Laptops are amazing tools! They are compact and flexible, easy to take anywhere. But with all their benefits, laptops are not designed to be ergonomic. The guidelines for ergonomics call for a separated computer screen and keyboard. Using a laptop creates a trade-off between poor neck-head posture and poor hand-wrist posture. At your home or office, you can add ergonomic tools to improvement comfort; but you can also make your laptop more ergonomic while you travel.

Here are some tips to maximize your comfort and make your laptop more ergonomic:

In Your Office

1. Raise your screen. If you don’t have a docking station, place your laptop on a desk or surface with the screen at eye level. This will allow for ergonomic posture for your neck and shoulders. If your desk seems too low, add a monitor shelf to achieve greater height.
2. Use a separate keyboard. The ergonomically-designed, mini keyboards are a great choice. Most mini keyboards and many ergonomic mice are wireless; no messing with cables every time you sit down.
3. Try a keyboard tray that allows for a negative-tilt, away from your body. The tray will provide the flexibility to maintain a neutral typing posture where the strain on your muscles is minimized. It also opens up your desk space for other uses.

On The Road

1. Find a good chair. Look for a comfortable chair where you can lean back slightly, and where you back is well supported. If you need more support in you lower back, try a rolled towel or sweatshirt, or bring your own portable lumbar support.
2. Place your laptop on your lap. This is the ergonomic compromise when using a laptop – good wrist posture or good neck posture? You are normally better off protecting the small muscles in your hands and wrists. With the computer on your lap, you can maintain a neutral wrist posture; find a good angle where you can keep your wrists straight and your hands and arms relaxed.
3. Angle your laptop screen up as much as possible to minimize the strain on your neck. Just remember that in this position you will need to take frequent breaks to stretch your neck and shoulders.

While many of us enjoy the flexibility of laptops, they also increase concerns about ergonomics. For better comfort and faster typing, bring your own. Setting up your main work space with a mini keyboard or other  ergonomic keyboard and use an adjustable keyboard tray maximize your ergonomic posture. These guidelines can help you make good ergonomic choices while at home or on the road.

Adjusting to a New Keyboard

Not too long ago, we had our our laptops stolen (and wallet, phone, keys, and car!) while we slept.  I posted some tips about how to avoid and deal with such a life-altering event.  Besides the overall feeling of violation, as well as the massive amount of paperwork and leg work one has to do to file a police report and make insurance claims, there is also the adjustment of life without said items.  Even if you do get compensation for your laptop or car or whatever else has been stolen, there is still the waiting period in which you, well, wait, to see if the taken items can be recovered.  Then, there is the waiting period where you wait longer for the insurance claims to be made and to find the right replacements- there might not be the same deal you previously got, so you have to wait.

So much waiting can really put a strain on you, especially if you are a student or  work from home.  My husband is a doctoral student and I work from home.  Thus, this has been a very trying time for us as we try to get the usual studies and tasks done without our usual resources.

We are very fortunate in that we have a generous community of friends willing to help by loaning us all kinds of equipment while we wait for our own to be found or re-purchased.  Interestingly, we have found that we like (and don’t like) certain features in laptops, keyboards, and mice as we have been trying to adapt to new set-ups.  

• We like our own stuff.  Everyone likes what they’re used to.  Thus, many times trying a new device is more of an adjustment issue.  Typing on a laptop is one thing- actually typing on your own laptop is one thing; typing on someone else's is quite another.  The keys might be in different places, they might be touchier and only require a swift tap, or conversely, as with older models, they may be rather hard-headed and need a good, firm press-down.  In general there's not an ideal keyboard that all people want- it's typically whatever you're used to and everything else requires time to get used to.
• My husband and I are both struggling to get used to using a netbook, which may be the tiniest thing I've ever seen.  I feel like Vector in Despicable Me and this laptop done got shrunk.  Even though I have relatively small hands, I still am somewhat like a bull in a china shop, hitting keys I never meant to and generally taking too long to type a normal document s as I have to study the keyboard to see where the short-cuts are and adapt my usual protocol.  My husband found that plugging in an ergonomic keyboard really helped him stretch out again and find the keys more easily.
• We both miss an external mouse.  For the sake of ease, it’s just nice to have a wireless mouse that you don’t accidentally maximize or minimize the screen with.  When your laptop screen is the size of a kindle, you can’t really afford to enlarge the screen shot accidentally.

Every typist is different and therefore has different needs in a keyboard.  The important thing about choosing an ergonomic keyboard and even mouse is to find the right fit that makes sense with your head, too.  

Have you ever experienced a theft?  I’ve lost or left my things behind before and that was bad enough.  But actually having someone creep into my house while my family and I were sleeping was a whole new level of depravity.  We noticed our laptops gone first and while we chatted with the police, mentally reviewing every document or picture we would probably never see again, we added my husband’s wallet, iPhone, car keys, and our family car to that list.  Since it was such an eye-opening experience, I thought I would share what we have learned in the hopes of saving you some of the loss we have incurred, especially with regard to your laptops. 

• Lock your doors.  Pretty obvious, but go ahead and lock your doors and even your windows.  Be especially watchful during nicer weather when you open windows more frequently and when kids go in and out a lot.  These are prime times for you to forget to close and lock and thieves know it,
• Back up your computer at least weekly.  This works best if you use an external hard drive that you keep somewhere different than your laptop/computer.  If both are in your backpack, for example, if your backpack is stolen you lose both and your back-up is worthless to you.   
• Back up your work online.  Another easy, faster option is to use a program like Drop Box.  This is ideal for writers and students who generate a lot of files that can easily be dropped into a secure file that is essentially online and safe from theft. 
• Install Covenant Eyes.  This accountability program is fantastic for holding users accountable for where they go online.  Covenant Eyes is great for making­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ sure no one strays where they shouldn't.  An added bonus is that if a robber tries to go online, Covenant Eyes can track the IP address and possibly help the police recover the stolen laptop!
• Invest in insurance.  If you lose your stuff, you'll wish you had.  Enough said.
• Keep good records.  This can be a hassle, but your insurance is worth very little if you can't prove what you had and how much it cost.  Fortunately, my husband scanned in our laptop receipts and can prove exactly what we have...I mean, had.
• Don't let thieves rob you of an ergonomic work station.  If all else fails and you have to get new laptops or accessories {even though they left my wireless mouse, its usb port was still inserted, so it's useless to me}, go ergonomic!  Just because you have to replace your equipment doesn't mean you should downgrade...or even buy exactly what you had.  Take this time to assess what you need {and even don't need} and make an ergonomic choice.  For me, I miss a full-sized keyboard and a wireless mouse.

Protecting yourself against stolen laptops and accessories is a matter of being proactive.  If you do have to replace your computer or accessories, make sure you go ergonomic for the best fit so the thieves don't rob you of a comfortable work experience!