Ergonomic Specialist: Part 2

The specialist also suggested I could use voice recognition software to do my job and/or general computing. I'm definitely not open to switching to be a voice writer. I like writing on the machine. My throat always gets sore when I try to talk for extended periods of time, too. I think voice writers can only write for short periods of time because of that. I don't want to learn a whole new thing. Maybe someday if I get really desperate, but I'm not even thinking about it right now.

I don't know how much functionality it has for general computing. I don't like the idea of having to talk to it, like for right now even typing this. Talking and typing are totally different things. And in terms of voice recognition instead of mousing, I doubt that works very well.

It actually wasn't something the specialist said that made me want to try the Report-It again. I was hoping that she wouldn't just give me one of those sheets with the diagrams for proper ergonomic desk setup, but she did. Interestingly, though, it had a suggestion for resting your arms on the arms of the chair, and it said the arms shouldn't touch your elbows or your wrists. The person in the drawing looked really comfortable, and that's what inspired me to try the Report-It again. I'm not sure if it's helping or not.

Now that I've been doing it for about 6 weeks, it seems like it would be impossible to write without it, although I don't really think it's helped in any way. It feels super restrictive when I use it. If I write for even a short period of time without it, I feel so free, but at the same time, like it would very quickly become too painful to write that way. Maybe that's just because of where I have the machine positioned, though.

I think the IE in general has given me pain in my right arm, not so much the Report-It. I definitely feel a deeper, sharper pain in my left arm with the Report-It. It's really bad, but luckily I don't write for extended periods of time; usually an hour and a half at the most. It's hard to hold on for that long, though. It's all a work in progress, and I feel like if I just keep trying I'll eventually find something that doesn't hurt so much.