Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wasting Time

Today was the first day that I had both of my older kids in school for a full day, and just Ethan and me at home. I got to thinking how little I get done in a day, and I can't really figure out where my time goes. I want to be more productive. There are so many things that I want to do around my house, books that I want to read, etc., but nothing ever gets done.

I think the internet is my worst time waster. I tell myself I'll just check my e-mail, or check Facebook for just a minute, and I find myself sitting at the computer for hours. So, I've started thinking about what wasteful things I can cut out so I can start doing the more important things.

The first thing I did was cut down on the blog links that I have in my sidebar. I tried multiple times to catch up on my blog reading, and I never could. There was just too much, and I don't need to read that many blogs. So I narrowed it down to 10 that I can read every day. Then I saved the rest in a blog folder under my bookmarks. If I ever find my house clean and everything I want done, Ethan asleep and the kids at school, I'll have a nice, relaxing time reading blogs. Why are you laughing? One of these days it could happen.

My second thing I'm planning to do is cut back on TV watching. I really don't watch that much. Just one or two shows about three days a week. But I know that fall is coming soon, and all the new fall shows will be starting. If I start watching something, I'll get sucked in and won't want to miss it. And I want evening time after dinner to be family time. I don't want the TV to always be on. I'm ashamed to admit that at just about every dinner, we have the TV on. I don't want that, but it's not always my choice, unfortunately. So my plan for the fall is to maybe pick one show to watch, or if I can, none at all.

But back to the internet. I need to think of a better plan to not spend so much time on the computer, but still get the enjoyment that I get out of certain parts of it. I really like to read blogs. I love getting new ideas for my house, and just seeing what other people are doing. But I want to be reasonable. I like staying in touch with people on Facebook, but I don't need to spend so much time there either. So I'm going to have to think of a computer time schedule, or some way to limit myself that is enforceable. Like maybe a computer seat with an automatic ejector that will throw me out when my time is up.

Just some goals I'm thinking of with the kids back in school. I'm going to keep thinking about ways to be more productive and to actually feel like I've gotten something done at the end of each day.

4 comments:

  1. Good ideas, Bren! Now that I do photography my bum is REALLY glued to the computer chair. It's sad.

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  2. Glad to know I am not the only one out there who wastes time! I have been having those exact thoughts lately, what can I do to be more productive and what can I cut out of my internet life. My wonderful husband goes to work all day so I can stay home and raise our children only to come home to find I have accomplished nothing! How frustrating that must be for him!
    I think the automatic ejector seat is a great idea. Now how to make it work! We have engineers for husbands, lets use there brains!

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  3. I've been trying to do the same thing. The days I work, I limit my time to about 15 minutes on the computer. My days off is another story.

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  4. I have the same problem, but lately I've been stuck to the couch, either sleeping or just staring blankly at the tv. I've tried to use the pregnancy as an excuse, but I think that one's gotten a little old. I still have several things that I have to get done for my sister's wedding and I'm quickly running out of time.

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