Or why I bought myself 3 new pairs of glasses for my birthday
Earlier this year, I found out I needed glasses. I actually found out the hard way. After months of increasing eye fatigue and discomfort (and all the self-induced anxiety that comes along with overthinking a medical issue instead of just getting it checked out) I finally got myself to the eye doctor, where the verdict was almost instant. My eyes were perfectly healthy, but I was now just a little bit farsighted. (Thanks, getting older.) The solution: a pair of glasses for reading, computer work, and anything else close-up. (You know, like making jewelry.)
I wasn’t super sad about this. Glasses are the one accessory that my 20/20 vision has denied me all these years, and of course, I love a good statement accessory. So I picked out a pair of glasses at the eye doctor (not an easy task while wearing a mask) and have been rocking them while working, on Zoom meetings, and in selfies ever since. But a couple of months ago, I realized that one pair of glasses just wasn’t going to cut it. And it had nothing to do with fashion.
Enter The Scissors Rule.
In my ebook, Try It and See, I talk about why I own so many pairs of scissors. It’s not that I have a deep, abiding love for scissors. (Though I do love a pretty or well-designed pair.) It’s that in the grand scheme of things, I don’t want to spend my life searching for scissors. That’s not worth my time. So I keep a pair of scissors on every workspace in my studio and in every room in my house.
On the surface, this might not seem like a big thing, but as a person who isn’t the most organized, it saves me a ton of time and stress.
And a few months into my life as a glasses wearer, I started to suspect The Scissors Rule would help me here too. The problem with wearing glasses only for close-up things is that you don’t wear them all the time. You either have to carry them from place to place or figure out a way to attach them to your person when not wearing them.
As a jewelry designer, you might think that the easier solution would be to fashion some sort of device for wearing them around my neck, but honestly, that was too stressful. When I’m not wearing my glasses, I want them tucked safely in a case, not dangling around my neck. (Also, despite my love of jewelry, things dangling from your neck is actually not safe in a studio environment. Any jeweler who has ever tried to stand up quickly only to be jerked back down because your necklace was caught on your bench pin will know exactly what I’m talking about.) And I wasn’t so keen on always popping them on my head either. (It just feels like a recipe for smudgy lenses.)
This problem became really apparent the first day I went to the studio and realized I had left my glasses at home. Logically, instead of just going home to get them (which would have taken all of ten minutes) I spent half an hour or so shopping for glasses online. The result – several new pairs of glasses! Another pair with my prescription that now lives at the studio, and a few pairs of readers for places where I occasionally read but don’t want to always track down where my “real” glasses are. (Like my bedroom.) All told, I probably spent $150 dollars buying a few new pairs of glasses, but the results are so worth it. I don’t have to stress about being able to see (or strain my eyes) while working or reading.
I understand that it isn’t always financially or economically viable to have three or five of the same thing. But it’s also amazing how little investments can make a big difference in how easy it is to get our work done. Maybe buying a few extra sketchbooks means you’re more likely to get your ideas down on paper. Perhaps investing in an extra lamp or two makes your studio space so much more pleasant in the evenings. (Seriously, lighting is an essential investment for artists.) Or maybe buying two of your favorite tool means you aren’t constantly wandering around the studio trying to remember where you left it.
My point is this: we don’t often think about the little things that make it easier to get our work done, but it’s often the little things that make a big difference. So the next time you find yourself searching for something or regretting that you’ve left a crucial tool somewhere else, ask yourself if The Scissors Rule might make a difference in your ability to do the work you want to do.
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To celebrate my birthday this week, Try It and See is 40% off! That includes the digital and audio versions. (Perfect for listening in the studio!) Just use code YAY40 at checkout! Click here to grab your copy now!