Simon Willison’s Weblog

Avoiding RSI

27th October 2003

I’m pretty sure I’ve never had RSI, but occasionally my wrists feel a little sore after spending time at the keyboard and I know enough about it to know that I really don’t want it. This weekend I started using WorkRave after spotting a link to it on Meri’s blog. It’s a neat little application for Linux and Windows that sits in the background and reminds you to take short breaks from the keyboard every once in a while. Following the suggestion from the FAQ I have it set up to encourage a 15 second “micropause” every 10 minutes and a 5 minute proper rest break once an hour. It’s too early to stay if I’ll stick with it or get annoyed and turn it off, but I have to admit that I have been feeling a bit more comfortable at the keyboard. Whether that’s purely a psychological effect from using it or the breaks are actually making a difference is hard to tell.