Physical Strain of Writing/Reading

[swalizer]

* Take a five minute break and stretch every hour that I'm at the computer.

+1 problem solved. I'm a software developer and spend TONS of time on a computer. Take periodic breaks or your body will make you regret it.

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

* Take a five minute break and stretch every hour that I'm at the computer.

+1 problem solved. I'm a software developer and spend TONS of time on a computer. Take periodic breaks or your body will make you regret it.

On the other hand, if you're the kind of person for whom four hours straight are about sixteen times as productive as four chunks of an hour each, there can be compelling reason not to take those breaks.

[swalizer]

* Take a five minute break and stretch every hour that I'm at the computer.

+1 problem solved. I'm a software developer and spend TONS of time on a computer. Take periodic breaks or your body will make you regret it.

On the other hand, if you're the kind of person for whom four hours straight are about sixteen times as productive as four chunks of an hour each, there can be compelling reason not to take those breaks.

After watching my father go through five surgeries in the past two years on both arms and his back, it's not that compelling, trust me. It's really not that disruptive to stand up and go get a drink and stretch in the process. Also if you're experiencing physical pain it would seem to me that that would be more disruptive to concentration than the time it takes to stand up and stretch.

There are also useful things you can do such as stretching exercises for the hands/wrists/back etc when you're not at the computer or when you stop to think for a second that can really help. Personally I've discovered playing guitar works wonders for my writsts/hands as the muscle usage/stretching provides the perfect offset for what you do while working on the comuter.

[blgarver]

I've tried the bed thing before, and it almost works.  I think the energy is right because it's my room, my space, but then my back gets to hurting being propped up in bed like that.

Not meaning to get overly personal here, but what position are you lying in ?

lol...just a sitting position, with my legs stretched out and my back against the wall.  Much like Jim Butcher's position in that great writing cave photo that's floating around here someplace.

[Kaos Wizard]

There are lots of times where I've gone on a long writing stint, and not always in the most ergonomical conditions. One of the reasons I like having a wireless keyboard or writing on my laptop is I can switch to a lot of different positions and often if need be. Also I find that if I spend too much time writing with out moving away from the screen the quality goes down noticeably, so I make myself take breaks (walk the dog, make a snack, run an errand) usually come back a little fresher and I've taken some time to do the mental work of writing during my break so that hopefully I actually have something to write. I also find that I get better output if I only write for one or two hours at a time, when I do this I usually try to schedule it out so that I have at least an hour every day to write.

[Rashad 117]

Taking a five minute break isn't disruptive to the writing process (at least  not for me anyway). Sometimes it actually helps in that I'm not just sitting at a computer concentrating on what to think of next. Also it's good to maybe keep a little note pad handy in case any new ideas pop into your head during break time so you don't forget them. A little relaxation helps the creative process a lot

[Kaos Wizard]

Or a lot of cell phones these days have a voice recording feature and you can make quick little memoes to yourself with that. I like that cause I get to start each recording with "Memo to self..."

[Rashad 117]

Hmmm. Gonna have to get a cell phone with that feature so I can say "memo to self"...

[Richelle Mead]

The biggest injury I've suffered from with writing has been hand/wrist strain, and as others have said, that's largely due to a bad ergonomic set-up and not taking breaks to stretch and rest.  I used to think all of that was a hassle, but then I had to go to hand therapy for 6 months.  There I realized my hands are my livelihood, and little concessions are really worth it in the long run.