Hi David,
What a great question! I myself wish I had thought to ask it decades ago when I first started in this work. Here's a little of what I've learned:
1) Ergonomics are key. I can no longer use a standard mouse, which I basically consider to be a form of crippling torture device. I use a vertical mouse, which vastly reduces the impact of mousing, from the neck to the fingertips: http://tinyurl.com/99syd72 An alternate input device, whether it's this or a Wacom, is worth the dough. As a general proposition, I try to be as keyboard-centric as possible when I edit, and I avoid using the mouse unnecessarily. Monitor height and distance, the right desk height, and a proper chair with good back support are also important. I'm short, and it's hard for me to find consoles that are the right height, so I try to use a footrest, but that would probably be less of a problem for most men. I'm sure there are websites out there that can spell out other important ergonomic criteria.
2) Exercise: Do strengthening exercises that improve postural alignment. These include neck retractions, to counteract the tendency to crane the neck forward, and wall angels, to strengthen the muscles that roll the shoulders down and back. It's worth consulting with a good physical therapist to get a quick, daily strength and flexibility regimen in place. It makes a huge difference in the long run.
3) Eye relief: Look away from the monitor periodically to far points in the room. I also practice holding my head level, then rolling my eyes up to look at the ceiling directly in front of me, and then to the extreme right and left and left ceiling corners. Hold each position for at least 2-3 seconds and repeat a few times. It's important to use only the eye muscles when you do this exercise - don't crane your head. I realized at one point that my eyes no longer opened up fully, and they were turning into puffy, half closed, slits. All I ever did with them was to look directly in front of me into the near field, and many of the muscles that control eye movement had weakened as result. Making them do something radically different is good. I can see the difference when I look in the mirror.
Lastly, when I'm not working my priority is to get full body exercise like swimming, which counteracts a lot of the dreadful impacts of sitting at a desk all day, and weight bearing exercise like running and hiking. I love my bike too, but it involves more sitting on my ass, and I think we actually evolved to stand erect. Obviously, it's important to see movies and stay current, but I also love to read, and I feel it's key to my long term cognitive health. The brain is a muscle too, and it needs to be trained.
Good luck David. Just by having the smarts to ask the question you did, you're already on step ahead of the problem.
Best,
Shirley
-----Original Message-----
From: David Biddle <dbiddle@ewtn.com>
To: 'Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com' <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sat, Sep 29, 2012 8:54 am
Subject: [Avid-L2] Editor Wellness Tips
Dear Fellow L-2ers,
I'm fairly young and hope to be in the editing industry for a long time.
Obviously, sitting in a dark room in front of various monitors all day long can
cause physical hardships relatively quickly. Any tips from the pros on how to
avoid common pitfalls like eye strain and muscle soreness, and/or how to
preserve mental clarity through long edit sessions?
TIA,
David
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