I made a grand writing return earlier this month (February), woohoo… and now life flips me off. During December and January, an injured shoulder forced me into a writing hiatus.

The rest and doing bugger all for a couple of months allowed for the healing process to do its thing, and the brain rejuvenated. Mojo returned in full force, writing and posting every other day. Unfortunately, writing with gusto aggravated my shoulder again.

On the bright side, at least I know 100% what the shoulder issue is now, rather than playing the guessing game. My precious laptop has become my nemesis. Typing to be more precise. And using a trackpad and swiping my phone is just as bad.

According to my physiotherapist, laptops are notorious for causing injuries. Ergonomics baby. Who knew? Well, I certainly didn’t. Ergonomics was something old people worried about. Ignorance on my part. But I’ve officially joined the old fart club.

I’ve been using a laptop for, oh, too many decades. I love the compact form. My little world as my body hunches over the screen. Okay, I exaggerate, I’m not the hunchback of Notre Dame, at least not yet anyway.

Posture matters.

Feet on the ground (or on a footrest), spine erect (just the spine, boys), and shoulders back. No slouching like that no-hoper kid in the backrow.

Currently, I am working with my physiotherapist, and we’re creating a battle plan. To start, the old school desk I have been using since I was 11 years old has to be retired. Quite literally, my desk sat on my lap. Way too low. The dropping of my arm is very bad for the shoulder. Especially since I spend hours at this desk.

Desk height matters.

Your desk should be at elbow height. Arms should bend at 90 degrees when typing. Shoulders need arms to rest.

A new set-up is needed. External keyboard, monitor, mouse… Oh hell no, I’m not going back to a mouse — that’s so primitive. A trackball, maybe. Apple’s magic touchpad, possibly, but it isn’t the same as the laptop. I’m sure my readers really give a shit what I use, so I’ll stop here.

The position of the screen and keyboard matter.

Ideally, your screen needs to be at eye level so you're not looking down all the time. Use an external keyboard.

So there we have it. My shoulder has slaughtered my writing mojo again because I’ve been working on my laptop like a teenager. And that is why I am on another mini-break. Naïvely, I hope that if I rested for the weekend, my shoulder would forgive me, and I would return to writing cautiously.

At least with modern technology, there are ways around these issues. Even this crappy musing I am dictating with Dragon. Oh dear, wonderful Dragon, I forget how truly magnificent you are. And I don’t feel like a knobhead talking into an empty room with all my friends.

I just need to find new ways of doing things and give myself time to adjust. And I have the excuse to buy new tech toys! I keep telling myself I’m not divorcing my laptop. I can still use Lappy in other rooms, but my main workstation will transform from minimalist chic to The Nerdy Nook.

For now, awesome readers, please forgive me if my postings and comments and all that funky stuff, like stalking, have no rhyme or rhythm. I still love you. Is that creepy?

Happy writing

💜💜💜

Tannille

⭐️⭐️⭐️

What toys do you use to write? Do you have any recommendations?

Categories: Technology, Writing, Writing Battles

Tags: Blogging, creative writing, ergonomics, injury, Technology, writer issues, writer productivity