Nowadays, most of us are working and learning on online platforms. Exposing ourselves to phones, tv, and other gadgets affects our physical as well as psychological health. Using phones excessively can create mental fatigue, exhaustion, weakening of eyes, and even loss of creativity and attention span. Technology is the need of the hour in this ‘Socially distanced Era’, it forces us to stick to them instead of going out physically and working. Even though working online is an efficient option for most of us, we can continue working online in a human-friendly way.
You can limit your screen time throughout the day while you are working from home in the following ways -
1. Try Being Old School
Although technology makes it easier to maintain records of ideas and documents, try to pen down your notes the next time you start working. Use different pens for different headings while writing notes and ideas. Use sticky notes, different notebooks, and whiteboards for different kinds of work as it will make your notes more fun and attractive to read. Use a physical calendar and a notepad for writing down all the to-do lists and meetings. By doing so, you can prevent relying on techs and reduce your screen time.
2. Choose Texts Over Calls
In a formal setting, we usually opt for zoom meetings and video calls over emailing and texting. Video calls take more time to deliver the real context of a meeting, therefore, you should avoid video calls and opt for emails and formal texts instead. This would help in reducing your phone usage as all the important details would be delivered in very less time. Hence, avoid video interactions as much as you can. It will also protect your eyes from being exposed to screen all the time and allow you to have a speedy interaction with your teammates.
3. Take a Physical Break
Give your eyes a screen break by physically moving your body. Go to the kitchen to drink water, roam around your home, walk on the terrace and breathe fresh air, play songs, and dance in your room for some time to freshen up your mood and your body. People usually plug in their earphones to listen to music, play online games such as PUBG or Ludo with their friends which adds up to their screen time and ultimately leads to physical and mental issues. Therefore, just put your phone aside when you decide to take a break and try to be physically active to expose yourself to healthy ways of taking a break from work.
4. Make Your Screen Eye-Friendly
If you are working in the night then apply the night theme in your phone and your laptop to prevent extra strain on your eyes. Even in the day, if your screen is brighter than the light in your surroundings then your eyes have to stress and focus more on the screen. Therefore, adjust your screen brightness, lower it down, according to the light in your room. Increase the contrast of your laptop screen as it would help you to work on a less brightened screen. If you’re using a laptop or a computer, try to sit at a one-arm distance from the screen to prevent your eyes from sight loss. Use a blue filtered screen in your phone to protect your eyes from harmful rays coming from your phone screen.
Wash your eyes with cold water after every work session to give them a healthy treat. Monitor your screen time every day and determine to work upon reducing it every day. Do not use your phone unnecessarily and make sure that you are giving more importance to health. While working online, our eyes are so focused that they tend not to blink at the rate they should be blinking due to which our eyes are not properly lubricated and we tend to have optical issues in the long run. The American Academy of Ophthalmology has given a 20-20-20 rule. The rule says that we should move our eyes from the screen every 20 minutes to look at an object that is 20 feet far for at least 20 seconds. This would help our eyes relax. Lastly, spend less time scrolling on social media unnecessarily, it would limit your screen time throughout the day.
Written by - Khushi Prajapati
Edited by - Vaibhav Sharma
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