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I work remotely 80-90 hours a week using my laptop (this is important: your screen needs to be mobile). Here's how I currently try to keep my body moving: - I

I work remotely 80-90 hours a week using my laptop (this is important: your screen needs to be mobile). Here's how I currently try to keep my body moving: - I don't have a desk or chair. I have a bar table and a stool. This makes a huge difference. I get uncomfortable sitting on the stool after about 30 minutes, so I get off. Then I'll stand at the bar table and work for an hour or two. When I get tired of that, I'll spend a minute or two doing a physical activity (see below). - I try to work from different physical places, e.g., cafes, different places in the house when nobody is home, the steps outside, the floor, the hammock hanging by the lake. I make it a game to come up with new and novel places to work from that don't require a lot of travel time (unless I'm walking—then it's well-spent travel time), anything to change the physical position of my body while working (and hopefully something that gets uncomfortable within an hour so I'm pushed to change again). - I have a sandbag next to the bar table that I'll pick up at random times throughout the day and do squats, deadlifts, bent-over rows, or just carry the 60lb thing up the stairs or out around the yard once. I'll also use it as a weight to hold my feet while I do sit-ups. I have a pull-up bar hanging between two trees outside. - I don't watch TV. In fact, I try to avoid anything that involves the sitting position. If I have to sit, I prefer the floor, or if I'm watching a movie or reading a book, I prefer laying down. If it's something for a few minutes and I can stand, I'll stand. I've been doing this for about a year now and it's the best I've ever felt while working this much. What I'd like to start mixing in are some runs or long walks, but right now it's a choice between those or getting sufficient sleep. I prioritize sleep.

