Top Ten Signs You Need to Spend More Time Away From Your Desk
This post has been translated into Spanish by Diana at Artegami.
Another week, another useless but amusing top ten for you. This time we ask the question, do you spend more time with your desk than any human should? Here are ten signs you may need to take a break…
Number 10:
“Exercise” has come to mean rolling your neck and focusing your eyes on distant objects.
Number 9:
Strange discolorations have appeared where your arms rest on your chair and desk.
Number 8:
Friends no longer bother calling your mobile, they skype you.
Number 7:
You have RSI in BOTH arms.
Number 6:
You spend more hours in your desk chair than not – this has resulted in a posture that resembles early humans.
Number 5:
When you’ve finished a long day of work you: watch TV on your computer, play second life or read your favourite blogs.
Number 4:
You fear taking a day off because you might fall behind with your list of daily RSS reads.
Number 3:
You wake up in the night from dreams where you were using your computer to do the same tasks you do when you are awake.
Number 2:
After switching desktop backgrounds, you have been heard to remark “A change is as good as a holiday” … no, no it isn’t.
…. And the number one sign you need to spend more time away from your desk:
You no longer like meals that require both a knife and fork because then you can’t use your mouse while eating!
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10, 9, 8, 6, 5, and 3 for me – all with a partner and 2 kids.
How I survive I don’t know.
3 is the worst! I once woke up and my hand was in the same position it is when I am holding my mouse, and I couldn’t relax it, it was like it was locked in. That was freaky, I slowed right down after that episode … at least I did for a while
eeek! all of them except 10 and 7 for me! especially 5, 4 and 1. this is an excellent reminder to shut things down for at least a few hours a day!
Aaha, this is way too true.
Number 1 especially, I love eating while I work, but it’s hard to use cutlery and have your mousing hand free at the same time
Why?! Why do these Top 10 Lists continue to be so true?!
Stop it, I plead – it only illumines that which I seek to pretend doesn’t exist!
omg! Almost all of them applies to me… No. 3 is espacially scary though, i always dream about myself in front of comp debugging codes and actually thinking logic in my sleep!
Quilty as charge!
100% true for most of us. Everyday I promise myself, I will take some break but every next project is soooo urgent.
Rajesh Shakya
http://www.rajeshshakya.com
Nice one!
Nowadays even eating pizza seems to be a hassle. Can’t really type without error here and there. :p
I shall take a rest now.
So much of this feels familiar, and I’m not even a freelancer!
okie i think we need to start a community for people suffering from RSI and help them go cold-turkey ! lol
all applicable to me.
I feel guilty *omg
Everything except 7 & 10 for me
Maybe I have still a chance to survive…
Haha–if voice-activated computing ever becomes really sophisticated, I will never leave my office chair. With a keyboard protector ensuring my gross food crumbs don’t get into my laptop’s inner workings, and me barking commands at the screen (“File menu!”) so as not to need the mouse, I think I would be in tech heaven. Although I would also reach untold levels of despair.
10, 6, 5, 1
I’m actually doing far better than I would have expected…
very true.
Love this post. I hate drinking anything usually because it requires one hand to not type or move the mouse. Definitely time for a break, sooner or later
2John Brougher: You should try the new voice recognition in Vista… It works really fine after some training… ex.: Start Listening > Start > Play Madonna
Haha! great list
— #1 is soo true for me :p I usually just end up holding the plate w/ one hand and licking everything off it since my hand is busy holding the mouse 
The trick is, you’re supposed to cut all of your food BEFORE you bring it to your desk.
I had a dream last night that I was doing Flash Action Script, and it was on a Saturday night on a weekend getaway!
geeze
I can’t believe this! I fit all numbers except maybe 3 worst ones. I guess I am really hard case to cure.
Number 4 – How true.
Whoa, I can’t believe how true some of these ring. Ouch I really need to look at what I do for relaxing time… eg: not play video games and do design work
Excellent! Letterman would be proud!
For me, #3 is the haunting revelation. I know from experience, when I start dreaming of work-related issues and wake up stressed from them, that it’s time for a real break!!
I love the one about the posture, it seems the more I use my MacBook, the more time I have to spend at the chiropractors to look like a human.
i totally need to spend more time away from my desk
Sometimes i feel #4, LOL…
What’s scare me is, if i took a day off. I felt i will loose a day of my timeline
, even tho the day is holiday. It does not matter for me, it always felt like that. Make the day off uncomfortable.
When I read number 3 & 6, I burst with laughter.