It's good to be back! (RSI update and... hardware tour?)

(Photo: My desk, now with 4 RSI pointing devices to switch between! Left to right: MX Vertical, Apple Magic Touchpad, Wacom One (2023) pen tablet, Steam Controller. The split vertical keyboard is the ZSA Moonlander, which is even more comfortable with the vertical tenting kit I now have. For completeness, I'll finish the tour by saying that the white audio interface/mixer is the Yamaha AG06, and the MIDI keyboard is the Lauchkey Mini, both have physical controls that allow me to avoid touching the mouse!)

RSI UPDATE

Thank you for your patience with my RSI-induced delays and lack of regular communication since March, I truly appreciate all the kind comments, advice, and well-wishes. Many of you told me you've had or are worried about RSI in the past, so I'll tell you what I've been doing.

I feel like I'm on top of what works for me now, after two months of experimentation. I've started doing some thing and stopped doing others. I'll categorise my description by these two categories:

STOP

• 16-hour days

  • No more constant writing, editing, posting, commenting, and then gaming or continuing into the evening. I must step away from my desk!

  • Initially, I only dared type in the mornings (hence my production hiatus!), but now I have better habits, and have extended that to a full workday, but stopping for a full hour at lunch to exercise, and shutting down my pc at 5pm. A "normal" workday, if you can imagine!

• No more mouse!

  • I used to use the logi MX Master (amazing mouse), and after this RSI attack switched to the logi mx vertical, but found that didn't really help much. I bought a second-hand bluetooth magic trackpad and have been using it in my non-dominant hand. This is awkward enough that I try not to use it - GREAT SUCCESS! See photo for all 4 of my input options.

START

• Taking breaks.

  • I've re-started my pomodoro technique (25 mins work / 5 mins break) which worked so well for me at university for writing papers, but now I get UP from my desk and do something else for 5 minutes. It's perfect for getting little chores done, not just resting my hands.

• Keyboard-focussed editing.

  • As I've mentioned before, I use the incredible Reaper, a shareware ($60 to buy) audio/video editor that has so much depth of automation I used to feel like I only understand 1% of it.

  • Well, now I understand 2%! I have built a framework of automation on top of the impressive reaper-keys, a vim/which-key emulation plugin for Reaper https://github.com/gwatcha/reaper-keys/ this allows me to edit without touching the mouse.

• Exercising seriously.

  • Gym ring callisthenics 3 times a week has been incredible.

  • It was so strange for me that no exercise I tried (weights, callisthenics, even going back to my kung fu class) hurt my RSI at all. It's using your muscles in a totally different kind of way, my physio told me.

  • More information than you thought you could ever want here on the training program I was recommended and now recommend myself here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdUfoCj3COQ

• I HIRED AN EDITOR

  • During my 4th expensive physiotherapy session, I realised that editors are less expensive than physiotherapy, and I was being detrimentally sentimental* by not letting go of some less-creative parts of production. Everyone has to do it, to grow their projects, and I've finally done so!

  • I knew just whom to talk to: My friend Petra (musician, maker, all-round generalist god). I pitched the idea, taught her how to use Reaper, both for audio and video editing, and it was such a good match right from the start!

  • She has since edited the last No Boilerplate video (CDD), and every episode of Lost Terminal season 16.

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Update achieved! I'm drafting my next video already. I'm planning for it to be a shorter one this time round, stay tuned. I'll be careful not to over-do it, and I will be taking it slow.

Thank you all again for your support, I am so very grateful :-)
Tris <3 

*"Detrimentally Sentimental" is, I guess, my Kate Bush cover band? :-D