Nition 9y ago
If you decide you want a comfortable chair for your 30 minutess of sitting, looking into drafting chairs. They're basically office chairs with the height of a bar stool.
WalterBright 9y ago
I locate equipment some upstairs, some in the basement, meaning I am always needing to go upstairs or downstairs.
kayoone 9y ago
getting uncomfortable within an hour sounds like a lot of interruption and overhead during a full day. I try to concentrate my activity: cycling to and from work, 1 hour workout 3 times a week before or after work. During the day i sit a lot though, but i try to stand whenever i can (meetings, coworker conversations, drinking a lot of water to have to go to the bathroom every 2 hours helps too ;)
- Moru 9y ago
  Be careful not to drink too much water though, your body needs the salt that gets flushed away :-)
  - dayjah 9y ago
    As a 3-4l of water/day type of person I have first hand encountered the lack of salt (cramps while I sleep) and also the solution: add salt to your diet. I makes the food taste nice to boot!
    - ljcn 9y ago
      That's pretty rare in the modern world - most people chronically consume too much salt. This recent (Apr 2017) interview[0] with Prof. Graham MacGregor[1] is really interesting on the topic of salt consumption. He says most people need add no extra salt to their food, relying instead on the small, naturally occurring amounts in the things we eat. I've done exactly this and noticed no ill effects (cramps, etc.). [0] http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08n2ltq http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08n2ltq [1] http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/about/Staff%20Profiles/42511.html http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/about/Staff%20Profiles/42511....
    - philipov 9y ago
      oooh, I wonder if that's why I sometimes get cramps while I sleep. I feel like if I stretch my legs too much while in bed, I could randomly get a cramp.
raverbashing 9y ago
Sounds good, but working on a laptop constantly makes Forward Head Posture much more likely
- s_kilk 9y ago
  Not to mention shoulder, arm, and wrist problems from typing on a small keyboard all day, with your head down.
  - Moru 9y ago
    Get a proper laptop with fullsize keys and a large enough screen to work on. For shoulders and back I suggest getting a bow and start with archery, has done wonders for me and much more fun than lifting weights!
    - aidenn0 9y ago
      That's still not good enough because you will either have chipmunk arms (i.e. hands at chin level) or will have to bend forward to look at the screen. There is a good selection of tenkeyless keyboards available that will fit in your laptop bag (get one with a microusb port rather than a fixed cable, as strain relief for a fixed-cable that's getting shoved in a bag is challenging). Then you just elevate your laptop (stack it on books, bags, whatever you have handy; I keep a few textbooks on my desk at home for this) and put the keyboard on your lap if sitting, or bar if standing. I wouldn't call it perfect, but it's mobile, affordable, and way better than a laptop alone IMO.
      - woodrowbarlow 9y ago
        > I keep a few textbooks on my desk at home for this ahhh, the $800 monitor stand. (i do the same.)
    - BeetleB 9y ago
      >Get a proper laptop with fullsize keys and a large enough screen to work on. No laptop in existence has a keyboard big enough for me. The smallest external keyboards I've used are probably larger than the largest laptop keyboards. It's not about the size of the keys. It's about the location with respect to your shoulders. Having to angle your arms inwards is not a good idea. Same for screen. If you're looking downwards, it's bad for your neck. Which is why I always use an external monitor.
bamboozled 9y ago
"I work remotely 80-90 hours a week" I think that's your problem right there, regardless of all the extra measures you're taking, that's mental.
- kwhitefoot 9y ago
  It's something that one can do at certain times in one's life, in certain circumstances. There was a period in my life when I worked eight hours in the office, commuted nearly an hour each way, had dinner, worked another four hours at home and did this for months on end. Not 80 hours but about 60 which in my opinion is still far too much in the long run. It was worth it for the results but I wouldn't, and quite possibly couldn't, do it now thirty years later. So it's not necessarily a problem unless it becomes an uncontrollable obsession or is forced on one.
- hycaria 9y ago
  Why are some people always suspicious of others who work a lot ? Genuine question as I don't have this kind of sensibility it seems.
  - empthought 9y ago
    People were imprisoned or killed because they advocated for an eight-hour work day. Though I think "I work 80-90 hours for myself on my own projects" would be received differently than "I work 80-90 hours for my employer."
  - mtberatwork 9y ago
    Working 16+ hour days is not sustainable in the long term and is counter productive. Usually when people say they work "80-90 hours a week" I take it with a grain of salt.
    - raamdev 9y ago
      Working 80-90 hours a week remotely with the freedom to work from an environment that you find relaxing is a lot different than working 80-90 hours a week in an office or dealing every day with the stresses of traffic and commuting. Yesterday I was laying in a hammock feeling the breeze come in off the lake and listening to the birds while working on my laptop. I couldn't work 80-90 hours a week if I didn't have the ability to look up from my laptop and instantly feel relaxed.
Grangar 9y ago
Working 80-90 hours doesn't seem healthy in its own right. Do you even have time to do anything else?
- busemann 9y ago
  In my experience with exaggerated statements like this, all kinds of more or less non-work related activities count as work for these people. Example from my formerboss: weekend get-aways with clients involving alcohol binges, strip-clubs and prostitutes were "work" by his standards.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

Nition 9y ago

If you decide you want a comfortable chair for your 30 minutess of sitting, looking into drafting chairs. They're basically office chairs with the height of a bar stool.

WalterBright 9y ago

I locate equipment some upstairs, some in the basement, meaning I am always needing to go upstairs or downstairs.

kayoone 9y ago

getting uncomfortable within an hour sounds like a lot of interruption and overhead during a full day. I try to concentrate my activity: cycling to and from work, 1 hour workout 3 times a week before or after work. During the day i sit a lot though, but i try to stand whenever i can (meetings, coworker conversations, drinking a lot of water to have to go to the bathroom every 2 hours helps too ;)

Moru 9y ago
Be careful not to drink too much water though, your body needs the salt that gets flushed away :-)
- dayjah 9y ago
  As a 3-4l of water/day type of person I have first hand encountered the lack of salt (cramps while I sleep) and also the solution: add salt to your diet. I makes the food taste nice to boot!
  - ljcn 9y ago
    That's pretty rare in the modern world - most people chronically consume too much salt. This recent (Apr 2017) interview[0] with Prof. Graham MacGregor[1] is really interesting on the topic of salt consumption. He says most people need add no extra salt to their food, relying instead on the small, naturally occurring amounts in the things we eat. I've done exactly this and noticed no ill effects (cramps, etc.). [0] http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08n2ltq http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08n2ltq [1] http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/about/Staff%20Profiles/42511.html http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/about/Staff%20Profiles/42511....
  - philipov 9y ago
    oooh, I wonder if that's why I sometimes get cramps while I sleep. I feel like if I stretch my legs too much while in bed, I could randomly get a cramp.

