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How Can I take Regular Breaks to Avoid Eye Strain?


Chapters

0:0
0:14 Question for Cal regarding eye strain and taking breaks
0:30 Cal's advice for doing more Productive Meditation
1:20 Cal's thoughts on how to accomplish Productive Meditation

Transcript

All right, moving on. We have a question here from Lisa. Lisa asks, "How can I take regular eye breaks for eye strain in a way that accommodates deep work?" Well, Lisa, I want you to do more productive meditation, make this a bigger part of your habit that is in almost any circumstance where thinking has to be done.

All right, I'm putting together this strategy memo, what is the outline I want to use? I've received an email from a client or my boss, and it's going to be pretty tricky. Like, how do I answer this right? I got to really think this through, like what I want to propose here.

I have computer code I need to write, but I really don't know, you know, what type of object do I need here? What's the right algorithmic approach? Whatever it is, whenever you come across what should be if you're non-entry level on a regular basis, some contemplation that has to be done, do that on foot away from a computer screen.

This is what I call productive meditation, working on a professional problem in your head while walking. This will be hard at first, but you'll get better at it with practice and bring a notebook with you. When we walk, take notes, walk, take notes. You're away from a computer. Notebooks do not cause eye strain.

And then you come back once you've thought it through and are essentially transcribing that thinking back into your computer world. So if you do most of your non-trivial contemplation on foot, your head, walking and notebook, this will automatically induce a regular rhythm of breaks from your computer screen that really should handle the eye strain, but also I think make you more effective at your work.