And it begins again . . .

[fidgiegirl]

I was just in Costa Rica for a fantastic 2.5 weeks. I was feeling very purposeful and fulfilled as I visited the school I was at and got to know people and the culture. I will write up a separate post with some of my doings in my journal. I had online access for most of the time, but most of that was spent writing up items for when I came back. It wasn't a time-kill, it was a purposeful use.

BUT! I have only been home one day and I already find myself slipping back into my bad, bad habits of spending waaaaaay too much time online. I have three time dumps: Facebook, my e-mail accounts, and (only sometimes, when I'm checking compulsively and not giving anyone else time to actually have added something) SL forums. I think of all the time I fritter away online that I could be using to read or something. Now I'm not talking about purposeful online use. I'm talking about procrastination or avoidance of other tasks kind of use.

Anyone else struggle?

[Anne Lee]

Yes. Which is why I'm going to start a FB fast in September.

[fidgiegirl]

Anne Lee: "Like"

:D :D :D

[loosechickens]

definitely, which is why I've instituted internet rationing for the month of August......I'm allowing myself very limited time online, so have to make the time count, which has helped a lot....I come on the forums, do my moderator duties, which at the moment, since the forums have been quite mellow lately, is mostly wading through the spam registrations every day, running every potential registrant through IP location and spam checker sites, etc., trying to separate out the genuine new members from the ones just determined to sell us Viagra, timeshares, bogus Rolex watches and various and sundry other things. Only if I have some alloted time left can I post anything........I allot so much time for these forums, so much time for email, so much time for perusing news sites, etc. It helps. Because without that timer set, I can wander in the wilds of the internet and argue politics on Public Policy to the detriment of lots more useful things.......

I managed to read two books this past week in the time I would have been online........

I miss Costa Rica.....I'm jealous. It's one of my favorite places, fidgiegirl......

[ApatheticNoMore]

There is lots of stuff offline that has appeal, but if I'm just going to spend the time offline doing another boring task on my "to-do list", then I think I'll keep "surfing". :P

[Stella]

I can totally relate. Yesterday the stars aligned and all four of my kids had a quiet, easy, well behaved day. Did I finally sort through all of those old cooking magazines? Did I get the boys' room cleaned? No. I sat on my butt and read blogs and, to be fair, a book.

I've been getting better for the most part lately. It's a silly thing, but I am finding that if I leave my laptop closed I am less likely to just get on to check one thing.

[Float On]

I wondered where you were. CR sounds so enjoyable. I have friends who just relocated there from Alaska. They'd been vacationing there for years and made the decision last year to make the move. They homeschool 8 children and he can work from home.

[reader99]

When I was having that trouble I made myself a policy, no internet before noon. Mornings are when I have the energy to get things done, so I got things done and then after lunch went on the internet.

[razz]

I have cut way back as well. Only online twice a day for short stints, never signed up for FB for that reason. I also decided to get up at 6am or earlier without fail and get an early start on my busy part of the day and only then go online which is usually around 10-11am.

[artist]

I do as well. I am currently working on preparing for a major decutter, clean out and deep clean of our house, garage and attic storage. Right now I'm in the planning stages, listing things on Craigs list and getting a "To Do" list started. We are driving our son to TN to college on the 19th (2000 mile round trip) so I hope to get started on this after we return. In doing this I will need to schedule my online time. I plan to stick to the scheduled time when we finish.

[AmeliaJane]

I have been struggling with this and considered a "media fast" of some kind. Interestingly, I stumbled into a different answer one evening when I had a sore knee and needed to prop it up. So I made a comfy spot for myself on the bed with a couple of books, the crossword, cup of tea etc. This is a relatively new apartment for me and I had never tried hanging out in the bedroom before--it was so relaxing I have done it every night this week and have hardly touched the TV/computer. I also printed out my list of books to be read, because I love crossing them off. I had tried keeping it on the computer and it just wasn't the same. So maybe making a more welcoming environment for what you want to do offline would help with a change.

[iris lily]

I think mattj's idea of having the computer accessible only on stand-up access is brilliant.

[Tammy]

our modem broke about a month ago. we thought about how to fix it, and then started thinking whether we needed it. radical thought ... that last thing i would have given up is home internet. but we decided to do it. my husbands phone serves as an internet hot spot, so we use that when we want to be online. and our apartment has free wireless in the public areas - pool, meeting rooms, lobby, etc.

its working for us. we are saving $55 a month, and we are online a lot less.

[setis]

if wasn't for the internet we would not be on this forum.

[smurfybabe]

Argh, I do this every night! I always think I'm going to get to bed early tonight, just check FB, email whatever. Then by midnight I'm finally getting upstairs to bed and then I'm tired in the morning. I know that FB is a big time suck for me and I just seem to find other things, looking up vacation spots, looking up carpet cleaners, looking at Craigslist etc. I need to start setting a timer or something. I don't even realize how long I've been on, usually I look at the clock and think "Crap, how'd it get to be so late already??!"

[Spartana]

This is why I gave up having internet access at home. Now just use free wi-fi somewhere - but only if I go for a run first :-)! I guess the internet is a healthier treat then ice cream! The funny thing is that when I first got rid of home internet access it seemed like a hassle to go out to look up ALL the stuff I wanted to look up. But now it's like I actually have to think up things to look up - and often can't think of anything! I really narrowed down what I spend my time looking at online now and really don't want to spend more time online even if I can. Sort of like I broke an addiction I couldn't break by having easy access to it. The "just gonna check the SLN boards for a sec." turned into hours of surfing the web for crap I absolutely had no interest in. So I'm MUCH happier with the amount I'm online now. I know most people can't get rid of home internet access but I cutting back to almost no time online is great!

[fidgiegirl]

if wasn't for the internet we would not be on this forum.

Yes, but there is productive interaction on this forum, like pausing to read and reflect on what's being discussed and write thoughtful responses. I am totally PRO Internet! However, sometimes, there is nothing new to look at, but I keep checking, anyway. Or I read FB when I'd much rather be reading the book I'm currently on.

And my DH guilts my over my Internet time, like tonight! "What are you doing?" BAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! I'M ALLOWED!!!!!!! :D

[enota]

I hear you lady! Those are all my weaknesses, and city-data.com/forum (maybe I shouldn't have told you about that one.

enota

[Mrs-M]

Oh yes, I struggle. Fasting, rationing, and hiatuses are all out for me because that's no fun, so I persevere. I look at my online time much the same as I have always looked at my period. (There are heavy days and there are light days). I make the best of both.