If you’re a desk worker, you probably spend most of the day facing your computer or smartphone screen.
The writer also spends the whole day staring at the monitor, and eye problems such as asthenopia and dry eyes are inevitable.
When I was seriously concerned about “I want to do something”, the subject “highly efficient ear study methodI read a book called Discovering Twenty One.
Amazing “ear reading” effects that you can learn efficiently while doing muscle training and housework | Lifehacker Japan
The thrust of this book isSimplify your reading time with audiobooks, something like that. It is better to listen to the reading than to follow the words with your eyes,Less burden on the brain and a higher rate of memory retentionthat he
Because of my job, I read hundreds of books a year, so I decided to put it into practice. After a while, I suddenly had an epiphany that I could reduce my eye strain by listening to everything I had been reading on the screen.
I read a wide variety of things on my computer screen, such as emails, news sites, papers and PDF materials, and PowerPoint manuscripts, and the amount is significant. You can listen to them with the text-to-speech function.
Use an app that reads aloud in a gentle voice
After researching, it seems that recent text-to-speech apps have significantly improved performance thanks to deep learning. It’s completely different from the synthesized sound of reading a stick from a long time ago, and there seems to be no concern that “listening to it will be stressful”.
So I searched and found thatVOICEVOXFree app. It is possible to choose from more than 10 voices such as “a gentle and cute voice” and “a young man’s refreshing voice” and have it read aloud.
Professional voice actors seem to be used, the voice quality is good, the intonation is natural, and there are few misreadings of kanji.It does not compare to the stick reading of the past.
All you have to do is put the content you want to read aloud in a text file, and then “read text” → “play continuously”. You can also adjust “speech speed” and “intonation”, but basically the default should be fine.
Specifically, I use it as follows.
- Early in the morning, pick the items you want to read aloud in the “read aloud” item on the To Do list and make a list.
- Pour the list into a single text file
- Read aloud with VOICEVOX during free time
What I read aloud are mostly long emails, the wording of news websites and news releases that are likely to be business topics, and manuscripts I wrote.
It’s faster to read and process short emails with your eyes, and have students read your own manuscripts for proofreading and refinement. I listen to these when I’m on a train/bus, or when I’m doing housework like cooking or cleaning.
Multitasking is known to do more harm than good.Exception for listeningin. “Listening while listening” is also recommended in “A Super Efficient Ear Study Method”.
Depending on the amount and type of tasks for the day, “listening while listening” takes about 30 minutes to an hour. In other words, I was able to reduce the amount of time I spent staring at the monitor every day.
Considering how many hours a VDT works per day, it’s not a great percentage, but it makes a big difference in the amount of eyestrain and brain fatigue that builds up at the end of the day.that isWork performance has also been affected, and work efficiency has increasedI realize.
It’s a life hack that I can wholeheartedly recommend to those concerned about eye strain.
Source: VOICEVOX
