I keep telling patients that prevention beats treatment, and two easy wins are the 20–20-20 screen break and a yearly dilated exam (especially if you’re over 40 or have diabetes). Have you found a simple reminder — timer, app, or calendar note — that keeps you on track?
I use a silent Apple Watch timer that repeats every 20 minutes labeled “blink + 20ft,” and the tap on my wrist nudges me to look away; on heavy meeting days I switch it to hourly so it’s not annoying. Do your patients stick with “20–20–20” better with haptics than sound?
I use Stretchly (https://stretchly.app) to pop a full-screen break every 20 minutes titled “blink + 20 ft,” which makes me look out the window instead of just thinking about it. The only catch is it can be a bit jarring; if that bugs you, switch to its subtle notification mode.
@OP I set a HomeKit scene to flash my desk lamp warm for 5 seconds via an iOS Shortcut labeled ‘blink + look far,’ and the color shift grabs my attention without sound (Shortcuts User Guide - Apple Support)… Do you find light cues less disruptive than timers? It’s great solo, but in a shared office I switch to vibration only.
I schedule a yearly ‘dilated exam’ in my birthday month with auto-reschedule; hydration timer prompts my 20–20–20.
I stuck a tiny dot sticker on the top edge of my monitor and set my phone to buzz on the hour; when it vibrates, I pick a distant object and do five slow blinks — like windshield wipers for your eyes. Low-tech, but the tactile nudge works better than popups for me; if you want software, Workrave (https://workrave.org/) lets you tune gentle micro-breaks. @OP have you noticed patients respond better to a haptic cue than a visual one?