raverbashing 9y ago

Sounds good, but working on a laptop constantly makes Forward Head Posture much more likely

s_kilk 9y ago
Not to mention shoulder, arm, and wrist problems from typing on a small keyboard all day, with your head down.
- Moru 9y ago
  Get a proper laptop with fullsize keys and a large enough screen to work on. For shoulders and back I suggest getting a bow and start with archery, has done wonders for me and much more fun than lifting weights!
  - aidenn0 9y ago
    That's still not good enough because you will either have chipmunk arms (i.e. hands at chin level) or will have to bend forward to look at the screen. There is a good selection of tenkeyless keyboards available that will fit in your laptop bag (get one with a microusb port rather than a fixed cable, as strain relief for a fixed-cable that's getting shoved in a bag is challenging). Then you just elevate your laptop (stack it on books, bags, whatever you have handy; I keep a few textbooks on my desk at home for this) and put the keyboard on your lap if sitting, or bar if standing. I wouldn't call it perfect, but it's mobile, affordable, and way better than a laptop alone IMO.
    - woodrowbarlow 9y ago
      > I keep a few textbooks on my desk at home for this ahhh, the $800 monitor stand. (i do the same.)
  - BeetleB 9y ago
    >Get a proper laptop with fullsize keys and a large enough screen to work on. No laptop in existence has a keyboard big enough for me. The smallest external keyboards I've used are probably larger than the largest laptop keyboards. It's not about the size of the keys. It's about the location with respect to your shoulders. Having to angle your arms inwards is not a good idea. Same for screen. If you're looking downwards, it's bad for your neck. Which is why I always use an external monitor.

bamboozled 9y ago

"I work remotely 80-90 hours a week" I think that's your problem right there, regardless of all the extra measures you're taking, that's mental.

kwhitefoot 9y ago
It's something that one can do at certain times in one's life, in certain circumstances. There was a period in my life when I worked eight hours in the office, commuted nearly an hour each way, had dinner, worked another four hours at home and did this for months on end. Not 80 hours but about 60 which in my opinion is still far too much in the long run. It was worth it for the results but I wouldn't, and quite possibly couldn't, do it now thirty years later. So it's not necessarily a problem unless it becomes an uncontrollable obsession or is forced on one.
hycaria 9y ago
Why are some people always suspicious of others who work a lot ? Genuine question as I don't have this kind of sensibility it seems.
- empthought 9y ago
  People were imprisoned or killed because they advocated for an eight-hour work day. Though I think "I work 80-90 hours for myself on my own projects" would be received differently than "I work 80-90 hours for my employer."
- mtberatwork 9y ago
  Working 16+ hour days is not sustainable in the long term and is counter productive. Usually when people say they work "80-90 hours a week" I take it with a grain of salt.
  - raamdev 9y ago
    Working 80-90 hours a week remotely with the freedom to work from an environment that you find relaxing is a lot different than working 80-90 hours a week in an office or dealing every day with the stresses of traffic and commuting. Yesterday I was laying in a hammock feeling the breeze come in off the lake and listening to the birds while working on my laptop. I couldn't work 80-90 hours a week if I didn't have the ability to look up from my laptop and instantly feel relaxed.

Grangar 9y ago

Working 80-90 hours doesn't seem healthy in its own right. Do you even have time to do anything else?

busemann 9y ago
In my experience with exaggerated statements like this, all kinds of more or less non-work related activities count as work for these people. Example from my formerboss: weekend get-aways with clients involving alcohol binges, strip-clubs and prostitutes were "work" by his standards.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]