ElizabethPW

Want to get ahead? Take care of #1.

Posted on 28. Jul, 2007 by Elizabeth Potts Weinstein in Blog

It had been 5 years since I had been to the eye doctor.  And I wear contacts and have a strong prescription, so I am definitely supposed to go every year.  But it felt just like a "supposed" to me (like I how I am supposed to wipe down the kitchen counter tops each night, which is never going to happen), so I’m never going to be motivated to do it.

But over the last few months my eyes have been driving me crazy.  I had been getting more and more migraines.  And my left eye was getting blurry, to the point of being unable to read after a few hours of work.  Some days I was forced off the computer and from reading after just a few hours.  I found myself reading with my left eye closed.  If I went out for a date night with my husband, I would have to wear my glasses (also 5 years old, scratched, with a replacement screw that does not fit right) because I could not wear my contacts after 7 pm. 

So did I head over to the eye doctor?  No, but I did get an eye doctor referral from my personal assistant.  A first step.  And sat on it for another month or two.

Until finally, on Thursday, I had enough.  After about 2 hours working my left eye blurred up.  I even downloaded a piece of software to force me to take eye breaks every 4 minutes, and that barely helped.  So I made an appointment with the eye doctor for Friday morning.

After she gave me a "look" when I told her I had not had my eyes checked for 5 years, I told her about my eye fatigue problems and she nodded, knowingly.  She efficiently did all the eye exams (wow, they have a bunch of new cool technology in just the last 5 years!) and pronounced my eyes healthy — I just needed an updated prescription and new, next-generation contacts that let in 6x the oxygen to my eyes than my old brand.

I am wearing them now.  Wow.  I could work on the computer for days straight (actually not, because my tendonitis in my wrist hurts, but that’s another story).  I can’t feel my contacts at all — and now I realize that my contacts were bothering me all the time!  No wonder my efficiency had gone down lately. 

Moral of the story?  If you want to work more efficiently, and make more progress on your business and your life — take care of yourself.   Make yourself a better worker by being healthy, having updated and well-working technology, and a good environment.  You are your most valuable resource. 

Hum, perhaps I should have my wrist tendonitus checked? 

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Tags: Self-Care