Having a more balanced life (and wasting less time)

[goravens]

I am realizing how much I waste my time, especially on the internet! (I realize there is an irony in posting that here, but thought this would be a good place to get some perspective ) At any rate, I have several sites that I frequent and I can easily get caught up into the latest goings-on and spend, in my estimation, too much of my time on the computer. I think part of the deal for me, is that when my own free time is somewhat limited by having a small child, it’s so much easier to pull up to the computer and log on rather than starting work on one of my hobbies that may or may not get finished by the time my little one wakes up from a nap.

Granted, I can do a lot of research that needs to be done on the internet. And I can participate in communities like this one. But I seriously need to set some limits for myself to have a more balanced lifestyle! Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[Ahimsa]

Is there software you can buy, that will only let you turn on your computer for a limited time range (e.g., 1 hour per day) you set?

If there isn’t, maybe you could become rich by making such software?

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

Read Living our Lives in Balance.

 

[Sagefrakrobatik]

I know exactly where your coming from. I too am an internet junkie. Specifically Internet forums. I belong to 6 other message boards including this one. I dont know what it is but its exciting to bring up issues that are important to me and have people talk about them. I also find Wikipedia and Amazon to be equally addicting. Especially with all the refrences and hyperlinks its easy to get distracted. I have a few hobbies that i try to maintain so that im not constantly online;

cooking
reading
collecting news articles
making beats on the MPC
teaching my self spanish
and ocassionally taking the dog for a walk.

What you have to do is have structure. For instance sometimes i will say when i log on to this forum or other forums. I will limit my time to an hour or six replies or new threads. So that way you have some boundaries. Dont feel ashamed i have to master the art of internet discipline. Also think about joining an organization or your church. I know that my library sponsores monthly conversations known as Socrates cafe which is used to stimulate the intellectual life of the neighboring community.

 

[puzzleannie]

Time management for Catholics by Dave Durand from Sophia Inst. press, must-have spiritual guide for all Catholics who want to properly order their time.

 

[Andruschak]

IGranted, I can do a lot of research that needs to be done on the internet. And I can participate in communities like this one. But I seriously need to set some limits for myself to have a more balanced lifestyle! Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.

I suppose to sit down with someone you trust, such as a Spiritual Directer, and consider what you really NEED, as opposed to what you would like.

In my case, by a strange coincidence to this thread, I dropped the 2 Internet Newsgroups I was still in. I had dropped alt.support.menopause earlier. I dropped rec.arts.sf.fandom and altcallahans this morning. I will try to use the time for more prayer.

I also need to cut back on computer games, but this was at least a start.

 

[StephanieC]

I’ve given up CAF for Lent for the past 2 years. Not so much because I’m concerned about wasting time on them, but because surfing the forums is so enjoyable for me. It’s amazing how easy it actually is to give up this simple pleasure, however, for a dedicated & Holy season such as Lent.

What if you looked ahead in the liturgical year and portioned off “little Lents” for yourself, and paced yourself with the reduced internet time? You could even decide that for the next 4 weeks (for example), you would sacrifice xyz online site or x amount of time online for the intention of _________. (The 4 weeks after that would be for a new intention).