What We Take for Granted
This has been a tough week for me. The one thing I take for granted -- my ability to write -- has nearly been taken away thanks to a wrist injury (due to of all things weight training and squash, not typing). I'm managing to cobble together posts and client deliverables, but when it's painful to type and you're in the "virtual goods" business, it impacts everything you do. Above all, my typing is not keeping up with how quickly my mind wants to translate thoughts to the keyboard (which in turn throws off my rhythm). I hope to have a solution to this problem by next week, so don't fear. The blog will remain (and worst case, there's always speech recognition software, for a near-term fix if needed).
Perhaps most important of all, the pain has taught me the importance of not taking what you've got for granted. In this economic climate, we all tend to retrench a bit -- in our dealings with customers, suppliers and even partners. We hold things -- or at least cash -- close to the chest. But behaviors like this can actually lead to unintended negative consequences. As a parallel, I tried to address my injury by first ignoring it and then pursuing alternative treatments before seeing a real sports medicine doctor. The result is that things got worse. So if you're working with a supplier you're concerned about, don't just hope for the best -- or play little games. Find out what is really going on and take action quickly and decisively. In this market, sometimes waiting even an extra week or two may prove to be a very costly mistake.
- Jason Busch
Perhaps most important of all, the pain has taught me the importance of not taking what you've got for granted. In this economic climate, we all tend to retrench a bit -- in our dealings with customers, suppliers and even partners. We hold things -- or at least cash -- close to the chest. But behaviors like this can actually lead to unintended negative consequences. As a parallel, I tried to address my injury by first ignoring it and then pursuing alternative treatments before seeing a real sports medicine doctor. The result is that things got worse. So if you're working with a supplier you're concerned about, don't just hope for the best -- or play little games. Find out what is really going on and take action quickly and decisively. In this market, sometimes waiting even an extra week or two may prove to be a very costly mistake.
- Jason Busch
I'm dangerous on the court man. Give me a month or two, some pain killers and a winning attitude found on the need to drop 10 pounds after the holiday. I'll see you court side.
I have struggled with wrist/elbow/neck pain for the past 4 years from computers. Everything I do for work is centered around the computer. I basically cannot work without typing. I have learned to keep things under control by changing my habits. A couple of years ago it was really bad, but now I keep it under control. It's similar to what I do to keep my weight under control. (I love food) When I gain a couple of pounds, I'm good again and count my calories. I'm able to shave off those pounds in a couple weeks by staying within my calorie budget. With the computer, I can't type less, but I use stretch break software to remind me to take mini stretch breaks. I have a website where you can download a 30 day trial. My sister wrote the software and installed it on my computer a couple of years ago because I was complaining about my neck and the weakness in my two small fingers of my right hand. She's a programmer and would definitely be out of work if she couldn't type and wrote this software because her wrist was so bad. I'm VERY careful to work with good ergonomics and I take mini stretch breaks (even if I'm on the phone with my headset or still reading the screen--I stretch). Please try the 30 day trial and see if it helps. If you are already that far gone, I agree that voice recognition software will give you time to recover. One more thing you can do is get some exercise that gets your circulation going--even if it's fast paced walking on a regular basis. I also recommend you read the book, "It's Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome! RSI Theory and Therapy for Computer Professionals". This will give you lot's of information about what you can do. Hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Shari Smith