Monday, September 7, 2009

Wasting Time

So, I've heard and read a lot of things lately about wasting time, so I've done a quick overview of my time and how much of it is wasted.

  1. Facebook - definitely a time waster, but something I enjoy doing very much. I like to keep in contact with family and friends and I think it's an awesome way to do so. So, how am I going to not let it waste anymore of my time that necessary? Well, it's called self-control and will power. I just have to tell myself that I can't neglect all the other things in my life (ie: husband, children, housework) and see how that works for me, because I really don't want to just give it up completely. My sister and I were having a discussion about this last night, and she was telling me about someone who just went on and deactivated her Facebook and has been amazed at all the things she's accomplished since then. I'm going to try a different approach and see if I can learn some self control, or I might just do the same.
  2. TV - something that used to be a big issue for me, but now instead of sitting in front of the TV, I've transferred it to the computer. I still enjoy TV, but I try to keep it in moderation. I've gotten a lot better at just turning it off. Ross likes to have it on for background noise even if he is not watching anything, but I'm not a fan of just letting garbage into the house, just for the sake of background noise, so I've convinced him to do the same. For the most part, we only watch shows that we have on our TiVo list. Occasionally we'll have a veg out day in front of the TV, but those are so rare considering our busy schedule, they don't bother me all that much, because at least we are all together for the most part. I still find that there are a few times that I have to ask Ross to turn off the TV and actually communicate with me or play with Alexis though. But, for the most part I'm pretty satisfied with how we have limited our TV time. We will see if this holds true when summer is over, because Ross is definitely a seasonal guy when it comes to TV. He can go all summer without it, but once it's cold and he isn't working outside mowing or such, he can become a HUGE couch potato!
  3. Computer in general - other than Facebook, the only computer activity that I spend a lot of time on is Blogger! I'm enjoying reading other folks blogs and learning about blogging myself. I used to have some writing skills when I was younger in school and I've found out that when you don't practice something you get a little rusty, so I'm hoping that blogging is going to refresh my memory and some of the writing skills I had will return. Also, I'm hoping that blogging will help me to express some more feeling that I may keep bottled up inside and allow me to see some new perspectives on things from other peoples blogs. I've already learned a few things about myself since I started blogging and I haven't been pleased with all of them, but it's a learning experience for me. So, even if I don't have many followers or people don't find my blog interesting, I'm doing it for ME!

Quick overview: I do waste time, but what am I going to do about it??

I'm going to committ to not waste anymore unnecessary time on Facebook (ie: no longer will I be playing all the silly games available, or taking anymore silly surveys just because, I'm going to communicate with people!), I'm going to continue being dilligent about managing my TV time, and I'm going to continue with blogging for now as well!

On another somewhat related note: For about 2-3 weeks now, I've really stepped up and stayed on top of my housework, hoping for the arrival of new baby any day! I've found I'm a lot less stressed and my home is so much more pleasant and easier to take care of if it isn't allowed to become disaster central! So, I'm committed to keeping my house straightened and cleaned much better than I've ever done before. I used to go to bed with a messy house, but no more! It only takes a few minutes to throw those dishes in the dishwasher, put away that folded laundry and pick up some toys here and there! And I find that I wake up in morning and feel so much better than I used to when I'd roll out of bed to a messy house!

4 comments:

Ashley said...

I agree with the waking up in a clean house thing! I have gotten much better about keeping at LEAST the living room and kitchen clean and picked up. I've also found that having the kids share a room and having a play room is easier to keep picked up. The kids have been doing great about putting one bucket of toys away before getting another one out, and there's never any mess in the bedroom since all that's in there is their beds and dressers! Our bedroom is another story though...!!! lol

I gave up facebook over a year ago and have loved life since then! Unfortunately it was really hard for me to avoid all the drama (even if it didn't involve me I was finding myself getting really upset by it), so it was better for me to just opt out. I do love blogging though, I hope to never give it up!!!

Can't wait to hear news about that baby!!!

Anonymous said...

I got up at 8:00, went to the computer to check the forecast for today(wanted to know how to dress!)and here I sit at 10:22 in my nightgown still in front of the computer. I did make three phone calls, two Constitution Party business and one personal, the rest of the time was checking and answering emails, some business but most personal communication.

Now I wouldn't consider it all "wasted time" but it makes one realize how quickly time passes while on the computer.

Anyway, you get nothing but cheers from me on limited televison watching. Time waster is my biggest reason for not watching TV, plus it's hard to find anything worth watching. I do watch Fox Business News, while I do my physical theraphy exercises, and I find that even watching "news" can be addicting. So, I avoid it unless it's exercise time.

Hope to get that phone call soon,

Mom

Chrissy said...

This got me to thinking...do we have to be productive all the time? ;o) I mean...when we talk about "wasting time" what should we be doing? If we haven't neglected our "household chores" so-to-speak, is it ok to veg out for a while? Wind down?

I don't know...I was just thinking! :o)

Jess said...

I think vegging out is perfectly acceptable!! That's something we love to do at our house, I just have to work a little harder the next day!