Dennis Lewis has given a valuable exercise to maintain presence while lost in the info-fog:

"Something that I do is to take a few minutes every half an hour or so when I'm in front of the computer, rub my hands together until they are very warm, and then put them on my belly in the area of the navel and just below. I then just sense the warmth and energy coming from my hands spreading through the entire abdominal region all the way back to the spine. If you pay attention to your breathing as you try this, you will notice that your breath becomes a bit more relaxed and open, and spontaneously a bit fuller.

One of the things that happens when we concentrate too long visually on something, especially a computer screen, is that the diaphragm begins to become more restricted and moves less. Over time this restriction in our breathing has powerful deleterious mental, emotional, and physical results. This simple exercise will counter that physiological response and remind us that we have a body and that it is important to sense it, including our breathing. It will also help take us back into our center of gravity in the lower abdomen and make it much more possible both to concentrate on and not get identified with what we are doing."

Dennis Lewis
http://www.dennislewis.org/

I got such bad RSI ten years ago that I permanently adopted the habit of getting up and walking around while typing at my computer -- otherwise my whole back seizes up.

Ironically, I'm working from home today, which means my laptop perched on my lap, the least ergonomic way to work possible.

Clive, Your comments regarding breathing and guitar playing are fascinating. I know that test pilots and athletes learn disciplined breathing approaches, just as you have, as a musician. My hunch is that, 10 years from now, we'll all take breathing a lot more seriously as both a disciplined exercise and as a key to general health.

You ask, "Why are we holding our breath when we do email?" In the same spirit of hypothesis -- there's a sense of anticipation. Anticipation is sometimes preceded by a sigh, and generally preceded by an intake of breath, then a short breath hold. In cases of surprise and what we might refer to as "mental fight or flight" (ohmygosh, I should have called that person yesterday, need to do these 3 things before 10 a.m., etc.), we are apt to hold our breath longer. There are two other behaviors that play into this. First, we're SITTING, not moving. In motion, we "burn off" fight or flight resources. Secondly, our posture at the computer (as other commenters have also noted) is likely to restrict breathing -- head forward, shoulders forward, arms forward, chest caved in. The odds are rarely lined up for us to resume breathing, especially an optimal, healthy breathing pattern. The beauty of all this, is that awareness and intention can make a difference -- in the same way that athletes, pilots and musicians use a breathing (and posture) discipline to do what they do better.

Yes, that makes sense! Particularly the ohmygosh, I should have called that person yesterday, need to do these 3 things before 10 a.m., etc. stuff. An email inbox is fiendishly good at triggering what David Allen calls "open loops" -- moments of anxiety provoked by a reminder of an unfinished task -- which is precisely the motivation behind the inbox zero movement. I'm one of those freaks who permanently archives all email, so my inbox has about 15,000 emails in it, a total so high it moves from being merely bad into the category of cardiac.

I should also point out that my current posture is awful: I'm working from home, with my laptop perched on my lap. (Though at my office I have a really good chair and, most importantly of all, a keyboard tray with a full range of movement on all three axes!)

Your point about breathing is, indeed, totally key. I wouldn't be surprised if breathing exercises become de rigeur for cubicle-dwellers. And at the risk of suggesting that more technology is a solution for problems that technology itself has created, some of the advances in "affective computing" -- having computers detect the emotional and physiological states of their users -- could be useful here: i.e. your software notices when you're holding your breath and reminds you to breathe.

By the way, I should point out that my description of the guitar-playing-breathing thing isn't necessarily linked to relaxation -- though obviously musicians do sometimes breathe to help themselves relax.

It occurred to me that the technique of using a breath -- drawn and exhaled -- to measure a phrase in a solo is also a technique for introducing a slightly edge stress-like tension into your playing. Because when you get to the end of your exhale, you've got no more air in your lungs, and you want to inhale ... but you might not quite be done what you're trying to do on the fretboard. Your sudden urgent need to draw a breath can inject a usefully frantic note of tension into your playing!

Breathing and emotion are SO closely related. Thus, a breathing discipline for musicians, athletes, pilots -- it makes sense. It's "commutative--" breathing determines emotion, and it is also true that emotion determines breathing. By learning the breathng technique for guitar-playing, I think you are probably, whether intentional or not, introducing more emotion and passion into the play.

I'm not sure I would make a judgment that inbox zero is good/bad or 15K emails archives is good/bad. It's one's attitude toward it -- does it create comfort to know that everythng is there and can be searched easily? Does it create stress to see it all. Maybe if we're breathing optimally, we'll feel fine either way.

On posture: a couple of the folks I interviewed suggested that when standing at the computer (an argument for an adjustable height desk) our posture is more conducive to healthier breathing. My guess is that, in any case, these same folks would advocate for a separate keyboard and computer support of some sort when using a laptop for long periods of time as the laptop keyboard/screen relationship encourages poor posture.

And I agree -- while remembering to breathe is a low tech solution, there are likely to be some fun and interesting high tech solutions as well.

Clive, I think you hit on something here when you said
"Or is it because we're preparing to vocalize -- i.e. that email triggers the mental rhythms of conversation and self-presentation, so we're taking a deep breath so we can "talk" uninterrupted for 20 seconds or so?"

I don't think it is a "symptom of some form of performance anxiety" though. I question if it isn't that emailing is a lot like talking to someone so I think the unconscious breathing related to listening and speaking may be engaging. Watch how you respond when listening to someone when you want to say your response. I bet we hold our breaths at that time too.

I too have my laptop on my lap as I write this! But I am breathing deeply!!

Viv, yeah, I'm going to try to pay attention to the length of time I'm breathing and/or holding my breath in conversation, vs. writing email. (Actually, I just noticed I was holding my breath writing this note.)

I'm glad you're breathing while writing!