I’m pretty much fine with my low-profile, low-impact (scissor-switch) keyboards, it’s definitely the mouse which is the worst offender for my RSI. I’m considering one of the Wacom Bamboo 2 touch pads after I upgrade to Windows 7.

if you’ve never looked into the kinesis contoured (specifically “CONTOURED”, they sell other traditional key layouts too for some crazy reason) keyboards…..i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend those. my most valued piece of hardware of all time. only takes a few hours to adjust to the thumb keys (for me anyways), and was immediately comfortable for my fingers. all my carpal tunnel problems went away and there are numerous other aspects of my computing life that has been improved by this keyboard. quite expensive, but well worth it.

@Shadow007: oh yes, quitting my job and running my business definitely had an impact, both because there’s a bit more pressure, I became the only one regulating my work patterns (no manager to tell me when I’m overdoing it, although my wife tried), and because working from home blurs the work/recreation boundary. Sick leave and holidays are very, very hard to take and there’s always more to be done.

But, I don’t regret it one bit. I prefer what I do now, and when things did go pear-shaped I could adjust my work patterns around my recovery. I guess a good employer would have done the same and I could have been on extended sick leave, but that would probably have driven me nuts anyway. At least I had the flexibility to do what I could, when I could, and enjoyed what I was doing. I also get to call the shots – what projects to take, what to drop etc – which has been invaluable. So all in all, it’s clearly not ideal to have health issues when you’re self-employed, but there’s a positive side to it too.

In the sametime, how do you feel (with a little retrospect) about your decision to quit your previous fulltime job to start your own venture ?

Do you think it contributed to you getting off balance, or that it was one first step in the right direction ?