0:03 hello there all my lovely humans welcome
0:05 back to my daily channel illustrating
0:07 failure if you are new here my name is
0:09 janie and i'm just a
0:12 new art school grad trying to just make
0:13 it through the world
0:16 of freelancing and just life in general
0:18 if you want to know a little bit more
0:20 about me and why i started this daily
0:21 tryhard channel
0:24 feel free to check out my intro video up here
0:25 here
0:27 where i explain a little bit more about why
0:28 why
0:31 i'm doing all of this and so today is
0:33 monday again and we're back with another
0:36 self-care mondays
0:39 and so today's video is kind of a part
0:40 two to my
0:43 artist managing wrist pain video that i
0:44 did like
0:47 a few weeks back just a recap on
0:51 me managing my wrist pain um so about
0:52 five years ago
0:55 i was diagnosed with tendonitis when i
0:57 did this really repetitive task
1:00 at this job that i was working at the time
1:01 time
1:04 and so the moral of that is to never like
1:04 like
1:07 push your body too much
1:10 for any job because injuries you
1:12 take with you for the rest of your life and
1:13 and
1:15 no amount of money can fix it sometimes
1:17 but anyways after that
1:20 um it's been a lot about managing the injury
1:21 injury
1:24 but in my final year of art school i
1:25 really push myself
1:28 way too hard and so that kind of
1:30 progressed into a carpal tunnel
1:32 um and so that was like a really big
1:34 wake-up call because i had been doing
1:35 stretches before
1:38 but um i wasn't taking it as seriously
1:40 as i should have
1:43 to prevent my injury from progressing
1:44 this far
1:47 and so it's been an uphill battle since
1:48 then to
1:50 try to manage the injury so that i can
1:51 keep on like you know
1:53 putting in my best and to keep on working
1:54 working
1:57 and doing what i love as an artist and
2:00 you know just keep on working in general
2:02 and so in my last video i went through a
2:05 number of stretches that i do at my desk
2:08 to prevent further injury and to manage
2:09 my injury
2:12 those are really good stretches that i
2:14 kind of like compiled from like a number
2:17 of like videos and also um like
2:20 doctor tips together so definitely check
2:22 that out if you are looking for some
2:23 stretches to do at your desk
2:25 and so even though i'm coming at this
2:27 from a point of view of an artist
2:30 um this information can definitely be
2:31 applied to
2:33 pretty much anyone who works at a desk
2:35 for long periods of time
2:37 and so today i'm going to be diving into
2:39 the ergonomic side of things to protect
2:40 your hands from
2:44 um injuries and so honestly i wasn't really
2:44 really
2:47 into ergonomics until maybe like a month ago
2:48 ago
2:50 like right before i started all of this um
2:51 um
2:53 because i was trying to figure out
2:55 different ways to managing my injury
2:58 and i'm gonna be like brutally honest
3:00 with you like
3:03 doing the ergonomic um stuff like not
3:05 just having the ergonomic things
3:08 but actually like doing um having the
3:10 ergonomic positions while i work
3:12 has been like night and day for me so
3:14 i'm gonna share some resources and i'm
3:16 gonna show you guys my setup
3:18 and so for the first part of the video
3:20 i'm gonna go through my
3:22 setup here in my studio and for the
3:24 second part of the video i'm gonna go
3:26 through some important ergonomic tips
3:28 like while you're working
3:30 both for like desk work and for um
3:32 drawing as an artist
3:34 for the third section and most important
3:36 section i'm gonna go through which of the
3:36 the
3:39 um ergonomic equipment was actually the
3:42 most helpful to me because
3:43 um i know that like a lot of these
3:46 ergonomic things are
3:49 pricey and so like it's good to know
3:49 like which
3:52 is best to invest in and so yeah without
3:53 further ado
3:56 let's get started hey guys so i have my
3:57 setup here
4:00 um so i have my ergonomic keyboard
4:03 and i have my ergonomic mouse a regular mouse
4:04 mouse
4:08 and also like this arm rest here
4:12 as well and then i have
4:14 this back cushion for some lumber support
