re-connected

October 16, 2010

back to 2010

i had intended for my media cleanse to last a full week, but when josh suggested yesterday evening (over the phone) that perhaps 5 pm on a friday would make a good ending point, i thought about it for 0.03 seconds and then:


yeah, well. it was fun interesting while it lasted! (ps: please ignore the lameness of the rest of my evening; it was more enjoyable than it looks!)

what did i get out of the experience?
i can (and should) control the flow of my email. by checking 2 (sometimes 3) times daily, i missed out on nothing yet cut down significantly on interruptions. i was able to work better, and — bonus — it was more enjoyable when i actually did check, because there was more likely to be something fun in there (like a comment from you, perhaps!)

reading is fun. and reading NOT on a screen is relaxing and different. it is a calmer, less overstimulated experience than flitting from site to site on the internet. i would like to do more of it. i even went to the library yesterday!

i’m better off treating google reader like a buffet. meaning: one day i might just nibble from the cheese tray, another night i might want a more substantial meal, and sometimes i may just choose to dine elsewhere. eating the WHOLE buffet every night = bad idea.

watch the clock. i want to continue to be conscious of the time i spend online! writing a blog post is one thing (my GOD i spend forever doing this — longer than i thought), but otherwise i would like to be more moderate in general in my media consumption.

anyone else going to undertake a similar challenge? if so, you’ll have to let me know how it goes!

168 hours, continued
i loved reading your thoughts on the book and your comments on yesterday‘s post.

jenny: i love reading about your experiences because you seem to be someone who truly DOES have an amazing balance. and you make it sound so doable! i am not completely against a second shift at night; i guess i just don’t want to feel like it’s something i always have to do.

chelsea and siobhan: okay, perhaps you have a point about the vacuuming with a baby underfoot. i guess i just felt that her position on outsourcing was extreme. wash and fold laundry, online groceries, and pre-fab meals? then again, until i’ve personally experienced grocery shopping with 2 kids in tow, maybe i should keep my mouth shut.

valerie and khar: ahh, yes! my blood boiled at the suggestion to not waste time packing your child’s lunch. you mentioned fed up with lunch, which i have seen — and i guess maybe she hasn’t! perhaps her children attend a (private?) school where the standards are higher, but honestly, i can’t imagine not packing my children’s lunches someday.

finally, while we’re on the subject of work-life balance (seems to be the theme this week, huh?), i found the recent ny times article on what it is like for mothers in france very interesting. i think it would be great if they continued the series with experiences in other countries, such as scandinavia, japan, india, etc . . .

off to kentucky
and offline. have a wonderful weekend!

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10.15.10

workout: 6 miles (paces 8:41 – 9:13/mi on the TM, 0.5% incline) + 10 minutes upper body weights (yeah, i know 10 is pretty paltry.)

board prep: we’ve pretty much reached the end! i will bring my flashcards and do a bit of review of ‘visual’ things (look @ pictures) but my studying is pretty much over. can’t wait until i can say the test is behind me!

4 Comments

  • Reply Kristina March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    Congrats on the experiment/experience! Sounds like it was very interesting.
    I haven&#39t done a "media cleanse", although when I&#39m on vacation and/or traveling, I do try to limit email and surfing the internet.
    In terms of my regular, day-to-day life, it&#39s not like cutting myself off for a week, but I don&#39t let myself check email or surf the web on Friday afternoons/evenings. I feel like that allows me to disconnect a bit more from the work week, and I slow down a bit more than I would otherwise.

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    enjoy KY! i love the idea of treating google reader as a buffet! i get sooo overwhelmed sometimes by the amount of posts that i get there.

  • Reply Susan - Nurse on the Run March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    I probably have way too much screen time (via computer mainly, I don&#39t watch much TV), but blogs are a community to me! When I lived in Pennsylvania, bloggers were my best friends and it honestly helped me get through that time in my life. Since I&#39ve moved, I&#39ve found myself spending less time on the computer (just because I have other things I want to be doing with my time). If I have a busy week and get behind on my google reader, I try not to freak out anymore and just read a few instead of trying to totally catch up.

    What an interesting article on women in France! All the perks sound amazing, but at the same time…the inequality is crazy. I wonder how the vaginal exercises would fare in America…..

  • Reply Mandiee March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    Great idea for a media cleanse! If I didn&#39t depend on my computer so much for school, I would love to partake. Your point about reading really hit hard with me; I need to do something to relax that actually lets me relax!

    Have a lovely day!
    xo

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