A few weeks ago I hurt my neck (ah so many life lessons come from injuries). Luckily, it wasn’t serious, but I got a lot of wise advice from people, including the chiropractor, who started to say things like, “Well, bad habits may be okay in your 30s, but 10 years from now those bad habits may really start to cause problems.” And that made me feel old. But anyway, that is another story.
So she recommended that I take some time to think about how I spend all those hours working, specifically at my laptop.
News flash!
The way most of us work at our laptops is bad for us. Is this really all that shocking? No, but hard to admit. Turns out that looking down and hunching over at our desks is poor form and can lead to injuries or aggravate an injury (which is kind of what happened to me). When my neck hurt, it was amazing how much time I was spending with my head down—over my laptop, reading my iPad, reading/typing on my smartphone, you name it!
So I started to look for some easy ergonomic solutions for my Mac laptop. Of course, online I found many different options. I decided to go with the following: a simple pedestal to raise the computer and a Bluetooth keyboard and touchpad. Now I have to say that one of the reasons I hesitated doing this is that I am addicted to the touchpad mouse and I hate using a traditional mouse. Or course, Apple came to my rescue with a Bluetooth touchpad mouse.
This morning I put everything together and I must admit it‘s a really great change. I can already feel myself sitting in a much better position and it feels much more natural. I also like the fact that the setup is easy to move so if I end up working somewhere else for a long period of time, I can just take the stand and keyboard with me.
For law students, ergonomics should be a concern (although it is one that we typically ignore).
You are logging incredible hours at the computer and you don’t want those hours to add up to an injury. This new setup seems to be working for me. Do you have any other tips you would like to share that have worked for you?
—
Looking to improve your exam prep efficiency?
- Check out Law School Exam Prep 101.
Want more? Sign up for our free mailing list today.
Looking for some help to do your best in law school? Find out about our law school tutoring options.
I swear by the laptop riser! I have a very similar one at my house and my office, and it’s awful to work without it. I also have a trackball mouse both places, since regular mice give me insta-carpal tunnel.
One of my roommates in law school had horrible wrist problems, so she had me document how she sat all day (at home, in class, etc.). It was very revealing! Her doctor was horrified.
Definitely worth paying attention to this stuff early, before a ton of terrible habits have taken hold.
(And, if you work in an office, make them buy you what you need. Resistance? Casually mention OSHA. Done.)