4:16 support
4:19 so this keyboard is a curved keyboard
4:22 and like the keys like are slightly
4:23 slanted so that
4:26 um it is easier and like more
4:30 natural for your hand to like type because
4:30 because
4:32 otherwise like we're usually typing like
4:33 this which puts a strain
4:37 on our wrists and then also like
4:40 this mouse it's a vertical mouse it's the
4:40 the
4:43 mx vertical and this is the
4:47 logitech ergo k860
4:51 and so this vertical mouse also um it's
4:52 supposed to be like
4:55 more contoured to the natural shape and
4:56 rest position
4:58 of your hands so that way like you're
4:59 not straining it
5:03 quite as much and then i also have like
5:07 this armrest here um the armrest i
5:09 really like it because
5:11 sometimes like if i'm like working and
5:13 stuff i like to have
5:16 that support on my arm when i
5:19 need to rest it because otherwise like
5:21 like i'm just like constantly straining
5:23 and we don't want to put any more strain
5:25 on our arms more than
5:29 we need to and i also have like
5:33 this um cushion here for lumber support
5:35 and i also have like a butt cushion as
5:37 well i think this is for like
5:39 tailbone support because i was having
5:41 some tailbone pain
5:42 for a little while i know i'm like
5:44 starting to get old i'm getting like all
5:45 these pains
5:48 but it's been helpful for me so far so i
5:49 enjoy my cushion
5:51 and so for this next part it's about
5:53 ergonomic positioning
5:56 um honestly like i didn't start doing this
5:56 this
5:59 until maybe like a month or two ago when
6:00 i was like
6:04 really desperate and finding anything
6:07 something to help me manage my wrist
6:08 pain because i knew that i was doing
6:10 something wrong because it was just so painful
6:11 painful
6:14 for me to type or to do any sort of work
6:17 but finding videos about ergonomics and
6:18 like actually
6:20 hearing them um has been like a really
6:21 big part
6:23 in helping me manage and preventing
6:24 further wrist
6:28 injuries at my desk first off i'm gonna
6:28 go through
6:32 keyboard positioning so before
6:34 i have like i have like this keyboard
6:35 which came with my
6:38 imac and i kind of just had it like
6:42 in this corner um under my imac
6:44 and i was typing like this because i was
6:46 using like this whole section
6:48 um for my art and so i'd have my
6:50 sketchbooks here i have like
6:52 all my other work here and so when it
6:54 comes to emails and other things
6:56 i would be like typing over here doing promos
6:57 promos
6:59 responding to things or if i'm like
7:00 writing proposals
7:03 it's all over here and i thought like
7:05 this was okay because like i'm keeping my
7:06 my
7:10 arm straight but no that is
7:12 not that is not the right position for
7:13 your hand and it was actually like
7:15 adding the most strain to my wrist without
7:16 without
7:19 me even knowing it and so after watching
7:20 some videos i found out that you're
7:22 actually supposed to have it like
7:25 close to you here and then your arm
7:26 should be at like a
7:30 90 degree angle
7:34 90 degrees for when you're typing
7:36 and like that is like the best position um
7:37 um
7:40 for like your arm to rest and also when
7:41 you're typing
7:43 um you're supposed to have like floating
7:46 wrist and not like typing like this
7:50 no no none of this i was doing a lot of
7:54 this without i could i could feel it if
7:56 i don't do it right just right now too
7:59 um yeah so you're supposed to keep it floating
8:00 floating
8:02 um arms straight i think it's even
8:04 better if i'm like slightly like higher up
8:05 up
8:07 and so like everything is kept straight
8:09 and i'm typing
8:11 like this and so before i figured out
8:13 the ergonomics um i was just trying to buy
8:13 buy
8:16 ergonomic things and so i purchased like
8:18 this keyboard which has like the
8:20 slanted keys as i showed you guys earlier
8:21 earlier
8:23 and i think this keyboard does actually
8:25 really help me
8:28 um it does feel more natural as
8:31 i'm typing even like in the more like
8:32 ergonomic position
8:36 like just having the angles um
