After more than 30 years of staring at screens, it’s finally caught up with me.
Over the last year, I’ve had to visit the hospital a number of times for specialist drops to reduce the pressure in my eyes. What started as mild discomfort turned into something more disruptive — watering, blurriness, and that feeling of simply not being able to focus after the first hour on my computer.
So, I’ve had to make changes.
I started with a reMarkable tablet. This is an excellent tool for note-taking and writing, with a paper-like display (just like a Kindle) that’s easy on the eyes. I can spend hours on it and my eyes don’t feel sore at all. However the drawback is when I need to use proper software for email, accounts, web research, I’d be straight back onto the laptop, and that takes me back to square one.
I read about eInk displays but they have always been super expensive. So I’ve had to weigh this up against how much my health is worth. This week my Dasung 23” eInk display was delivered. Game Changer!
It’s clean, simple, no luminosity, black, white and shades of grey, it has a diffused screen so cuts down on reflections – more importantly it’s easy on the eyes.
If you read the reviews, you’ll see some people pan it for not being good at video or image quality. But that’s the whole point, it’s not meant to be a high-definition monitor for photo editing or film work. It’s a toned-down, low-stimulus display for reading, writing, spreadsheets, web browsing, emails, exactly the kind of work that fatigues your eyes most.
If I need full colour or high resolution, I can jump back on the laptop. But for 80% of my working day, the Dasung has been everything I needed to protect my eyes and dramatically reduce tiredness.
Expensive? Yes a bit. But then again, how much value do you place on your eyesight?
If you’re spending long hours on screens and your eyes are hurting, you might want to consider it. If you want to see one up and close and fancy a trip to Greenock I’m happy to let you see the screen in action.
This isn’t a tech review or a sales pitch. It’s just a reminder that the way we work affects how we feel. And you don’t have to suffer for productivity.
Your health comes first. Even when you love your work.
Happy Days
* Oh in case you think the text is blurry down the left hand side – I blurred some parts of the image purposely ;0)
