Balancing Computer Time With Life

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Permalink Reply by Patty Wysong on September 5, 2008 at 12:52pm

Because much of my 'work' is on the computer, I mute my computer so I don't hear the emails pinging in, and if I don't hear them, I can focus on 'work' without the constant distraction.

The timer is a good idea. I've also seen where people have set times to do certain things. One woman I know does her email for the day at 11 pm (she's a single night owl)...

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Permalink Reply by Kara on September 5, 2008 at 12:57pm

I set the timer too. And when I'm feeling the "urge" to sit down and check stuff, I make it like a reward for getting something done that I've been putting off. Like...sort the sock basket THEN I can sit and play on the computer for awhile. LOL

It works out pretty good for me, and I've been getting a lot of the yuckier tasks done!

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Permalink Reply by Cindy on September 5, 2008 at 2:06pm

This is a wonderful question. I usually can only spend about a 1/2 hour at a time, sporadically during the day, online. I have a timer and his name is Dylan and he is 11.
But, I do have to be careful at night after he goes to sleep...both my hubby and I could spend all evening on our respective computers, online if we didn't just shut it down.
We don' t have cable so this is our "Boob Tube" I guess. It is just that by 9 pm I am just plain worn out and want to veg at the computer.
I need an outside life. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Cindy on September 5, 2008 at 2:06pm

Yeah this works for me too!

Kara said:

I set the timer too. And when I'm feeling the "urge" to sit down and check stuff, I make it like a reward for getting something done that I've been putting off. Like...sort the sock basket THEN I can sit and play on the computer for awhile. LOL

It works out pretty good for me, and I've been getting a lot of the yuckier tasks done!

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Permalink Reply by Mrs. Joseph Jones on September 22, 2008 at 11:54am

I am online 2-3 times a day due to the amount of work I have to do on it. I spend roughly an hour in the morning, and another hour when the little ones are napping in the afternoon. The third time I am online is in the late evening after everyone is in bed, but that isn't as often. There are days when I have to spend more time on the computer. I have several blogs and our family website to maintain. Thankfully, Beloved does the business side including our Ebay sales. I can't get my mind wrapped around that. I also have begun writing articles for Associated Content, so have to do a lot of writing whenever I have time and inspiration.

My days start early. Beloved has to be awake at 4:30am to get ready for work. After he leaves, I still have 2-3 hours until the little ones are both awake. With our not using electric lights, I find that I spend the longest stretches of time on the computer during the times of day when the natural lighting is not sufficient for doing my cleaning and other tasks.

I keep the computer on, but something that I have found to help is to turn off the monitor. If you don't see the lit up screen, it is easier to walk away from the computer. If hearing the computer alerts of when you have email is too much of a temptation, turn off the sound. Actually, I do the same with the phone's ringer except during the times when I know my Beloved is most likely to call me. We both have the prepaid cell phones and choose to text each other instead of calling anyways. I like having the ringer turned off as I can get much more done without the interruptions from telemarketers and such.

Paula

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