8:38 is actually super helpful but see this
8:39 cushion here you're not actually
8:40 supposed to like
8:43 rest your arms or wrists on it as you type
8:43 type
8:46 that's wrist support is actually just for
8:47 for
8:49 when you're resting between typing and
8:51 then afterwards you go back to the
8:52 hovering position
8:55 and then for the mouse i have like
8:57 this is like my old mouse that like i
8:59 used to use for my laptop
9:00 and you're supposed to also have like
9:02 the same like hovering
9:06 uh hand so it's like 90 degrees and then
9:10 you know you're hovering not like this
9:13 with your wrist like this but like actually
9:14 actually
9:16 um hovering up and then you're going
9:17 with your whole
9:20 arm at 90 degrees and then also like if
9:22 you do have like some kind of like
9:25 wrist pad or like some cushion here
9:26 that's like for
9:29 rest as well it's not for you to um
9:32 you know rely on to um
9:35 use the mouse with and so this here is
9:37 like for me to have that
9:39 extra support like when i am resting for
9:41 some artist stuff
9:44 um so for drawing i have this box
9:46 which looks like kind of ghetto but it actually
9:47 actually
9:51 really helps me and so i put my ipad
9:54 on here like this and so this is pretty
9:56 much the same concept as like a drafting table
9:58 table
10:00 um or like just any sort of little platform
10:01 platform
10:02 just so that i don't have to like lean
10:05 over like this
10:08 onto the table and then strain my upper back
10:08 back
10:11 but here having this is really good
10:18 and also when you're drawing um try not
10:21 to like use your wrist
10:23 to do like the motions because that's
10:25 like actually quite straining for your
10:26 wrist so like
10:29 it's really hard to um change your habits
10:30 habits
10:33 but if you can like it is the best to
10:34 try to like
10:36 use your whole arm when you draw versus like
10:37 like
10:41 just because that like causes like little
10:41 little
10:43 tensions like to that wrist and like
10:45 adds like strain
10:49 so try to like use your whole arm
10:52 and so i think ideally like we would be working
10:53 working
10:56 at an angle all the time so we can use
10:58 our whole arm and it'll be a lot easier
11:00 but you know if you only have like a
11:02 flat surface i think like
11:06 still trying to use your arm itself like
11:07 your whole arm itself
11:10 is very beneficial for your drawing habits
11:11 habits
11:14 and like if you do have like a larger
11:16 cardboard box or something you can like
11:19 do like a makeshift thing we find our ways
11:19 ways
11:22 maybe something underneath here can keep
11:23 this at an
11:26 angle this is almost like animal
11:28 crossing where you use like cardboard boxes
11:28 boxes
11:32 to make stuff when you first move in but
11:34 hey if it works also you should try to keep
11:35 keep
11:37 both feet on the ground flat in addition
11:39 to like the other postures
11:41 as well to have the least amount of
11:42 strain on your body and so for this
11:43 third part i'm gonna
11:47 go through what i feel about buying like
11:48 all this stuff
11:51 for like my ergonomic setup and my desk
11:53 and so i'm gonna be honest with you that
11:54 the keyboard
11:56 and the mouse and even like the back cushion
11:57 cushion
12:01 was not cheap to buy
12:04 for my office setup for me
12:08 personally i was in a position to
12:12 spend the extra money on these things so
12:16 i chose to make that investment because
12:17 um this is where i'm gonna be working
12:19 most of the time and like
12:22 i was at such you know like i was like
12:24 back into a corner with like my wrist
12:25 pain so i was just
12:29 doing anything i physically possibly can
12:32 to try to prevent myself from you know
12:35 aggravating my injuries
12:38 and so i think if you were to choose between
12:39 between
12:42 um the keyboard versus the mouse i think
12:44 the keyboard actually
12:46 helps me a lot more than the mouse itself
12:48 itself
12:50 i purchased this mouse because actually
12:51 my roommate
12:53 she was having some wrist pain like
12:55 earlier this year
