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If you are a typist who spends a lot of time in front of a computer you need to have good posture to make sure you don’t damage your body.

Sitting properly while you type

If you don’t have good posture while typing, you’ll end up with aching muscles and/or injuries in your back, neck, wrists, fingers or ankles.

When seated and typing, make sure:

• your back is straight, and your wrists are level with your elbows
• you have a footrest adjusted to a suitable height (so your laps are horizontal).
• your hands are hovering above the keyboard (not resting on the desk)
• your fingertips – not the flats of your fingers – are striking the keys
• you have an ergonomic mouse that allows you to type without hand-strain

Tip: some typists use non-sitting positions such as kneeling or standing up. But even when not sitting, your posture needs to be good to make sure are not stressing/injuring your body.

A comfortable chair

For a typist, a comfortable chair is not an armchair or soft chair. It is a chair that enables you to sit comfortably with your back straight. The seat needs to be comfortable enough that you can sit for long periods while at work. It needs to be adjustable so you can adjust it to the correct height and angle (see above dot points under Good posture).

If you cannot adjust your chair to the right height or if the seat is the wrong shape for your bottom, the chair won’t enable you to have good posture while seated, and you need to buy a new one.

Tip: if you need to type for very long hours, change your position slightly on your adjustable chair every now and then to give different muscles a rest.

Preventing eye-strain

Stay posted for an article we will post in the near future about the strategies you typists and other constant computer can use to keep your eyes healthy.

Links to helpful articles about scribing and minute-taking

For more information about the tools and skills you need to for not only copy typing but also scribing or minute-taking, go to:

• The pressures of scribing and minute-taking
• How to prepare before minute-taking a meeting
• Healthy bodies for constant computer users

Image: WOCInTechChat – showing an image of incorrect posture while typing!