Full Time, All the Time
with Britt and Robyn
I'm Britt. I work full time as a mom, wife, blogger and salesperson with a fancy management title. And I'm Robyn. I work as a project manager and between corporate meetings manage to cook a home-made meal every day. This blog is about our experiences of juggling full-time work with family.
Check out our personal blogs:
Miss Britt and Who's the Boss?
I spend at least 8 hours a day sitting in front of my laptop. Both my full time job and all of my side jobs are conducted on my handy dandy Dell Inspiron notebook.
The good news is, I can conduct a good portion of my business sitting in front of the TV, or on my back patio. (Truth be told, I work almost exclusively on a patio because I like to be able to smoke when I write.)
The bad news (aside from the fact that I still smoke, I know) is that all of this computer time is killing my back.
I have decent posture when I’m standing and walking. I probably couldn’t balance a book on my head, but I have never been much of a sloucher. And yet, when I sit down in front of a laptop, I immediately hunch over the keyboard.
I don’t even notice I’m doing it, at least not until the dull ache in my lower back reminds me that my spine is rounded and my shoulders are hunched up to my ears. To rectify this problem, I sit up tall, stretch, and then immediately crumple back over the keys.
I’ve researched ways to work more ergonomically and how to reduce back pain in an office chair. It seems I need a higher work surface, a lower back rest on my chair, and a foot rest for my barely over 5 foot frame.
That? Is not going to happen.
Instead, I’m going to continue to complain about my back pain. And shove a pillow behind me in my seat.
(That pillow trick actually helps.)
Is your work space ergonomical?
Photo by emdot on Flickr.
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Probably better than yours, but not by much.
I frequently suffer from shoulder fatigue and knots due to mousing. I do the layout for the newsletter I write and edit, which involves a lot of mouse work. I don’t think there’s any way around that though.
Finn | October 14th, 2009 at 8:41 am
I hunch forward though I’ve moved to the ergo keyboard and it does help with my hand posture.
You might look into the portable laptop desks that could make it easier when working outside on the patio.
Mich | October 14th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Hell No… i have the most inconvenient chair.. odd hieght of the table.. and even more.. un-ergonomical monitor and key board..
But in the techie world, its teh norm if you will.. I remember during preganacy, i would keep pillows on my chair, a foot stool (which is still there) to make it more comfortable.
But yes, the lower back pain remains, the arms hurt.. and the fingers pain.. every day!
GNSD | October 14th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Um, nope. My workspace (read: tennis shoes, concrete floor) is NOT very ergonomical. Are we gluttons for punishment? Haha
Bre | October 14th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I have a lower back rest and prop my feet on the legs of the table. And I still hunch. I think I should move from the kitchen table to the dining room table. Hmmmm…
I hope your back feels better soon!
Pop and Ice | October 14th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
It is, actually! The first workspace I’ve had that DOESN’T hurt my back! And if I do have a back flare-up I find the most helpful thing to do is for me to stand up and take a super brisk walk (in flat shoes, maybe) to stretch my back out and remind it that it doesn’t have to stay sitting allllll day.
Oh, and I tend to cross my legs when I’m sitting at work. Not sure how that affects my posture, but that means my desk is up high enough for me to cross them.
Poppy | October 14th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
My work space is ghetto rigged to be ergonomical.
I have a box under my desk that I rest my feet on.
My chair used to be positioned JUST RIGHT but Travis came to work with me one day and thought it’d be fun to play with the levers. It has never been the same.
But, the one thing I can’t change is the height of my desk which should really be a few inches taller.
And yet, I slouch over my oh so low desk surface.
Sheila (Charm School Reject) | October 14th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Oh! AND I’m super jealous of one my friend’s husband. His work has a chiropractor come in to adjust their chairs, etc so that they are positioned the best way.
Sheila (Charm School Reject) | October 14th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Pssssshhhhh. I’m six-feet-two-inches-tall. Do you THINK my workspace is ergonomial!? Eff no. I sit down at a desk, it could be any desk since I was 14, and my thighs squish up against the bottom of the desk, I have to crumple my legs up just to fit. After that impressive feat of acrobatics, I spend the next couple of hours slumped over the 4 feet it takes me to reach my computer, which is perched somewhere past my knees. If I sit my body up straight I can hardly reach the keyboard. So I feel you sister, just in a different way.
britni | October 15th, 2009 at 4:48 am
Oh, and HAHA! I just read this on your link about office chairs:
Thigh measure
Check that you can easily slide your fingers under your thigh at the leading edge of the office chair. If it is too tight, you need to prop your feet up with an adjustable footrest. If you are unusually tall and there is more than a finger width between your thigh and the chair, you need to raise the desk/work surface so that you can raise the height of your office chair.
What do they want me to do? Prop my desk up on cinder blocks? That’s classy.
britni | October 15th, 2009 at 4:50 am
I sit on a yoga ball. Looks silly, provokes many comments, occassionally has been rolled at a coworker…but it keeps me from slouching!
CV | October 15th, 2009 at 7:32 am