Ditching the Distraction: the Accountability Approach

October 21, 2014
SO.  I discussed the other day about how an email pact with a friend was instrumental in helping me ditch an internet time waster.  It worked so well that Ana and I have decided to start a new accountability project to ditch some other digital distractions that seem to have insidiously seeped into the crevices of life.  At least for me, they have.  
Facebook on a random evening (funny how after a glass of wine; I find myself LIKING! everything)
Email on the elevator (UGH)
A scroll through Feedly before bed (ick)
Perhaps a glance at Instagram during a play session . . .  (aghghghgh)
I hate these behaviors, and I want to do other things with chunks of free time (like reading, or talking to real people, or even writing posts here).   I have made numerous attempts at quitting, but have not been successful.  However, I am determined.
I have given up an annoyingly addictive website.
I have given up grains (INCLUDING PIZZA) and more.  97% of the time, anyway.
So clearly, I can do this.  (RIGHT?!)
Here’s my plan with its bright line rules:
Weekdays

Blogs/social media (includes facebook, instagram, etc) only allowed between the hours of 5-6 am (I like to look at blogs / insta before running and I don’t mind this habit) and 7-8 pm (b/c it can be nice to do this while A watches her one allotted episode of Mickey, after I feed C 🙂 ).

Weekends

Social media during any simultaneous afternoon naptime only (note, these occurrences sadly are rare and short!)

Of note, I do not plan to fill those hours with the above digital activities; those are just the only hours in which those activities are allowed.  I will track the time I actually spend plugged in, in the name of research and curiosity.
I plan to put some additional rules in effect for email, but I am learning that one-thing-at-a-time is always better when it comes to habit change.  So, I’ll focus on the above.  I plan to track on paper and also check in with my accountability partner — and you all.  Please feel free to join us.  If you are really gung-ho (as I am) and can offer a lot of motivation I can even add you to a group email, so let me know if you’d want that.
In other news, this was pretty much our weekend:

Actually, I think it just feels like we did nothing but lie around all day.  There was actually a fair amount of action:  playground time, brunch @ g-parents, a super-fun work party (really, REALLY fun!), and dinner out Sunday night (Burger & Beer is quickly becoming a habit).  BUT I also got some viral nastiness on Sunday, did exactly zero exercise, and had to cancel a playdate while I was feeling febrile and contagious.

Workout report:
(LAME week due to feeling sick over the weekend)

Monday:  6 miles, 9:19/mi average
Tuesday: Barre3 online workout (30 minutes)
Wednesdsay: Tempo – ~4.5 mi total, 1 mi WU (9:45/mi); 1 mi tempo (8:18/mi), 0.25 mi recovery jog, 1 mi tempo (8:28/mi), 1.1 mi CD (10:04/mi)
Thursday: 5.4 mi easy (9:46/mi)
Friday: Slept in (rest day)

I was feeling great about the week, and then I got C’s cold:

Saturday: 13 minutes of a FitnessBlender circuit workout before I realized I felt awful (although possibly it was also too hard for me)
Sunday: Recovery from cold

Total miles = 16.  Would have been ~24 with the long run I had planned, but it is what it is 🙂

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