People who think that writing is not manual labor did not. It is true that you do not use your legs or the cardiovascular system in the same way as in some professions, but the strain on your eyes, neck, back and wrists more than compensates for this. Headaches, chronic fatigue and pain in carpal tunnels are just some of the physical hazards faced by writers and other workers who print a lot. Being a professional independent writer, I am more familiar with these diseases related to writing than I want. To help others in a similar situation, here are seven ways that I have found to help reduce stress and fatigue when writing.
1. Create a comfortable workspace.
First, create a comfortable workspace. Your workspace has a desktop, screen, keyboard, and other input devices, such as a mouse or digital pen, and your chair. Discomfort, tension, fatigue and pain can arise from placing any of them in uncomfortable positions.
Arrange everything so that you can sit straight with your screen at eye level, with comfortable hands, comfortable supports for your back and hips, and your legs are comfortably on the floor. To achieve this goal, adjust the height, lateral positioning and distance from the elements of your work.
Avoid placing the screen so you can tilt your head or turn your neck to see it. Hold the keyboard and other input devices at a height where you can comfortably put your hands on your hands and not bend your wrists and fingers as you type or press. Keep your input devices at a distance where you do not need to drag your elbows to use them. Adjust the height and position of your chair to conform to these principles.
2. Sit comfortably
Creating a comfortable working space is a step to sitting comfort, which is another key to avoiding fatigue and stress while writing. Good posture will also help with sitting comfortably. By following several important posture principles, you will provide solid structural support, minimizing stress and maximizing comfort.
When you sit down to write, hold your head so that the center of your viewing area of the screen is at eye level. Keep your neck and spine straight, adjusting the shoulders so that they align vertically above the hips. Let your feet rest rest on the floor or supporting surface.
Avoid problems with fasting by controlling the position of the head, neck, spine, shoulders and hips. Do not lean forward with your neck or torso. Do not let your head fall. Do not hesitate by the shoulders. Do not push the hips to the upper body. Do not let your legs hang behind you or stretch them in front of your body.
3. Warm up
Reheating before you type, you can avoid fatigue and repeated movement. This is especially important if you tend to experience wrist rigidity when typing, but this is a good practice in general to prevent stiffness and increase energy.
Spend a few minutes warming up your eyes, neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, and fingers. Take at least 10-30 seconds for each of these body parts, moving in different directions to stretch the muscles and stimulate blood circulation.
Here is a quick warm up exercise chair that you can adapt to your needs:
- Open your mouth and eyes wide, as if yawning, then carefully close them, slightly snapping your teeth. Repeat 10 to 30 times.
- Loosen your neck and shoulders by turning your arms around in a circle, lifting and wiping in front of you, as if grabbing a large ball or a pair of rowing oars, then pulling your arms down and back behind you to complete the circle. Repeat 10 to 30 times. (If you are in an environment or physical condition that does not allow you to make large circles like this, you can make smaller circles by putting your hands on your hips and the backs of your wrists on the sides, as if creating a pair of bird wings, and just rolling shoulders.)
- Extend your arms in front of you, bending your wrists back and extending your elbows, as if pushing something away, then slowly squeezing your fingers together, pushing backwards, imagining that you are digging your fingers into something warm and soft. Repeat 10 to 30 times.
I found that warming up like this, before I print, is of great importance in whether I feel stiff or not.
4. Work in short bursts
Sitting and typing for too long at one time will strain your eyes and body, causing fatigue and reducing productivity. You will have more energy and write more if you work in short lines, instead of introducing endless marathons. For maximum performance from 30 to 45 minutes, about the same as you should go before taking a short break.
5. Pause to blink and yawn
If you dial or take a break, you should periodically stop to blink and yawn. Watching the screen and focusing for too long strains the muscles of the eyes and can cause headaches and tension in the jaw and neck. You can soften it, not forgetting to stop periodically to blink and yawn.
6. Stop Stretching
During breaks, going through a short stretching procedure will help you ease stiffness and replenish your energy. Just walking and moving your arms will help. You can also repeat the warm-up procedure.
7. Use alternative input devices.
The last way to reduce fatigue and pain from writing is to use alternative input devices to reduce the input load. I prefer to draw my outlines with a pen in a notebook before I ever sit down at a computer. Other ways to avoid typing are to use a digital smartpen that can convert your written words to digital text while recording your voice or software to convert text to voice, such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking, which records your voice and converts it to text. You can even record yourself, and then hire a transcriptionist to type it.
These are some of the most important strategies you can use to reduce the physical stress and strain associated with writing. Accepting these tips will make recording more comfortable and give you more energy to do more.
