Protect yourself from Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is a potentially debilitating condition resulting from overusing the hands to perform a repetitive task, such as typing, clicking a mouse, or writing. Anyone who uses a computer regularly is at risk and should know about RSI. Although most people take this lightly, this could be a serious condition and we all should take necessary precautions to avoid this.

I came across this easy to use, less intrusive, free and open source application, WorkRave that can become handy in preventing RSI. Simply put, it maintains few timers that remind the user to take breaks when they elapse. The default setting is a bit annoying and prompts for breaks every three minutes! I configured it to remind a 3 minute break for every 40 minutes, and a 30 seconds micro-break for every 10 minutes. If I still get RSI, I’ll put post on this blog, so others can configure it for shorter intervals.