12:57 and she purchased the smells first and
12:59 she said it really helped her
13:01 and i think in the beginning it really
13:02 helped me
13:04 but then after a while like maybe it's
13:06 my positioning or it's just
13:09 my arm is just adjusting to it
13:12 um and then injuring itself further
13:13 after i adjusted to it
13:17 but i think it does um cause me pain
13:20 like from the middle middle down for
13:23 my hand whereas like the regular mouse
13:24 it causes me
13:34 but i think my best solution that i
13:36 found was to kind of like
13:39 um alternate between the two of them for me
13:40 me
13:43 um i think this like just having this
13:44 mouse here this is actually like a
13:46 really good mouse this is the
13:49 m325 it's a 20 mouse really cheap
13:51 and just actually doing the correct
13:54 ergonomic positioning for this
13:56 has made more of a difference in terms of
13:57 of
14:00 my wrist pain than this
14:03 ergonomic vertical mouse has just gonna
14:04 be honest with you
14:08 and like this back cushion like it's
14:10 definitely helped me with my back pain
14:12 when i'm like resting
14:13 but i think a lot of the time i'm like
14:15 leaning forward anyways so like
14:18 this doesn't help me as much but if
14:20 you're someone who like leans back a lot
14:22 and you don't have a lot of back support
14:25 i definitely would recommend this
14:29 yes so my final verdict is that more so
14:30 than having
14:32 um the ergonomic equipment it's about
14:33 like having
14:37 like just being a mindful of like
14:40 your ergonomic like hand positions will make
14:40 make
14:43 a bigger difference for you than like
14:44 just buying the stuff
14:46 and then you know like not using it correctly
14:48 correctly
14:51 um i bought this before i realized that
14:52 you're supposed to
14:55 there's like a ergonomic way of like sitting
14:56 sitting
14:58 and like typing and all of that so this
15:00 definitely did not help me
15:03 um when i didn't do the ergonomic
15:04 positions along with
15:07 it but it was definitely like doing both
15:07 of them
15:10 at the same time that like has made a
15:12 huge like night and day difference
15:16 between me being able to
15:19 type emails and like write proposals
15:19 versus me
15:23 just like in constant pain from just
15:26 doing nothing honestly sometimes like
15:27 the pain really builds up
15:31 so yeah please take care of your wrists and
15:32 and
15:34 your hands and try to like keep the posturing
15:36 posturing
15:38 to the best of your abilities it'll be
15:40 hard to like remember at first
15:43 but you know honestly like it's
15:46 it's so important to do so so just keep
15:47 on reminding yourself
15:49 and like back in the correct place and
15:52 honestly in terms of managing wrist pain
15:56 it all works um the best in synergy
15:59 along with like the wrist stretches
16:02 and breaks in between your working and
16:04 also like just doing some
16:08 activity in your day when you can
16:09 and you know just trying to like
16:12 strengthen your arms at the same time so
16:14 that you can just
16:16 keep on going and so yeah thank you so
16:17 much you guys for
16:21 watching um i hope you guys like
16:23 learn something or like got some hot tips
16:24 tips
16:27 on you know a good healthy setup for
16:30 your arm so that you can keep on going
16:32 whether you are an artist or just you
16:33 know you're just working on your desk
16:34 all the time
16:36 and feel free to check out my other
16:38 video where i go through a bunch of
16:41 stretches that i do at my desk to keep
16:42 the wrist pain
16:46 at bay so that we can just keep on going
16:49 and so yeah i included some links to some
16:50 some
16:53 physiotherapy like ergonomic
16:56 people below so feel free to check those
16:58 out and so if you like this video please
17:00 remember to leave me a thumbs up
17:01 and if you want to hang out more in the
17:04 future i got some other hot tips
17:06 and you know just a lot of trying hard
17:07 to survive
17:11 in this world of art freelancing
17:13 life in general just hit that subscribe
17:15 button and i will
17:19 see you tomorrow on illustrating philia bye
