Like many teachers who have moved to an online format in the last few weeks, I’ve found myself in days of back-to-back Zoom meetings, and I’ve lost track of how many hours I’ve had to squint through my aching eyes at all my multitasking screens. On the bright side, I’ve found inspiration and creativity in imagining my classes and student interactions in new ways. But on the painfully bright side, these screens really do hurt after a while! So I’m going to keep this list of tips short and simple…because I want to go close my eyes and I’m betting you do too!
To combat your increased time with online teaching and conferencing:
1) Schedule breaks between your meetings. Over the course of a day, a few 15 minute breaks can make a big difference in your physical and mental endurance! As teachers, we’re not used to taking short breaks but this is a necessary shift now that you’re homebound! Stand and walk around your house, open your posture, stretch your legs and your arms, close your eyes, take a bathroom break. And if you can schedule a slightly longer break, then you might even be able to accomplish some of the tasks you talked about during your last meeting!
2) Take care of your eyes! When looking at screens, we don’t blink often enough, and that’s a large part of what causes our eyes to get dry and achy. So this is one you can do even during your next video meeting—Just blink now and then! You should also experiment with your screen brightness to find just the right level of light for your personal needs. And if your eyes or headaches are still hurting too much, you could try buying a bottle of artificial tears on your weekly grocery trip. This little one has been my saving grace a few times!
3) Make the dictation programs work for you. Most computers and smart phones now have a microphone button or other shortcut that will enable you to talk into your device and it will type your words (or at least something close to your words). You can literally draft an email, outline your next video lecture, or create your next grocery list all with your eyes closed. Although you might want to take a quick peak for typos if you’re going to share the document with anyone else.
4) Swap out your after-work activities. Now that your job is requiring so much screen time, be careful about overdoing your leisurely activities on-line! Try an audio or printed book instead of Kindle, a friendly phone call instead of FaceTime, or a board game instead of social media and video games. Anything to give your eyes and mind a break from the screens!
Oh, and a bonus tip: Lay out tomorrow’s outfit (or at least a professional-looking top) so you’re ready to feel organized and professional when you wake up. And yes, you are welcome to wear your house slippers. Your administrator is probably wearing theirs too!
Of course, these self-care tips are not supposed to take the place of any health care guidance you receive from your doctor, so don’t forget that even during this limited quarantine you could set up a tele-health appointment to get official medical advice. (Although ironically, that’ll probably be another video conference! Maybe some of these tips could help with that meeting too?)
Now I need to follow my own advice...So I’m going to end this dictation, airdrop it to my laptop, upload it to my blog and then leave my screens for the evening! ”See” you all tomorrow!
Comments