The greatest ally of the programmer: getting off your ass.
After a little back pain, I made a few changes which make me feel a whole lot better generally, and make it much easier to get and stay in 'the zone':
- take breaks regularly
- stand up when not operating the computer
- stretch whenever you remember
- walk about
- exercise daily (as much or as little as you feel like)
These simple measures quickly become more of a joy than a chore, and will protect from back pain, RSI, hemorrhoids, fatigue, and probably a bunch of other nasty things that creep up on you.
Another really simple thing you can do is walk around while you're thinking. I know you probably incorporate this into "stand up when not operating the computer," but it bears repeating and emphasizing. Not only does it get you away from your keyboard and chair, it also helps stimulate the thought process.
When I'm on the phone with clients, I will stand/walk around my basement for two reasons; it gives me a break from sitting and I can talk loud without interrupting others who are working or kids who may be napping. I have a computer in the basement where I can browse whilst on the phone, with no chair so I don't get sucked into anything. (P.S. I'm typing this standing up)
A few years back I had forearm/wrist issues on my mouse hand. Some simply adjustments in my posture (Hint: don't waste money on an expensive chair) was enough to stop the pain. The icing on the cake was working for myself. Instead of 8 solid hours in front of the PC clicking around, I now have 100 things to do in the day, only 25 of which may be actual development. The end result is more time away from the machine and less pain which means a potentially longer career.
I actually bought a recumbent exercise bike which sits next to my home office desk. I've mounted a touch screen LCD in place of the "normal" trip computer and it's hooked up to a netbook.
That way, when I feel like my mind is wandering while working, I can take a break and peddle and surf the web/watch something.
Agreed. One of the very best decisions I've ever made in my life was to go car-free (which is unfortunately not an option for most Americans :( ). So my commutes don't involve sitting, but walking. If you have the option to give up your car, do it.
I had three different therapies for my back (exercise machines, acupuncture and something that hammered the muscles so they would relax, does not hurt as much as it sounds but it hurts) they all lasted for a few month. Two Years ago I started going to work by bike (7km). Doing that every workday has kept the back problems away ever since. I just hope I can keep that up the rest of my (work-)life. Though a shower at work would be nice. Not so much for me but my colleagues :-)
I can still hear podcasts while biking so I don't "loose" the time. Public transportation would take the same amount of time and is more expensive.
A chair really can make all the difference. I was having severe back problems until I bought a Steelcase Think. My problems went away overnight. Every chair won't work for every person. I suggest that you buy a good chair, try it for a week, then return it if you don't get great results. Repeat until you're successful. Good luck.
Right now I'm sitting in an Aeron chair I bought myself 11 years ago. It's been through 3 startups, 4 moves, 2 wives and a half-dozen laptops. I don't want to even think about how many hours my keister has been in this chair. Amortized for use over time I don't think I ever spent money so wisely.
Get a good chair now -- even if you have to spend your own money on it. You won't regret it.
Same story here, though I've recently given up my Aeron. I bought my Aeron at the Arthur Andersen bankruptcy auction in Houston in response to back, elbow, and wrist pain caused by a half dozen crappy chairs bought from Office Max or Office Depot for about $100 each over the span of several years. I kept the Aeron for 8 years, and then sold it when I was moving out of my house and into an RV...and it looked as good as the day I bought it. The guy who bought it from me couldn't believe I'd had it for nearly a decade and that it was used when I got it. Best $385 I ever spent, and when I can make room for another one, I won't mind spending a few hundred bucks to buy another one. I can say with absolute sincerity that it's just stupid to buy a cheap office chair. You pay for it with your back, your ass, your wrists, your elbows, and with your wallet, because the cheap chairs only last a year or two if you are a heavy user, as programmers always are.
I had started to regret selling it a month or so into my travels, but I've now figured out how to avoid trouble with the new lifestyle. Moving regularly between all of the several sitting locations I have in the RV (dinette, desk, sofa, and also sitting outside in a cloth folding chair or a wooden folding chair when weather is nice (which is most of the time, since I follow good weather), and exercising a lot more (easy since I have to walk my dog regularly, anyway, and I'm always in some place new that is way more interesting than what's on TV). I also still have my tall table from Ikea that I used for a while as a standing desk, but I haven't parked anywhere long enough to make it worth setting up.
