We are surrounded by screens from the time we wake until we fall asleep. Many of us have our devices on our nightstand. Think about it, the first thing and last thing you see outside sleep are a screen. You are likely dealing with screen fatigue which can affect your quality of sleep and ultimately your health.
Blue Light
Research shows that the blue light emitted by our screens can interrupt your sleep patterns. There are ways you can block that blue light. iOS devices such as the iPad and iPhone now have a feature called NightShift which limits blue light. You can set it to a schedule or manually enable the feature. If your using an Android device try out the Twilight app. For notebook computers look into the f.lux browser extension. Another extension for Chrome users is Screen Shader.
The Internet of Distraction
The Internet has become the ultimate time-waster or procrastination enabler. It could be Facebook, catching up on news, or checking our Fantasy Football line-up there are thousands of ways to waste time and cut into productivity. If you rely on the Chrome browser from Google a great tool is StayFocusd Chrome extension. It allows you to block distracting web sites for custom time period. The TaskTimer extension is more reactive in that it allows you to track your surfing time.
Someone sends us a great article via Facebook or Twitter. You check it out then read another article then another and before you know it you have lost an hour. Pocket is great to save web pages, videos, and articles for later. It currently works with more than 1500 smartphone and tablet apps as well as in your computer web browser. It even works without an Internet connection when you’re ready to read so it works great when your away from a connection such as when you’re on a plane.
Look Away
Experts believe it is a good practice to look away from your computer or mobile screen every few minutes to relieve eye strain. The eyeCare Chrome extension allows you set a timer that will remind you to look away from your screen occasionally.
We live in a world in that many of us work outside of the standard 9 to 5. We also are increasingly using screens for entertainment and education. It is important to stay alert and productive. Try out these extensions and remember this is just a sample. There are multiple equivalents for many different platforms.