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David_Gerard comments on Spend Money on Ergonomics - Less Wrong
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While we're trading good ergonomics secrets, I'll point out that Mac BreakZ is pretty exceptional as these things go. If you're banging away on a MacBook every day like me, you should start using this before you get a repetitive stress injury (RSI).
Also if you already have wrist-strain issues, try typing in Dvorak. Seriously. Due to my past computer usage, I used to have to wear uncomfortable wrist braces every night to prevent my fingers from constantly going numb. After several years of suffering with this and assuming I would one day need carpal tunnel surgery, I switched to Dvorak. A month later, all my symptoms disappeared. I was able to stop wearing the wrist guards. 7 years later and still no problems.
As far as "the world is mad" and "people don't even try to optimize stuff", the fact that anyone still uses Qwerty keyboards when, free, strictly superior layouts have existed since before computers were invented is definitely a canary in the coal mine of rationality.
For Windows and Linux users, Workrave is the equivalent program to remind you to take breaks. I use and recommend it.
I've been using the built-in break enforcer in Ubuntu, but 1) it doesn't warn me of upcoming breaks except by changing the colour of its icon in the notification bar, and 2) is way too easy for me to circumvent.
I didn't know there was one built-in!
Workrave gets in your way; you can make it go away or disable it, but it's harder to pretend to yourself that you're not.
You can activate it on System > Preferences > Keyboard, the last tab of the window.
But since it doesn't warn me beforehand except through the icon, I sometimes end up rot13:
qvfnoyvat vg naq er-ranoyvat vg (juvpu erfrgf gur gvzre)if I'm doing something “important” when the icon is red, and even tofjvgpu gb n iveghny pbafbyr jvgu Pgey-Nyg-S1, naq xvyy gur tabzr-glcvat-zbavgbe cebprff sebz gur pbzznaq yvarto end a break. If a break enforcer wouldn'terfrg gur gvzre jura vg'f qvfnoyrqand wouldoybpx gur Pgey-Nyg-S_v_ pbzovangvbaf nf jryy, I would find it much more useful. (I sometimes even make a deal with myself whereby I decide to donate €50 to charity unless I never cheat on the typing break enforcer during the next week.)Sounds like you need something to electrically disable the keyboard for ten minutes an hour ...
Or just set up something elsewhere that needs to be dealt with. An alarm clock in the next room, or whatnot?