Taking breaks
One of the things that you seldom hear being discussed is the importance of taking breaks from typing and staring at your monitor to prevent overuse injuries (RSI) in your hands, arms and eyes. As a novice programmer I remember thinking it would never happen to me but eventually it did, and although it took a lot longer to happen than it took for most other people I know with RSI it did still happen. Possibly my use of natural/ergonomic keyboards for most of my professional life slowed down the process to some extent. In the end working eight or more hours a day typing and then going home and playing a game like World of Warcraft for hours which also involved lots of repetitive typing was my downfall as it gave my arms/hands no rest apart from when I was asleep.
To prevent me going home in the evening with sore hands I have a two part strategy: the first part is to use high quality ergonomic peripherals like my ergonomic keyboard, with footpedals (at home and work) and a trackball (at work) and graphics tablet (at home). The second part of my strategy is to use programs to monitor my time spent using my keyboard and mouse and to tell me when to take short micro breaks and longer rest breaks from typing or mousing to help give my muscles and tendons a rest.
The two programs I use for this are WorkRave (above screen shot) on my PC at work and Anti-RSI (right screen shot) on my iMac at home. I’d recommend these programs to anyone who is interested in preventing or recovering from RSI like symptoms. The programs are free and of a high quality with the rest periods and intervals fully customisable by the user: I tend to rest for 30 seconds every 3-5 minutes and break for 3 minutes every 30-45 minutes depending on how my hands are that day. Getting used to the micro breaks is the hardest challenge for me, as initially they feel like interruptions to my flow which was quite frustrating but now I try to think of them as a chance to pause and think about what I’m doing which is more constructive.
My eyesight has been spared by my habit of staring off into space when thinking: according to my optometrist the best way to give your eyes a break when working at a monitor for long periods is to stare off into the distance. So my eyesight is still perfect even if it has mostly been by a lucky habit, as I only found out about eye breaks when I got my eyes tested about two years ago. I also tend to avoid white as a background colour in my code editors as I find it is hard to focus on black text on white after a while so I tend to use light grey instead, I also find black on grey easier in low light environments.
My mice over the years
My earlier keyboard post made this post inevitable. Unfortunately Google image search has failed me and I can’t find images for my first few mice: starting with the mouse for our Acorn Archimedes 440 (IIRC single button), then it was a generic dual button serial mouse for my family’s Windows 95 PC, followed by an angular blue Microsoft serial mouse with a scroll wheel for the same PC then…
A new PS2 Microsoft Intelimouse for my first PC.
Followed by the first optical Intelimouse, finally no more jamming mechanical components with USB or PS2!
Then the explorers cheaper descendant, USB only now.
Sore hands and RSI like symptoms lead me on an ergonomics drive which led me to abandon mice in favor of a trackball, in this case a Logitech Cordless Trackman Optical, which I still use at work (I keep a mouse hooked up as well for those people who can’t use trackballs). The only drawback is that it is wireless, which means replacing batteries which I don’t like and Logitech, in their wisdom, do not offer a wired version.
Now at home I’ve made the switch to a Wacom Bamboo tablet, which I’m still learning but enjoying the change again. Obviously this is not a good input device choice for gaming, so I still have my trusty Trackman hooked up to my iMac.
My keyboards through the years
My first experience of a computer keyboard was with my family’s ZX Spectrum.
Next came an Acorn Archimedes, with strange non-rubber mechanical keys!
Then a new family computer: a Windows 95 PC, with those weird extra windows keys.
Finally my own PC with components selected by me, bought by me and built by me, paid for with a student loan. I liked the look of the ergonomic keyboards so I gave one a whirl.
Eventually I was forced to upgrade from my trusty natural keyboard to a more fancy model also by Microsoft when production of the natural model stopped, which meant getting used to a ‘normal’ cursor key layout again.
plus
And finally my current keyboard with a triple action foot switch, which is also my most expensive by far. I upgraded to this model after too much typing and some over indulgence with World of Warcraft (I’ve since quit) in the evenings which robbed my hands/wrists of any rest from typing: left me with sore fingers and tendons. In addition, several programmer friends the same age as me were succumbing to RSI at the same time which worried me enough to make me take the ergonomics of my input devices and my usage patterns very seriously or find a new career which didn’t need my hands!
Thankfully, since using this set-up at home and at work (which my employer provided) combined with the most excellent WorkRave rest break management program my hands are almost completely healed, which I’m really thankful for as so many other people I know didn’t get off so lucky at all with RSI like symptoms. One friend even needed experimental surgery to try and relieve the pain caused while typing….
In my opinion it is never too early to start thinking about your working ergonomics and break patterns as it can literally cost you your ability to work later in life if you’re not careful
