media diet: day 1

September 17, 2009

going on a media diet


so many blogs, so little time . . .

all right, i love the blogging community, i really do. but as nerdy as it is to admit, lately i have been spending way too much time keeping up with my google reader while the rest of life sort of languishes on the sidelines.

back to the food analogy: if blog entries were cookies, i’d be morbidly obese by this point! while i do have more free time on this rotation, i also have a lot of projects that i had put off until i had more free time. i really need to clean up my act and take advantage of that! starting today.


media food pyramid, from wired magazine — click to enlarge. and apparently 9 hours is the actual amount of time an average american is in front of a screen . . . check out this rather horrifying NYtimes article on YOUR screen for more details!

so starting today, i’m going on a media diet (vickie, this is similar to one of our shopping manifestos, only hopefully more effective). starting today, my “media meal plan” will consist of

■ just 30 minutes of internet-perusing time on weekdays, in the AM only
■ no trashy TV after work (we have no TV, but . . . i watch online!) until i’ve accomplished at least something on my list

i plan to spend the time i save on both work and play: catching up on some longer-term work projects, reading more in the form of an actual BOOK, and just generally enjoying life away from my macbook.

i will report back on my progress (i don’t plan on cutting back on my blog-writing time, after all)! anyone who wants to join me is welcome, of course. i am probably not the only one a little too attached to my precious media . . .

(by the way, i didn’t come up with the media diet concept, or the term — i think i got it from the productivity site 43 folders several years ago!)

morning tips
thank you all for a collection of great tips yesterday! to summarize, here are some of your helpful hints:

☑ pack lunch the night before (many of you!)
☑ set up the coffeemaker the night before (live, love, eat + play)
☑ laying out clothes + setting out all electronic devices (crgilvr)
☑ avoid turning on the computer (marathon maiden) — this would surely help, but MM, how would i post?
☑ get up 5 minutes or so earlier (kim)
☑ run after work instead (cee)
☑ not stress about it until actually late (atilla)
☑ organize kids’ stuff ahead of time! (siobhan and krista, who really put me into place and gave me some perspective — i imagine it must be 9,999,999 times harder to get out the door on time when there are babies/kids involved!)

i will definitely be using some of your tips, so thanks so much for sharing your insights and experiences! i also think that just by paying more attention to the issue, i am likely to improve. yesterday i actually got to clinic at 8:00 . . . on the dot! it was a much more pleasant start to my day, even if clinic itself was a bit of a cluster.

thursday!
already? really!?? time is flying on this rotation. i guess that’s because i really like it.

——————————————————————————-

9.16.09

workout: 5 miles easy, average pace 8:49/mi

doin’ time: nada, leftovers night!

reading: nada, but let me tell you, i cleaned out my google reader. which is why my media diet is quite a good idea right now.

9 Comments

  • Reply da March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    "apparently 9 hours is the actual amount of time an average american is in front of a screen"…I wonder if that includes work time? The pyramid suggests otherwise, which is really scary–assuming, say, 8 work hours and 7 hours of sleep, it means that virtually ALL of the average american&#39s free time is spent in front of a screen!
    L, da

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    i totally know what you mean about google reader taking up so much time, i get overwhelmed seeing how many new posts there are!

    heh, "how would i post?" guess you wouldn&#39t 😉 at least not in the morning, but by not turning the computer on i easily save a half hour! craziness

    and great for the media diet. luckily my school is "frugal" and doesn&#39t give us cable but i need to cut down on my mindless internet time

  • Reply Whitney@whitsgettingfit March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    Media diet sounds like a good idea! 😀 I am going to be looking into locations for a blogger meet up, so I may be sending you some ideas. (if e-mail is not part of your media diet that is!) I am so excited you are doing Thunder Road too!

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    Blogging can take a ton of time. Hope your media diet goes well.

    Your doing Thunder Road this year? I ran it last year and really liked it except for getting sick the night before. The course is actually pretty nice, but very hilly. Let me know if you have any questions about it.

  • Reply Chelsea March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    I seriously need a media diet. I need to decide what blogs I *really* want to keep up with and dump the rest- probably mostly the big name blogs that- in my opinion- get kind of repetitive.

    9 hours sounds about right to me if it includes work. That&#39s why I hate to get on the computer if I&#39m not working.

  • Reply Jess March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    Oh that&#39s so awful and I think I&#39m actually close to 9 hours, but not quite. Well, maybe only 5-6, but that still seems terrible.

    A media diet is a good idea–just don&#39t stop posting!

  • Reply Susan March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    I was actually just thinking about this yesterday! I spent an obscene amount of time reading blogs, and I could be doing so many other constructive things with that time. The problem is that so many people are so interesting! I should clean out my google reader a little. I feel bad if people are commenting on my blog and I&#39m not reading their blogs, but I really think I&#39m going to go on a media diet myself. I spend wayyy too much time reading blogs.

  • Reply atilla March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    what gets thinner on this diet?

  • Reply Allie (Live Laugh Eat) March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    I definitely need to go on this diet!! I&#39ve got an exam Tuesday and that kick starts the whole paper/exam season 🙁 Don&#39t be missin&#39 school!! Too bad it&#39s my form of stress relief and relaxation hahaha I&#39m so lame. I agree though, I need to cut back.

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