Highly Sensitive People are hyper aware of our surroundings and tend to have a greater response to pain, discomfort, and physical experience. We can get distracted easily and we despise the feeling of being watched. Sitting in a cubicle or office for hours and hours each day makes our body hurt and our brain scream out for freedom. Alleviating some of this physical and mental pain can make a big difference in quality of life.

Here are some products and resources that can be used in the cubicle or office to make your life a little better. In the meantime, you may want to work on changing your career to get into the best job for Highly Sensitive Persons.

Minimizing distractions and annoyances

cubicle rear view mirrorAudio Technica Noise Canceling Headphones
The ambient noise of the outside world can distract HSPs and introverts, sap their energy, and leave them grumpy. These noise-canceling headphones have excellent reviews, with claims they are as good as the gold-standard Bose QuietComfort (for less than half its price.)

SimplyNoise
On this free website, you can listen to white, brown, or pink noise. Since music is often too distracting for me, the noise on this site has saved me many a time.

Read about how and why I use white noise in my life!

Clip-On Cubicle Rear View Mirror
Is your desk situated in a way where people can sneak up behind you? Ugh! Get this adjustable cubicle rear view mirror so you can see who’s creeping!

Self Control app (Mac)
There are lots of productivity apps out there. I like this one for its simplicity. I just enter in which websites I want to block (like Facebook, Twitter, etc) and then I indicate how long I want them to be blocked. It’s that easy.

 

Too hot, too cold

cubicle rear view mirror

Secret Sweater
The Secret Sweater is the alternative to the ugly sweater hanging on the back of your office chair. It can be hidden under jackets and blazers without adding bulk (secret sweater, get it?), but it’s cute enough to be worn over a lightweight top or a dress. Made of cotton & modal blended interlock fabric, it’s easier to care for than a regular sweater and packs into a small pouch. Clever.

Honeywell TurboForce Fan 
This little workhorse is perfect for the office desktop.

Fingerless gloves
Fingerless gloves allow you to warm your ice-like hands with the freedom to type and do other activities.

Toasty Toes Heated Footrest
The solution to cold feet–plus, it doubles as a footrest.

Straight Up Ergonomic Stuff

cubicle-light-blocker

Evoluent VerticalMouse
I’ve had the VerticalMouse for a few years, and it was worth the $89.95. It keeps your arm in a more natural position than a regular mouse.

Kinesis Freestyle2 Keyboard
If you get a kick out of confusing your co-workers with your weird ergonomic gadgets, try the split Kinesis keyboard. I will admit, it took me a while to get used to it, but it’s great. It keeps your hands farther apart than a standard keyboard, putting less strain on your joints. 

Cubeshield
The bright lights in an office drive me bananas, and one of the few solutions to this problem is the CubeShield. This cubicle light blocker attaches to the top of cubicle walls and helps block out the lights to reduce eye strain and headaches. (You can read about my personal battle with bright office lights here.)

Ikea Lova 
The Cubeshield is often out of stock on Amazon, so the next best option is the Lova bed canopy from Ikea. It works well when used as a cubicle light blocker. You can find it on Amazon, too.

f.lux
Do you ever work early in the morning or late at night? Flux is a free computer application that adjusts the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day—warm at night and like sunlight during the day. F.lux makes your computer screen look like the room you’re in; when the sun sets, it makes your computer look like your indoor lights. In the morning, it makes things look like sunlight again.

 

I’d love to hear about what you use to be more comfortable at work or in your cubicle. Leave a comment!