Ask HN: What's a good system to remember to wear my reading glasses at my desk?
3 dottjt 15 5/1/2025, 7:54:45 PM
One thing that's been recommended by my optometrist is to start wearing reading glasses at my desk for computer work. I work from home and spend a solid 8+ hours in front of the computer.
The only issue I have is that I struggle to remember to wear them. Actually, I'm not sure if it's even a memory thing. It's like they're right there on my desk, but I just don't put them on most of the time.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to overcome this?
1. Eyeglass chain
2. Command hook
Put the eyeglass chain on your glasses. Hang the command hook upside down on the back of the monitor. Hang your glasses so that they hang in front of the monitor (that's why the command hook is upside down!) Then when you go to work your glasses are hanging in front of your monitor.
Some things in the distance are a little fuzzy but I just got used to not trying to focus on everything in the house.
But also if I'm not wearing them at my computer I really notice and it's a little difficult to work without them. I sometimes forget to bring them to a Starbucks and I can still work while wearing my normal glasses, but it's not as easy.
That being said, your Optometrist might not recommend this behavior. I haven't noticed any downsides to doing this though, and I've been doing it this way for like 6+ years now.
I think the issue is that I just do so much at my desk. I work. I eat etc. So it's like, when I'm eating it doesn't occur to me to wear them. but I just need to remember that when I'm at my desk, I wear them. Though wearing them all the time in the house might be the answer.
1) Old laptop (because it has separate volume control and loudspeakers) that once an hour plays an audio file of a voice saying "are you wearing your glasses?". Perhaps even "Time to stand up, stretch, drink some water, check the CO2 level, check you are wearing your glasses and sit with good posture" if you want to take automated nannying to the next level.
2) From a brief google it looks like computer vision can be used to detect if a person is wearing glasses. A software development project with openCV running on a raspberry pi using a webcam to detect if you are wearing your glasses. Perhaps programmed to only activate during working hours. Perhaps it could flash some red LEDs.
For context, I guess part of the issue is that I'm moving from my desk a lot and coming back.
Look up some python computer vision tutorials and train a model to detect you wearing glasses vs. not wearing glasses. Run that on a Pi and hook up a smart plug or displayport switch between your monitor and pc so that it only turns the monitor on once it detects you're wearing the glasses :)
If your body doesn’t tell you you need them, it is not medically critical. And you have plenty of time to acquire the habit.
You can also change monitor scaling.
When it comes to reading glasses, an abundaence of cheap glasses is probably easier than tracking one special pair.
They are $1.25 at DollarTree. Four bucks and up at Wallmart. Keep a pair in your shirt pocket, a pair in your hoodie pocket, and two pairs pushed back on top of your head.
Good luck.
/s?