyn Zelinsky, all rights reserved. The above article is an adaptation of Marilyn Zelinsky's book, Practical Home Office Solutions, available at http://www.amazon.com. Marilyn is our "Home Office Design Expert." For reprint permission contact Marilyn Zelinsky at [email protected].