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Testing Workrave: Open Source Repetitive Strain Prevention

(last updated

This is part of my greater series of health projects on The Perils of Desk Work.

Workrave is an open source project for preventing Repetitive Strain Injury. It is also useful for helping limit eye strain and hand injuries that might arise from doing a lot of computer work. I had ran across the program a while ago and meant to see what it did. Turns out it might be pretty useful for my work.

I spend a lot of my free time doing computer projects, and recently I have tried to take more frequent breaks in order to prevent strain to my arms, hands, and eyes. Workrave fits the plan I had already started by prompts me to take breaks every twenty minutes, which reminds me to get up, move around, and get a small drink. It also prompts for shorter breaks every four minutes that I use to close my eyes or look at something far away.

I have yet to test the networking feature, which looks pretty useful (since I have like five computers on my desk). Someone should make an Android version so I can interrupt my Kindle usage (though the Kindle tends to do that quite fine on its own).

While it can be annoying to have frequent interruptions to one’s work, the postpone option and the ignore period make it easy to finish what you’re doing and still maintain good health. I will report back in a week or so once I have seen how well this program works for me.