Desk Posture Checklist: How to Sit at Your Desk

By Jack Wallner. Updated October 12, 2026.

Sit with your head level and in line with your torso, shoulders relaxed, elbows close to your body and bent 90 to 120 degrees, wrists straight, back supported, knees about hip height and feet flat. Put the monitor straight ahead, 20 to 40 inches away, with the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level. OSHA also notes that no single posture is healthy for long, so change position often.

The checklist

These ten checks come from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's computer workstation guidance. It describes a neutral posture as a comfortable working position in which your joints are naturally aligned. Go through them from the floor up.

Check	What to aim for
Head	Level, facing forward and balanced, roughly in line with your torso
Shoulders	Relaxed, with upper arms hanging at your sides
Elbows	Close to your body and bent between 90 and 120 degrees
Wrists	Straight, in line with your forearms and roughly parallel to the floor
Back	Fully supported, with the chair's lumbar support fitting the small of your back
Hips and thighs	Supported by the seat and roughly parallel to the floor
Knees	About the same height as your hips
Feet	Flat on the floor, or on a footrest if the desk is not adjustable
Monitor	Directly in front of you, 20 to 40 inches from your eyes, top of the screen at or slightly below eye level
Keyboard	Directly in front of you, at about elbow height, so your wrists stay straight

Source: OSHA Computer Workstations eTool, pages on good working positions, monitors, chairs and keyboards.

A two-minute desk audit

Chair first. Sit all the way back, set the seat so your feet rest flat and your knees are near hip height, and set the lumbar support to the small of your back. OSHA suggests a rolled towel as a temporary lumbar support.
Keyboard second. Bring it straight in front of you with your elbows near your sides at about keyboard height. If the desk height is not adjustable, raise the chair to reach keyboard height and use a footrest for your feet.
Monitor last. Place it straight ahead, at least 20 inches away, with the top of the screen at or just below eye level. OSHA says the center of the screen should usually sit 15 to 20 degrees below horizontal eye level, and the monitor should not be more than 35 degrees to either side.

Why a screen in the wrong place bends you

OSHA explains the usual chain of events. A monitor that is too high makes you tilt your head back. One that is too far away makes you lean forward to read small text, which takes your back off the backrest. One that is too close makes you push your chair away and reach for the keyboard. Setting the monitor correctly removes the reason for most slouching.

No posture is good for hours

OSHA is blunt on this point: regardless of how good your working posture is, working in the same posture or sitting still for long periods is not healthy. It lists four neutral reference postures: upright sitting, standing, declined sitting (hips higher than knees) and reclined sitting (the torso leaning back 105 to 120 degrees from the thighs). Its advice is to change position often by making small chair adjustments, stretching your fingers, hands, arms and torso, standing up and walking around for a few minutes periodically, and doing some tasks, such as calls or meetings, standing.

Why a checklist is not enough

You set the checklist up once, and then you forget it. Twenty minutes into focused work, your head drifts forward and nothing tells you. The fix is a cue that arrives at the moment of slouching. Apple's CoreMotion framework lets apps read head-motion data from supported AirPods, so an app can compare where your head is now against where it was when you were sitting tall. That is a measure of head position, not of your spine, so treat it as a prompt to reset and not as a diagnosis.

How Desk Reset helps

Desk Reset: Posture Practice uses compatible AirPods for that cue. You calibrate once by standing tall, sitting tall and then slouching on purpose, so it learns your own range. Then you run a guided three-minute practice at your desk, sitting or standing, with a gentle cue when your head position shifts, and you keep a daily streak. Without AirPods, manual check-ins keep the habit going, although they do not measure alignment. Head-motion data stays on your phone. The app supports posture awareness and practice only, and it is not medical advice.

A posture break with live cues

Three-minute guided practice for iPhone with compatible AirPods. Free to start.

About Desk Reset

Frequently asked questions

How should I sit at a desk?

OSHA's guidance is a neutral posture: head level and in line with your torso, shoulders relaxed, elbows close to your body and bent 90 to 120 degrees, wrists straight, back supported, thighs roughly parallel to the floor, knees about hip height and feet flat on the floor or a footrest.

How far away should my monitor be?

OSHA gives a preferred viewing distance of 20 to 40 inches (50 to 100 cm) from your eyes to the screen, with the monitor directly in front of you and the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level.

How often should I change position at my desk?

OSHA says to change position frequently throughout the day and does not give a fixed interval. Its suggestions are small chair adjustments, stretching, standing and walking around for a few minutes periodically, and doing some tasks standing.

Can AirPods measure my posture?

Supported AirPods report head motion to apps through Apple's CoreMotion framework. An app can compare your head position with a baseline you set, but that measures the head and not the spine, so it works as a reminder and not a diagnosis.

Is there one perfect sitting posture?

No. OSHA lists four neutral reference postures (upright sitting, standing, declined sitting and reclined sitting) and says that holding any one posture for a long time is not healthy, so changing position often matters more than a single ideal.

Sources

This page is general information, not medical advice. Desk Reset supports posture awareness and practice and does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. If you have pain or a health condition, talk to a clinician.