If you’re reading this blog, you probably use a computer for at least a couple hours a day. As a computer science and philosophy student, I spend a lot of time writing programs and even more time writing papers. I must spend at least three hours a day in front of a computer screen, and this number is only going to increase in the foreseeable future. In your lifetime, you will literally spend years emailing, typing, clicking and watching garbage on YouTube. Have you thought about the long term effects of this behavior? Have you ever asked yourself if there was anything you could do to make using a computer less stressful, or healthier in other ways? Here are a few practices of mine that I have found make using my computer healthier for me and better for the environment. (Keep in mind that I live in a dorm-style apartment, so I have a small Ikea desk that couldn’t be placed near a window.)

1. Keep it clean.

   When I’m not using my computer, I want my display to act as a 24″ picture frame. This doesn’t work if your desktop is cluttered with documents, folders, and “Try AOL FREE! for 90 days” icons. To force yourself to keep your desktop clean, turn your icon sizes up; this will encourage you to make decisions about where items should go (e.g. trash, Documents folder) and it will make it hard to let files linger on your desktop because you simply won’t have enough room.

   As a rule of thumb, if there’s something on my desktop that I never click on, I get rid of it; there’s no reason for me to be staring at it all day long when I could be looking at a beautiful picture instead. Mac users, look at your Dock—is there anything there you don’t click on? Drag it off. Windows users, look at your desktop—do you still have your iTunes installer from when you installed iTunes months ago? Trash it. Linux users, do you really need all of those applets in your panels? Can you consolidate to just one panel? I bet you can.

   A large LCD screen will increase your productivity tremendously. I got this one on Craigslist for 50% off retail.

2. 86 the wires.

   This $49 ergonomic wireless keyboard/mouse combo helps keep things tidy by keeping wires off my desk. When I’m not using the computer, I can hide the keyboard and mouse under my display or under the desk. Also, the keys are easy to press and very quiet.

3. Shed some light on it.

   This desk lamp has six articulating joints and uses LEDs to provide energy-efficient, low heat, bright, white light. This allows me to illuminate just what I’m working on instead of wasting energy heating the entire room.

4. The pen is mightier than the Pentium.

   I use a pad of graph paper as a mousepad so I always have somewhere to jot down ideas. Also, if my computer breaks, I can use it as a rudimentary word processor and graphing calculator.




5. Sit up straight.

   This monitor stand puts my display up in the air so I can sit up straight, moving the monitor to where my face is and not vice versa. This also helps keep my desk clear—it’s all about getting that Chi flowing.

6. Hide the computer.

   Can’t see my computer? Neither can I (it’s a MacBook hiding on a surface under my desk). These ports on the side of my display let me sync my iPod and camera without having to go under the desk.

   If your computer is sitting on top of your desk, ask yourself if that’s the most appropriate place for it. I know that if I had a large, ugly plastic box with noisy fans and blinking lights staring me in the face all day, I would be stressed out and less able to think clearly. Clear desktop, clear desk, clear mind.

Here are a few more tips. I don’t have any pictures for these:

• Turn your computer off.

  If your computer is off, you won’t be as tempted to check your email at 3 AM. More importantly, you’ll make friends with Captain Planet.

• One inbox to rule them all.

  Just because you have multiple email addresses doesn’t mean you have to waste time checking your email in as many different places. I forward all of my email to Gmail so I can check it all from one place. Gmail can filter your email to keep emails from different accounts separate, and Gmail will also let you respond to emails using the same address that the email was send to. For example, say Bob sends me an email at dave@work.com, and Sue sends me an email at dave@play.org. When I respond to Bob, he will get an email from dave@work.com, and when I respond to Sue, she will get an email from dave@play.org, even though both of these responses were sent from Gmail.

• Stop browsing.

  Use a news reader like Google Reader to read all of your favorite websites in one place. News readers show you new content, so you don’t waste time browsing to see if websites have been updated.

• Use free software.*

  Imagine never having to buy software ever again, and never having to stand being treated like a criminal by large corporations ever again. When you use free software, there are no serial numbers, upgrade costs, or license agreements that take your rights away. You can try it right now: download OpenOffice for a free office suite that you can install on any computer you own as many times as you want, with free upgrades for life. Feel free to share it with friends, too.

*This post was written on Ubuntu, using Vim to edit the text and GIMP to edit the pictures. This website is hosted on a server running GNU/Linux.