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Subject:Productivity and terminal fatigue From:Gwen Barnes <gwen -dot- barnes -at- MUSTANG -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 14 Mar 1995 16:01:19 GMT
-> I am still in school and not yet in the field, but I cannot imagine s
-> at a computer screen for 8 solid hours. When I am working at a compu
-> terminal for serveral hours, I'm exhausted and suffering from a heada
-> when I'm finished. As a technical writer, won't have spend at least
-> hours a day completing non-computer responsibilities, such as intervi
-> and user testing? Do many of you suffer from fatigue and headaches a
-> long stretches in front of the terminal? How do you relieve the nega
-> consequences of interfacing with a computer?
Go make an appointment with your eye doctor right away -- this should
not be happening. If you are getting headaches due to eye strain, you
probably need glasses or at least a new prescription.
Be sure your office lighting is even, and include an incandescent light
source as well as the default fluorescent lights, to help cut down on
flicker.
Be sure your monitor and video card are capable of displaying the screen
resolution you use in "non-interlaced" mode.
Be sure your monitor and chair are at the correct height -- you should
be looking straight at it or slightly up. Lower your chair or raise your
monitor until it is at the correct angle.
Get one of those "lap desk" beanbag pillows with the hard top surface,
and put your keyboard on it, in your lap.
Take a break periodically to stretch and relax your muscles, and relax
your eyes by looking out the window and focusing on distant stuff. Do
this at least once an hour.
This will help you avoid repetitive strain injuries (the scourge of tech
writers everywhere) as well as the headaches and muscle tension you are
now experiencing. I work at the computer a minimum of 8 hours a day,
then go home and play with it another 3 or 4 hours a night.
Cheers, @DISCLAIMER@
Gwen gwen -dot- barnes -at- mustang -dot- com
MSI * Connecting the world 805-873-2500
