This Week My Eyes Got Tired Before the Rest of Me

It was around three in the afternoon. The letters on my screen looked slightly doubled, so I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again. Still the same, so I did it one more time.

I'd been in front of the monitor a lot this week. There was a report due, so once I sat down in the morning I'd barely get up until lunch.

Then it occurred to me that my eyes hadn't had a break all day. Even at lunch I was on my phone while I ate. Phone on the way home, TV once I got there. My body was resting in a chair, but my eyes were still working.

I felt a little bad about it. I'd given my legs a walk at lunch, I'd even bought my back a new chair. My eyes got nothing.

So that afternoon I tried something tiny. Once an hour, look at a far-off building out the window for about 20 seconds. The first time, 20 seconds felt pretty long. But after a few rounds it was kind of nice. My mind wandered a bit, and my shoulders dropped.

When you only look at things up close, your eyes are basically holding one position all day. Looking far away feels like standing up from your desk, except for your eyes. Nothing complicated about it, that's just how it felt.

The other thing was bumping the font size on my monitor up one step. I think I'd been quietly putting up with small text for years. Making it so I don't have to strain turned out to be much quicker. It's a three-second fix, and it was a little funny that I'd gone years without doing it.

I'm going to try spending the 10 minutes after lunch somewhere without a screen. Once I thought of it as a lunch break for my eyes, it felt completely natural. Just standing by the window with a coffee. Nothing impressive.

On the way home I put my phone in my pocket for about one stop and walked. First time in a while I noticed the color of the evening sky. That night my eyes felt a little less dry. Could just be in my head, honestly.

If something uncomfortable keeps up for days, it's fine to talk it over with a professional. For now I'm starting with the small things I can do myself.

My eyes aren't suddenly fine. But having a few moments a day where I look far away is oddly nice. Tomorrow at three, I think I'll look out the window first.