As I type, I'm sitting outside under the awning overlooking the desert in a place called "Slab City" about 150 miles west of San Diego, and just south of Joshua Tree. I think I am going to do some customization of my next RV to get an Aeron back into the picture, though. There's just no good reason not to have a really good chair.
I'm very interested in your experience moving to an RV (and what life has been like since the move). Do you have any links to articles you've written about it?
I'm revisiting the budget in the next post, as it's been more expensive than I expected in some ways, and less expensive in others. Overall, it evens out and I'm saving a ton over living in Mountain View (though, admittedly, I was living pretty luxe in Mountain View with a 1000 sq ft house a few blocks from downtown). More importantly, every day is a comfort-zone smashing experience, which I'm convinced is good for mind, body and soul.
As I mentioned, I'm at Slab City, which is a truly unique American experience. Salvation Mountain is here, along with hundreds of RVers and campers, all squatting on government land and living wholly off the grid and seemingly getting along just fine. I don't think I've ever seen more solar panels in one place; and I've visited the Google campus. I do worry about where some of these folks are putting their wastewater...many of the RVs here have not moved in years, and there are no public restrooms for miles around, nor are there septic hookups. Anyway, obviously Slab City is worth blogging about, so I'll be posting about that soon, as well, along with millions of pictures.
very interesting story- loved the blog, but please refrain from using 'twatting' and 'flicking'. If you must, use 'tweeting'. 'twat' has negative connotations in many places, and flicking is just lame. :)
Yeah, I saw that just after I sold my Aeron. But, within a couple of weeks of living in my RV I realized I got the wrong one (nothing wrong with it, I just realized my priorities are different than what I thought they'd be; I was warned numerous times that your first RV is not the right RV, and you'll want to change within the first year, but I didn't believe it)...so I'm just passing through this one, and don't want to make any major changes to it that would effect resale value. The next RV will be getting an Aeron.
I have an Aeron chair at work. It's okay. If I were going to film a movie where the plot was being tied to chair, I would use the Aeron. Even without binding, you feel trapped. When you stand up and manage to escape, you feel an amazing amount of freedom.
I have a "crappy IKEA chair" at home. It is much better. You sit in it, and it feels good. You don't think about the act of sitting anymore.
Have you spent any time setting it up? Considering the amount of time you sit in it 30 mins reading the manual is time well spent, and it really does make a difference.
In the office I work at a desk and on a chair. But at home (where I work on side-projects several hours most days) I never work sitting on a chair - it's always either curled up with a laptop on the couch, or sitting on the floor. Usually I alternate between the two. I much prefer not sitting on a chair if I can avoid it.
> it's always either curled up with a laptop on the couch, or sitting on the floor
Aren't you still sitting though? Or did I miss something in the article?
[ If you aren't sitting while 'curled up with a laptop on the couch,' I can't imagine that that position is good for your wrists/tendons/etc. Just food for thought. You don't want to avoid hemorrhoids just to end up with carpal tunnel or tendinitis. ]
Been using an Aeron for 12 years. Now I have a rip in the seat mesh, and one arm fallen off because of the snapped bolt. I could order parts to fix it, but I'm thinking it might be a good time to try out something new.
Does somebody have any recommendations for the chairs in similar price range of Aeron?
One of my favorite features is rarely mentioned: the part of the chair that contacts your body is a flexible mesh. There are thousands of holes in the mesh that make it incredibly breathable. You can sit in it for hours without any heat or moisture buildup on your back or butt.
Surprisingly, I find that it's this feature that I miss most when sitting in other chairs.
Although I didn't realise it, I am sitting on one in my office right now. The entire 3 floors are decked out with them, and I can attest to the incredible configurability. It can, however, bite you in the ass if not set up correctly. Read the instructions!
I have a different ergonomic chair, but I just wanted to reiterate your point: Seriously! RTFM! It doesn't seem like something you'd have to do for a frickin' chair, but you'll be so glad you did.
If you suffer from it I can strongly recommend: "Rubber band ligation, sometimes called Baron ligation. Elastic bands are applied onto an internal hemorrhoid to cut off its blood supply. Within several days, the withered hemorrhoid, is sloughed off during normal bowel movement."
