Eyesight as a Productivity Meter?

Let limitations be your guide

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Like every other morning, I stumble to the office with my coffee, phone, and contacts in tow.

My routine has shifted over the years — from fiction writing to a “read and research” segment each day. This is when I catch up on any Medium comments, read what other writers have to say, and (briefly) scroll my social media feed for usable fodder.

While I’m doing this, my glasses are on the end table because I don’t need them to read. Blessed with farsightedness (if you could call eyesight difficulties a blessing), everything outside a 3-foot trajectory is a blur. But up close and personal, I see just fine.

This makes reading, writing, and capturing information on my phone the ideal early morning task.

Later in the day, my eyes grow tired and the bifocal contacts I wear can only do so much. I catch myself holding the phone at an angle so the stronger reading lens can do its job.

But mornings… These are my low-key, “the world is around me but I can’t see it so I’ll just tune it out,” time of day.

And I love it. It’s so easy to get lost in what I’m reading, or feel energized by the notes I’m adding to Obsidian... Until I need to type faster and more accurately than the phone’s keypad allows.

This becomes my turning point for the day. The moment my relaxed, information-gathering and introspective note-taking efforts halt.

I can’t work on my laptop with my glasses on. It’s too close to my face at a normal distance, and too far to read the text if I push it back. I could adjust the zoom, but then the whole screen feels off, and I concentrate more on that than what I’m trying to accomplish.

To sit down and work requires the help of my contacts. Once I put those in, I know it’s time to get serious.

Chances are, you have your own writing routines based on your natural inclinations, even if you aren’t aware of how they affect you.

If I were a night owl, for example, my routine would be the opposite of what it is now. I’d write until my eyes grew tired, then remove my contacts and shift my attention to reading and information gathering.