I have a new desk chair. I haven’t thought much about chairs lately, but I got to think a lot about them recently. But as I mentioned in The Spend Nothing Game Part 2: Planning For The Unexpected, you don’t always get to pick when you’re going to have to spend money.
My old chair broke. It was one of those good looking but uncomfortable wooden desk chairs. I found that I perched on it, rather than sat back in it. And after five or more hours in a morning writing session, it was very uncomfortable. But I soldiered through.
Until Sunday, when I was sitting on it and typing, one of the casters and legs gave way and broke. I got a nasty jolt that immediately made my back flair up. I’m always on the verge of significant back pain from arthritis, and this sent me over the edge. I examined the broken leg and caster. It might have been possible to repair it, but it would have always been suspect and probably would have broken again.
So I went chair shopping. I started out with the big comfy chairs, leather and memory foam. I wanted comfort. They call them “executive” or “manager” chairs. They were very nice to sit in. Until I remembered I wasn’t going to be using my new chair to sit at a conference table or have meetings. They were comfortable to sit back in. But when I write, I need to sit up straight, with good posture, and as much support as possible.
This led me to focus on “task” chairs, which brought me to another realization: my chair is one of my most important writing tools. When I’m thinking about writing tools, I naturally think about my computer, keyboard and mouse, or about notebooks and pens. But the chair is one of the most important and most used of them all. Getting the right chair means I can write longer, keep the pain in control, and hopefully, produce more. I found a very workable and comfortable chair for around $200, but I could have spent much more.
I had a choice. I could have cobbled a fix together on the old chair. I could have pulled up another chair from somewhere else around the house. But all of those solutions, while they would have let me not spend money, would have cost me more in the very short term because I would have been at risk of pain and injury. I can’t work well if I’m hurting or doped up.
The chair was an unexpected expense, but my choosing wisely, I hope to avoid additional expenses (trips to the masseuse or therapist) or lack or productivity, and for me, productive means earning money.
It was also a business expense, so it get’s recorded for next year’s taxes. Hopefully there won’t be many more of these, but if there are, I’ll keep in mind what I really need, what keeps me productive, and healthy.