Only somewhat uncomfortable for a day or three. No side effects. Fixed.
Does anyone know if getting hemorrhoids would classify as a work-related injury? Furthermore, since my job is required to provide me with a safe working environment, shouldn't they also be required to provide me with a fancy chair?
There's a lot of talk of fancy chairs, fancy keyboards or fancy mice a way around these kinds of problems.
But really, they don't not get at the root problem.
Getting exercise and a good diet is much closer to dealing with this root problem.
But even more to the point, one needs to reduce the unconscious, habitual tension which is what misaligns and thus tears people up when they sit "doing nothing" for years.
I would recommend the Alexander Technique a key method for dealing with the problem of habitual muscle tension and the many problems that it will cause you over the years.
But there are number of similar methods: the Feldenkrais Method, Tai Chi Chua, Qigong and Yoga all work to give you new body habits, not just "work" your body. Indeed, the gym-style "push yourself" exercise approach can risk injury to the person due to their taking their poor align into a more stressful environment (though I don't doubt that hard exercise works for some)
I bet they'd let you buy your own $500 chair to reduce the chances of injury/hemorrhoids if you explained it well enough. Though if the corporate culture's really oppressive, they might make you take it home after people start complaining. On the other hand, they might buy them for everyone and you could be the hero.
Getting daily exercise is really one of the most important things I have done to become a better coder.
Aside from keeping my digestion burning at full power, exercise encourages me to eat a healthier diet. If I eat crappy/greasy food I feel the results pretty quickly when I try to do something active later that day.
More important is the extra energy it gives me. Since when I started my daily exercise regimen I've been able to get in about 3 hours more coding per day while feeling less worn out.
I had surgery because of this last year. You can read some of what happened on my mostly abandoned blog. There's 10 or more posts about that. Read on, then try to do something about it if you've got them.
Been there, done that -- and by the time I had stopped playing with the do-nothing over-the-counter nonsense, there was some serious cutting going on. The recuperation period was long, and reminded me in no uncertain terms (and here I have to beg pardon) that the assholes really are in charge in this world. It seemed like everything I did, from brushing my teeth to blinking, involved a little-known ligament or tendon that led, inevitably, to the tender area. (HTML was without a version number at the time, I was creating online reference books for Lynx, and I had just heard of a new "graphical browser" called Mosaic ready for release, so there was no live blogging on the school system's grand-a-month web server.)
Direct sunlight is a bitch. I had that fantasy as well when I started my own biz, but even working on my deck with an umbrella overhead and shady trees above is difficult.
Solve the battery and direct sunlight issues for laptops and my techno-world would be complete.
Just an odd little style nit I picked up reading this: it was interesting how the author used the clinical term "anus" but didn't hesitate to use the word "shitting" to describe defecation. I'm not offended by the vulgar word, but I'd advise the author to choose one or the other and stick with it.
To my knowledge, the connection between extended periods sitting and/or straining is anecdotal. Not saying it's not true - it probably is - but it isn't proven.
On the other hand, there are proven, more ominous, but fortunately less-common causes of hemorrhoids, such as tumors and cirrhosis.
An enemy? Sure. The greatest enemy? I don't know about that.
I'd say carpal tunnel and other hand/wrist related injuries would be the greatest enemy. After all, you can always program standing up or sitting on one of those donut devices if you have hemorrhoids.
It's really hard to be productive with a good back and good ass, but bad hands too. If you were told tomorrow that you could never use a keyboard again, would you be thanking the gods that it wasn't a back or ass problem because now you quality of life won't even skip a beat?
Yup, I had a couple of friends go through this. Saw the post-op photos one of the guys took - at least from the external viewpoint, they literally 'tore him a new one'.
At least they didn't have movements through the wound though, I suppose.
You can buy an accessory that will turn your western toilet into a squat toilet. Or you can squat on the rim of the toilet, it's not so uncommon to do - ask girls. They often do that in their toilets.
Easily said than done in my experience. I used Indian toilets (Asian style, as referred in the article) until 3 years ago. I have been using western toilets for the last three years and I can't go back to my Indian style anymore. My legs starts aching in a couple of seconds and I have to stand up to relax. Difficult situation :)
Sitting in a chair should be considered harmful. This is a very recent practice that we have not evolved to handle well. I know few adults that can still sit comfortably in a squatted position. Almost everyone has sore hip flexors and poor hip mobility. Try pressing in on yourself in areas around your hips- it is not supposed to hurt.
