back to 2010
i had intended for my media cleanse to last a full week, but when josh suggested yesterday evening (over the phone) that perhaps 5 pm on a friday would make a good ending point, i thought about it for 0.03 seconds and then:
yeah, well. it was fun interesting while it lasted! (ps: please ignore the lameness of the rest of my evening; it was more enjoyable than it looks!)
what did i get out of the experience?
■ i can (and should) control the flow of my email. by checking 2 (sometimes 3) times daily, i missed out on nothing yet cut down significantly on interruptions. i was able to work better, and — bonus — it was more enjoyable when i actually did check, because there was more likely to be something fun in there (like a comment from you, perhaps!)
■ reading is fun. and reading NOT on a screen is relaxing and different. it is a calmer, less overstimulated experience than flitting from site to site on the internet. i would like to do more of it. i even went to the library yesterday!
■ i’m better off treating google reader like a buffet. meaning: one day i might just nibble from the cheese tray, another night i might want a more substantial meal, and sometimes i may just choose to dine elsewhere. eating the WHOLE buffet every night = bad idea.
■ watch the clock. i want to continue to be conscious of the time i spend online! writing a blog post is one thing (my GOD i spend forever doing this — longer than i thought), but otherwise i would like to be more moderate in general in my media consumption.
anyone else going to undertake a similar challenge? if so, you’ll have to let me know how it goes!
168 hours, continued
i loved reading your thoughts on the book and your comments on yesterday‘s post.
jenny: i love reading about your experiences because you seem to be someone who truly DOES have an amazing balance. and you make it sound so doable! i am not completely against a second shift at night; i guess i just don’t want to feel like it’s something i always have to do.
chelsea and siobhan: okay, perhaps you have a point about the vacuuming with a baby underfoot. i guess i just felt that her position on outsourcing was extreme. wash and fold laundry, online groceries, and pre-fab meals? then again, until i’ve personally experienced grocery shopping with 2 kids in tow, maybe i should keep my mouth shut.
valerie and khar: ahh, yes! my blood boiled at the suggestion to not waste time packing your child’s lunch. you mentioned fed up with lunch, which i have seen — and i guess maybe she hasn’t! perhaps her children attend a (private?) school where the standards are higher, but honestly, i can’t imagine not packing my children’s lunches someday.
finally, while we’re on the subject of work-life balance (seems to be the theme this week, huh?), i found the recent ny times article on what it is like for mothers in france very interesting. i think it would be great if they continued the series with experiences in other countries, such as scandinavia, japan, india, etc . . .
off to kentucky
and offline. have a wonderful weekend!
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10.15.10
workout: 6 miles (paces 8:41 – 9:13/mi on the TM, 0.5% incline) + 10 minutes upper body weights (yeah, i know 10 is pretty paltry.)
board prep: we’ve pretty much reached the end! i will bring my flashcards and do a bit of review of ‘visual’ things (look @ pictures) but my studying is pretty much over. can’t wait until i can say the test is behind me!
4 Comments
Congrats on the experiment/experience! Sounds like it was very interesting.
I haven't done a "media cleanse", although when I'm on vacation and/or traveling, I do try to limit email and surfing the internet.
In terms of my regular, day-to-day life, it's not like cutting myself off for a week, but I don't let myself check email or surf the web on Friday afternoons/evenings. I feel like that allows me to disconnect a bit more from the work week, and I slow down a bit more than I would otherwise.
enjoy KY! i love the idea of treating google reader as a buffet! i get sooo overwhelmed sometimes by the amount of posts that i get there.
I probably have way too much screen time (via computer mainly, I don't watch much TV), but blogs are a community to me! When I lived in Pennsylvania, bloggers were my best friends and it honestly helped me get through that time in my life. Since I've moved, I've found myself spending less time on the computer (just because I have other things I want to be doing with my time). If I have a busy week and get behind on my google reader, I try not to freak out anymore and just read a few instead of trying to totally catch up.
What an interesting article on women in France! All the perks sound amazing, but at the same time…the inequality is crazy. I wonder how the vaginal exercises would fare in America…..
Great idea for a media cleanse! If I didn't depend on my computer so much for school, I would love to partake. Your point about reading really hit hard with me; I need to do something to relax that actually lets me relax!
Have a lovely day!
xo