As creative solopreneurs, most of us spend hours at our desk without even realizing it. Dedicating long hours to your business can be a necessity—but it can also take a toll on your body.
As someone who went through a bout of wrist tendinitis early in my solopreneur career, I quickly realized I had to change my workspace—and my approach to working.
While dealing with my injury, I discovered a beneficial yoga DVD called RX: Yoga, created specifically for people dealing with for RSIs (repetitive stress injuries). There are many other therapeutic yoga DVDs available, as well as online at-your-desk stretching programs such as My Daily Yoga. Even spending just 15 minutes a day stretching can make a big difference in how you feel.
But prevention is the best medicine, so I also had to adjust my workspace. I found that my keyboard was improperly placed, leading to poor posture. With a few adjustments, I was working healthy again. Check your workspace regularly to assure it’s ergonomically-arranged. The OSHA Ergonomic Solutions Computer Workstations eTool features a handy reference page and checklist.
In order to stay healthy, you also have to get out of your chair—often. According to a recent report, too much sitting is bad for your health. Just 4 hours of sitting can take a toll on your body. Yes, I know you’re on deadline, but risking an injury is not worth it. Whether you like it or not, take a 5-minute break every few hours. Check the mail, wash dishes, get a glass of water—whatever gets you up and moving. Your health will thank you!
Tips for staying healthy at your desk:
- Make an appointment with your treadmill: schedule workout reminders on your calendar or mobile phone
- Adjust your workspace: make sure your desk, chair, keyboard and monitor are ergonomically-situated
- Downward dog at your desk: keep a yoga mat and yoga/stretching DVDs in your office
- Take a healthy lunch break: sign up for a lunchtime yoga or fitness class—or just take a walk around the block
- Make a “stretch book”: fill a binder with copies of at-your-desk stretches to do throughout the day (yoga and health magazines are a great reference for ideas)
- Recruit solopreneur workout buddies: take advantage of your flexible schedules and take an afternoon walk or gym break together
- Stand up every four hours: walk around for at least five minutes—set a reminder alarm on your computer if necessary
- Create walkable errands: need to do project research? Walk to the library instead of hitting the Internet.
- Get a dog: you’ll have no choice but to stretch your legs every few hours!
Now, get out of your chair and start moving!
Any more ideas to share?
Lidia,
Great advice especially the dog or dogs in my case. See what I mean here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27472&id=100001614964707&l=1dc11b42ec
The other point I would make is the concept of using a stand up desk. I've been doing this for about 6 months and it's really quite amazing. My lower back is never sore even after many hours of continuous work. Here's more info from the NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/technology/personaltech/22basics.html
Gerry, great pics of your office mates!
Thanks for sharing the additional tip. I've never seen a stand-up desk, but I plan to look into it.
I have a program on my computer that tells me to take a 10 sec break every 10 min and a 5 min break every hour. I wrote about a couple of these programs on my blog. Also, these are some simple stretches I do every hour, and it's a nice one page PDF you can print out and put on your wall!
This is great, Megan. I've always wanted an app like that. Thanks for sharing!