Alternatives:
Standing. Standing still in one place for a long time can have its own problems. But when standing it is much easier to have some amount of movement- the minimum is just shifting your weight from one leg to the other. The treadmill desks are an interesting concept to keep you moving.
Lying down. These positions are usually difficult to work in.
Sitting (not on a chair). Sitting on your bed or on the floor. There are a few possible positions here.
Squatting. This has to be done with assistance (raised heel and butt) until you gain the strength and flexibility required to do this.
Sitting and squatting tend to put you in a hunched over position though.
Ultimately the best thing is going to be to move around between different positions as much as possible, along with taking as many breaks as you can and making them as physical as you can.
I am trying to combine these concepts with some amount of working outside also. I would love to hear from anyone else working at this.
I sit on a swiss (or exercise) ball most of the day. I'm not sure how the ball intersects with hemorrhoids but it's great for staying active while sitting down and also for posture.
When not on the swiss ball I use one of these: http://www.thehumansolution.com/ergohumanmeshhi.html. It's less expensive than an Aeron and it has a head rest. I've had it for a couple of years now. It's been a great chair. I'm not sure why the head rest thing was so important to me but it's very comfortable for coding.
Ditto. (Well, at work, not right now). I was lucky enough to snag one from a different room in my office. I was excited because of the magical stories I've heard about Aerons. There's lots of little knobs and levers to fiddle with, but even after extensive personalization, it's not all THAT comfortable.
I used to keep my wallet in my back pocket, but recently transferred to keeping in my jacket pocket. Not as convenient, and now possible to misplace, but my butt feels better not having half of it sitting on a rock all day.
Working a job years ago, I worked at a standing desk which was surprisingly awesome. It allowed me to keep my legs active, and pace around whenever I needed to mull something over. I may invest in one for home use.
let us not overlook those who stand while at the keyboard. you don't have to do it all the time, either -- get an adjustable keyboard thingermajig and push your chair out of the way for a few hours a day.
IKEA has an adjustable desk system as part of the GALANT series. It doesn't show up in the US store, not sure if they stock it there. But in Sweden you can get, not super cheap, but better than a bad back and ass.
adjustable keyboard stand (desk attachment). sort of like those keyboard trays that slide out from underneath (which i hate), except the thing i'm thinking of lets you pull the keyboard to a decent range of positions in the XZ plane (if your monitor is the YZ plane and the surface of your desk is the XY plane), and thus can be used whether sitting or standing.
Have you ever programmed with a new monitor, or even at someone else's machine? It's hard. I would waste a lot of time adjusting everything to the exact settings and configuration as my laptop, down to the dead pixel and finger-print smudges.
The solution to all of eye strain, hand strain, and ass strain is simply to take five minutes to leisurely walk around the block once every hour and half. You don't need an expensive chair or to work standing up or anything silly like that. You don't even need a daily exercise regimen.
I find the claims that people sitting all day is a new problem somewhat dubious. People have worked sitting down all day for centuries. I'm pretty sure what's new is fat people who never walk anywhere.
I second the recommendation of Workrave. It's easily configurable and it works quite well to remind one to get p every now and then (or at least to look away from the monitor for a few seconds).
Just because people have been sitting/squatting whilst working in previous centuries doesn't mean they didn't have problems. Have you seen the state of some poor people who spend their lives sitting badly whilst working?
I certainly get problems by sitting too long whilst working and I am by no measure fat. :) But, yes, get up and move about.
Blogga, please. Just get up once an hour, walk around, maybe check out that big room with the blue ceiling that's sometimes black with white specks (the one the Others call "outside").
After a little back pain, I made a few changes which make me feel a whole lot better generally, and make it much easier to get and stay in 'the zone':
- take breaks regularly
- stand up when not operating the computer
- stretch whenever you remember
- walk about
- exercise daily (as much or as little as you feel like)
These simple measures quickly become more of a joy than a chore, and will protect from back pain, RSI, hemorrhoids, fatigue, and probably a bunch of other nasty things that creep up on you.