If you work in an office, screen time is inevitable. In fact, you can regularly spend eight or nine hours a day on the screen, juggling messages, meetings, calendars, and software. So is this sustainable?
A recent study found that the average office worker spends approximately 1,700 hours per year in front of the computer screen. (That’s more than 32 hours a week, on average.) That number doesn’t even include time spent checking the phone or surfing the internet after work. Over time, exposure to so many screens can cause eye fatigue and poor posture. It can also make you feel like your brain never takes a break.
Reducing screen time at work may seem impossible, but there are ways to make it happen. And the more you prioritize doing this, the better.
Be Careful Where You Spend Your Screen Time
Before you cut back on screen time, you need to know where it’s going. Most office workers don’t spend all day doing deep work on the computer. A lot of screen time is lost in small transitions. For example, you check your email or browse social media during your break.
Spend a few days paying attention to your screen habits. Watch out for things like:
- How often do you check messages when you’re not actually ready to respond?
- Whether some meetings can be handled with a quick phone call
- Even though you’re reading documents on screen that would be easier to review on paper
Find the parts of your day where the screen isn’t really helping. Once you see these patterns, you can begin to replace them with better ones.
Choose Different Meeting Types
Video meetings are especially useful when teams are remote or people need to share visuals. But not every conversation needs to happen on Zoom or Teams.
Some meetings are actually just conversations. If you’re talking to a co-worker or clarifying a simple decision, a phone call may work better. It gives your eyes a rest and is generally less tiring since you don’t need to be in front of the camera.
Try a Meeting-Free Day
If you’re not careful, your work day can be interrupted by meetings. You might spend thirty minutes in a meeting, then spend fifteen minutes looking at emails, then another meeting, then new messages. At the end of the day, you are in front of the screen for hours, but you cannot actually do in-depth work.
A no-meeting day can help with this. If possible, try to set aside at least one day during the workweek where there are no meetings. (It’s even better to combine all your meetings into just two or three days, leaving a few non-meeting days per week.)
This not only limits screen time, but also affects productivity and the quality of your work. It allows you to show up and get work done without interruption.
Use a Physical Diary
A physical laptop can be surprisingly useful in a digital office. When every thought goes into a computer, you become completely dependent on a screen for everything. But one day creates a small separation. To do this you can use plan your day or outline a project. Some prefer it for taking meeting notes or thinking through problems.
Writing by hand slows you down in a good way. It helps you focus on what’s important instead of switching between apps. This doesn’t mean you have to give up on digital tools. You may still need project management software or shared documents. But a physical notebook can give you some healthy separation.
Create Eye Blinks During the Day
Even if you reduce your screen time a little, you’ll probably still spend most of your day on the computer. This is where eye refractions come into play.
20-20-20 rule is a simple place to start. Every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This gives your eyes a chance to relax from close focusing.
Don’t Ignore Vision Problems
Sometimes screen fatigue isn’t just a screen time issue. This may be a vision problem.
If you find yourself frequently squinting and leaning towards the monitor, it may be time for an eye exam. Your prescription may have changed. Or you may need different lenses when doing computer work.
For some people LASIK It may be worth seeing an ophthalmologist, especially if glasses or contact lenses are annoying. LASIK is not a quick fix for every screen-related problem and is not right for everyone. But it’s a game changer for many.
Adding All
Reducing screen time in an office job doesn’t mean rejecting technology. This looks like using screens where they are useful, and choosing better options where they are not.
You may not be able to avoid screens completely, but you can create a workday that’s less dependent on them. This can help your eyes feel better and give you a little more mental space to do valuable work.
Photo: Vitaly Gariev: Unsplash
