Recently, my two girls were gifted a brand new computer from their grandmother. Â They were so excited to have a computer to do “their stuff” on, one that they could call their own. Â The thing is…it’s a nice computer, nicer than the laptop that I use for my online adventures. Â It’s bigger, Â newer, and man is it fast! Â I knew that I wanted to use it for scrapbooking and my other online adventures, but I knew it had to be available for the girls to use whenever they wanted, too. Â It is theirs after all.
So, I decided to drastically adjust my computer time. Â I had gotten into a nasty habit of spending most of my free time online. Â It’s funny how that happens, you never seem to set out to lose yourself in the computer, but after a while it just consumes you. Â It had gone too far, and this was the perfect time to make a change for me. Â So the decision was made: Â the girls would have first dibs on the computer (within parental reason, of course) and I would leave all of my heavy duty computer stuff like scrapbooking for times when they were in bed. Â I’m not going to lie, it scared me at first.
A funny thing happened, though. Â When I started thinking about having less time to complete the things that I needed to do, I started thinking about how to get things done more effectively. Â I started thinking about how I could get things done and use my time economically. Â After a few weeks of unplugging and thinking about using my online time more effectively, I started getting more done. Â More than I was getting done when I was spending all of my free time online AND I was having more time to spend with my awesome family! Â For me, the key to getting MORE done was actually spending LESS time on the computer. Â Who knew?
I challenge you to think about the time you spend on the computer. Â Think about unplugging a bit, and how you can more effectively use the time you have on the computer. Â Not only will you get more done, but I can attest that you will find more time to do things that will fill you with more joy than any website can.
Have you tried unplugging? What happened?
I have not tried to unplug. I am retired and no children at home. I love the online scrapbooking sites and staying connected with friends and family online.
I probably NEED to unplug so I will be able to do other things that are more productive.