Five (Non—Medical) Books That Help You Cope with RSI
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
- The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
- The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
- Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
AFFILIATE LINK DISCLOSURE: this blog uses affiliate links. I have reviewed each of these products independently, recommend them, and have used them in my daily life. When you purchase a product using the links provided on my website and social media, I am paid a commission from those product companies.
Hi and welcome to myrsilife.com! In this post I’ll discuss some of the most impactful books that have helped me along my RSI recovery journey. Each of these books helped me progress along my RSI recovery journey in one way or another. Hope you enjoy!
1. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
First on the list we have The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. When I first got computer-related RSI injuries, I suddenly took a higher interest in the habits that had gotten me injured and were keeping me that way. This book starts out by explaining how habits are formed in human brains, and why they seem to stick. Once the author establishes this biological understanding, he talks about some practical ways that readers can interrupt the habit loops that are negatively impacting their lives. This was the perfect book for helping me learn how to identify the triggers, routines, and rewards that my brain kept itself attached to, and the author gave some excellent strategies for helping to break those habits and replace them with healthy ones.
2. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Next up for book #2 I chose The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. One of the main ideas presented in this book is that “nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems”. I think this is a great message for folks with computer-related RSI. Yes, it is a money book, and dedicates many pages to investing, but it also talks about how human brains tend to over-dramatize basically everything that is happening to us in a given moment. The book discusses how our brains are biased, influenced by a great many things beyond our control, and that a lot of success, failures, and outcomes in general are due purely to luck. So there’s no need to keep beating yourself up over perceived wrong decisions! Overall, it’s a super interesting read and a good reminder that in the long run things are very likely to turn out just fine.
3. The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
The third book that I recommend is probably the most popular one on this list, and it’s The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss. This book to me was the perfect read to help me get out of a rut that my recent RSI injury put me in. It talks about how to think of creative ways to use your time efficiently and to create sources of passive income, and it talks a lot about how to make those sources scalable as well as outsourcing. In the long term, recovery from computer-related RSI typically involves some change in the way you work and earn a living. Some of Ferriss’ ideas and suggestions kick started my brain into thinking about ways to succeed financially and progress in my career, despite my injury. Your career is more flexible than you imagine! Not only that, but it also provides one of the most useful tips for RSI sufferers I think, and that is to get a virtual assistant. If you can’t use your hands to do your job at a computer, perhaps you could hire someone to do that for you. Computers can be operated remotely from anywhere in the world and for fee or hourly rate, you can hire someone to follow your exact instructions and do what work you need done on the computer. The 4-Hour Work Week is a must read for anyone who wants or needs to make a change in their career, including computer-related RSI sufferers.
4. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
My next recommendation is The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. This book has some great advice and examples for navigating social arenas, reading people’s body language, and being able to identify ways to get what you need when you feel stuck by using your knowledge of human behavior and human nature. The best way to be content and confident in a career is by being flexible. Flexibility is power. You can attain more flexibility for yourself by understanding how power works. I found that some of the strategies described in this book are totally applicable to the workplace, and the art of persuasion and understanding people’s unspoken desires can make your life as an RSI sufferer much easier when it comes to getting what you need from your employer and from your care providers. It is also a very entertaining read, and has tons of examples from history. This is great book for you if you are a fan of history like I am. Having computer-related RSI and being unable to work can make you feel completely powerless. That is one of the worst feelings in the world, the feeling of powerlessness. That is why recommend this book, because you can begin to overcome your feelings of powerlessness by studying the Laws of Power.
5. Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Finally, book recommendation #5 is Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. This one is all about meditation (specifically Vipassana meditation). I highly recommend this book and meditation practice to RSI sufferers because you’re probably like me in that your mind has difficulty calming down. Recovering workaholics like me have a hard time not thinking about work or the Hussle, we get really focused on just one thing for really long time, have a tendency to ruminate, and before my injury I remember I had almost zero awareness of my mood, my stress level, and my physical body. The type of meditation described in this book helps you develop the practice of mindfulness and loving kindness. Daily meditation has health benefits as well: it can increase your attention span, strengthen your willpower, relieve stress, and help you become more self-aware. This book was essential to kicking off my journey to RSI recovery. Practicing mindfulness has helped me identify the harmful things that I was unwittingly doing in the habits that I built over long periods of time.
Conclusion
Thanks again for reading! If you are on a recovery journey from RSI I would love to hear your reading list. Feel free to put it in the comment section below.
Affiliate links to the recommended audiobooks:
Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
For those interested in using a computer HANDS-FREE, check out Dragon Dictation and the 3DRudder Footmouse! And check out my video on my Tops 5 hands-free computer tips for RSI
Banner photo credit: https://www.pexels.com/@yankrukov