I’d talked about needing to simplify my life. The biggest optional time sink for me is the internet. There are a lot of things that I legitimately need to do online, so banning it doesn’t make sense. I’ve decided to try a very simple rule set.
1. I’m allowed one hour of internet time per day.
2. If I want more I have to “buy” it by doing an equal amount of time writing or editing first.
3. Time researching a story, if not knowing will stop me from writing, counts as neutral.
How’s it working? I finished a story today, which has been on my plate for the last month. I’ve got a story that I needed to revise open right now. I’ve already hit the sites that I normally read and still have twenty-five minutes of time allowed online. I’ll bank it rather than just aimlessly surfing.
Indeed. I find myself spending so many hours online, yet what am I doing that’s productive? Checking my friends list takes, at maximum, thirty minutes per day. And checking email/web boards takes mere minutes. So what do I do? Read useless junk.
Seriously, if my university wasn’t so incredibly gung-ho about doing half their things online, I’d pull the plug on the router (can’t cancel the Internet, I’m in a package deal for a year) and pick up a book or the phone or the Playstation. At least I know that with the PS2, I will eventually get tired of it.
I am tempted to follow your lead, except I’ll substitute schoolwork for writing.
Yeah, I just finished editing a story that I’ve been meaning to do for, again, weeks but just “couldn’t find the time.” Good heavens. What have I been doing?
You too, eh? I’ve been chronicling the trials and tribulations of GIS labs on my LiveJournal, and half my procrastination was due to being ill and unable to get out of bed, but seriously. Once I got down to it and quit whining about having to do it? It took less than two hours.
“What have I been doing?” I ask myself that entirely too much…
Ahem. Remind me not to put you in charge of my life, harsh mistress!
Or maybe I should …