By switching your mouse to your off-hand, you can spread the wear and tear for pointing and clicking.
As a right-handed computer user, my right index finger and thumb gets tired sometimes. If I were to continue to use my mouse in the “ready to work” position with my right hand, I could develop carpel tunnel syndrome. Usually, one’s body is able to warn the mind that he or she is doing a repetitive and long-term health threatening action by sending consistent-yet-small shooting pain signals. If the signals get too strong, you know you probably have gone too far and may need medical attention. But tiny signals usually mean that a change in behavior can help avert a long-term repetitive motion injury. The key is listening to one’s body and not treating your body like it’s a tool to achieve some sort of goal. Our bodies and our minds are part of a system which should work in harmony. Anything less is inefficient and can lead to discomfort.
So today I changed my mouse from the right side of my keyboard…to the left side. In order to invert the right and left mouse buttons I went into:
1st – go to the control panel.
2nd – go to the section called, “mouse”
3rd – select your mouse and if it is a good-quality mouse it should have options for changing the left and the right click buttons. I switched the left-mouse button to become the right click…and then I changed the right-mouse button to be the left-click.
4th – press apply with your normal clicking method and then…voila!!! The changeup is complete!
Changing what you do with your primary hand and giving those jobs to your off-hand is a great way to build ambidexterity as well as brain-hemisphere communication. Since the right and left hands have affiliations with their opposite-respective brain hemispheres, changing-up work and tasks can add some spice to the neural pathways. It’s a physical way of telling your body, “Hey! Let’s not be so monotonous about life. Today the ice-cream maker is going to do the chili-dog servers job and vice-versa. This way the different sides of the brain will have a better idea of each others jobs and how best to communicate to get work done.
Also, a dexterity changeup is a great technique for symmetrical musicians such as piano, organ and harp players.
-Tyler