Ever had a revelation in some random life event? Well, I had one myself while visiting the eye doctor for my not-so-annual eye exam. (Been over 6 years, so I figured I was due).
For a few weeks prior to my appointment, I’ve had this insane twitch in my left eyelid. No matter what I tried, my inner Taylor Swift just couldn’t shake it off. Of course, I brought this up during my appointment and the doctor’s answer shocked me. He asked if I work long hours on the computer… um.. yeah. Apparently, 10+ hours a day is too much time to stare at a screen.
Well, of course, I knew that already.
But more specifically, he told me that anytime I engage my close-up vision by looking at a screen, reading, etc., my eyes are focused, causing them to get strained. The solution? Throw my computer out the window and enjoy the great outdoors. Ok, I’m obviously kidding (although no harm in doing the above).
He said the solution was to look away at a distant object (at least 20 feet away) for at least 20 seconds. This would give my eyes a chance to rest in their NATURAL state of being unfocused.
He called it the 20-20-20 rule. For every 20 minutes of working on a task where I am staring up close, such as working at the computer, I should look at an object 20+ft away for 20 seconds.
That’s when I had a revelation.
In order to achieve full clarity and total focus, sometimes you must first “unfocus.”
Sometimes I get so deep into work that I am in a constant state of focus. My proverbial “vision” gets strained, and I quickly feel the full effects of it.
I realized at that moment, that I need to give myself (along with my eyes) a chance to unfocus and rest in my natural state. Not working, not striving, just being.
Then, when I’m ready, I can jump right back in, giving whatever it is I’m doing my full attention with a newly refreshed vision, and laser-sharp focus.
And what better year to adapt the 20-20-20 principle than 2020 itself!?
