I spent several months last year working on a first draft of a young-adult novel. My writing time occurred in the early mornings and I used a laptop to help keep my blogging life on our computer workstation from taking over my writing time. The laptop wasn't even connected to the internet.

The only problem with the situation was that I sat in a padded reclining chair in various positions while writing, none of them intelligent as far as my body was concerned. Between the feverish noveling and increased clingy-toddler-carrying duties after my wife suffered a debilitating injury, somewhere along the line my body reached the breaking point and I began suffering from significant back pain that I spent the better part of a year visiting a chiropractor almost weekly to help put to rest. I still consider myself relatively young at 33, but the incident gave me a whole new perspective on taking care of my body in a preventive and proactive way. I'm guessing that I'm within a five-year margin of error for the time most people who are in otherwise good health get some awareness of these matters as their bodies begin the slow, inexorable march towards fabulousness. Yeah, fabulousness! What did you think I was going to say?

Long story short: Sitting properly, if you are doing something specific for any length of time, can protect your health immeasurably, and as many of us continue to increase our home computer use, it's important to remember that ergonomics aren't just for the workplace. Take a peek at Ergotron's handy ergonomics calculator to check your computer desk's metrics against those recommended by the experts. [Via Lifehacker]