A time-diary update
I told you last week that I was going to keep a time diary to help me find areas in my life where I'm wasting time or maybe just spending it on things that I don't really want to be spending it on.
I'm not going to trot out my daily records here (that would get boring for you), but I will tell you that I decided the main place where I waste time is on the computer, and more specifically on the internet.
I tend to be consistently efficient in the way I use my time away from the computer, and I also tend to spend that time in ways the reflect my priorities (which means that I do things like talk to my kids, hang out with Mr. FG, go to the pool, etc. It's not all work!)
And to a degree, I'm that way online...I keep on top of my email fairly well, I blog faithfully, I organize my pictures, and I do a number of blog-related tasks.
But I find myself sitting down at my computer way more often than is necessary, thinking I'll just check Twitter or my email, and then I end up getting sucked in and wasting 20 minutes. That's not the end of the world, but if you do it a lot of times over the course of a day, it starts to add up.
So, I'm not going to keep a general time diary this week but I am going to keep an internet time diary...every time I check Twitter or email or Facebook or Pinterest or whatever else, I'll write it down. At the end of the week, I should be able to see how much of my internet time is spent well and how much is just wasted.
As with my regular time diary, I know this diary won't be an accurate reflection of how I've been spending my internet time because I will inevitably self-correct.
But correcting my bad habit of checking my email every time I walk by the computer is what I'm after, so it's all good.
Because I know some of you will be thinking, "What?? It's ok to have fun on the internet and it's not necessarily wasting time.", I'll add a link here to the Don't Waste Your Leisure post I wrote. In it, I explain my thoughts about the difference between meaningful, truly refreshing leisure time and wasted leisure time that doesn't really leave you refreshed.
Suffice it to say that at least part of my internet time is the wasted sort that doesn't leave me refreshed.
If you kept a time diary, how did it go for you? Were you surprised at what you saw? Did you do a lot of self-correction?
There are computer programs that will keep track of your computer usage, and others that will limit your time on websites. You want me to find names? ('Twon't be onerous, probably 1-2 emails.)
I do! I do! Especially if they are free.
I'm still analyzing my time diary (and procrastinating, and getting distracted...), but it's looking like my findings will be quite similar.
Ooh, I could use this too! Although I think I'd be super-mad at myself when I saw the breakdown..
Me three! I'd be interested.
Yes, you're right, Internet use can be a huge time drain. I think most of us are guilty of that from time to time. But I also understand that you have a minimum of time that you actually need to be online, to maintain your site, and stay in contact with your readers. Balance is what I think you're looking for. I'm having to deal with this myself, on a much smaller scale.
What I have found helpful is to add framework to my day. The evening before, I jot down my list and priorities. I have a specific set of things I want/need to accomplish, and time periods that I'm most effective at these tasks. Included in these specific tasks is Internet activity.
I am striving to keep to this daily framework, but it doesn't always work out. I continue to be a work in progress, in all areas!
Yep, balance is it. I want to just be spending internet time on things I really want to spend it on instead of frittering it away.
Listening to a radio programme last week, they were talking about the correlation between checking FB and Twitter and joint/back problems. Now this was specifically with regard smart phones, but the point was that they felt you may have a potential social media addiction if for example you get up in the night to get a drink, and check your phone for updates. Confession time...I've done this. But realising that this is slightly odd behaviour is the first step to dealing with it. I enjoy my online time so much that it is tempting to keep delving in, but I know it's not productive. So consciously I'm making an effort to block time periods to check in and blog etc...
On another note the time-diary was very useful for me as it helped identify that my morning routine is awful! I have self-corrected - so thanks for the push to keep one.
Started on the time diary but postponed due to a unusual event going on--I am knitting a cashmere stole for my niece to wear at her wedding next month. I'm cramming in as much time on it as possible to get it done by the end of June so there is no last-minute panic! This project very much fits in with my goals (creating a handmade gift, using my talents to help others, fostering family relationships) but it is skewing my usual time patterns right now. Have been enjoying the unusual treat of watching episodes of Downton Abbey on DVD while I knit.
I'll resume when this project is done. And pretty sure the internet will be my time-waster, too. I have given up on Pinterest because I felt it did foster those feelings of discontent I like to avoid about cool stuff I could buy or make but don't need. And it did suck up a lot of time.
Oh, I loved Downton Abbey! It was a big time-sucker for me while it was running.
We watched the first season within about a week on Netflix, then anxiously waited for the episodes of season 2 to become available online!
Without keeping a diary, I knew that as a the parent of a young blog who likes to check whether her newborn is still breathing quite regularly, as well as checking the blog babies and children of others, the computer would be a big drain. Keeping a diary for a couple of days just confirmed it! All that 'just checking my emails for a minute' and an hour and a half later I'm still frittering time...I'm working on less 'snacking' on the internet, and like Jo, sticking to time blocks where I only do what I'm supposed to be doing!
Sarah - love the analogies! babies and snacking! Fantastic!
Well, I just posted my time diary update, and I was surprised at what I found. I don't spend as much time on the internet as I thought I did (I partly credit resisting the Pinterest craze).
http://jessieimproved.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/time-diary-update/
Dear Frugal Girl,
My time Diary was alarming, I spend 10 hours a day,
accomplishing less and less. I was shocked. Also, computer time affects my mood and health. Isolation and depression beyond anything I have experienced in 51 years.
Last night I informed friends, really associate's that I am closing my facebook account and they can call me.
Thank-you
I am effected in a way that is so painful, extreme depression . Which I realize is life threatening, its like drinking sand when you need water.
I kept a time diary for...about 3 days, but I already knew beforehand that the internet is a big time sucker for me.
I've started writing two of my blog posts for the week on Sunday nights and scheduling them, (LOVE that!) so that I don't have to spend x amount of time during the week blogging/being interrupted by the kids/trying to remember what I was writing about, but I still spend way too much time on Facebook and Pinterest. They just suck me in so easily!
I'm trying to cut it back to at most an hour a day, which still seems like quite a lot. Hm.
The solution that works for me is to turn the computer OFF. If I know I'll have to wait for it to come on, I'm less interested in seeing if I have new e-mail.
I do that too - works a treat! Particularly with my PC - I swear there's a little mouse inside that runs a wheel to get it started - takes forever to boot up - so rarely tempted to just boot up and log out quickly....
"I have given up on Pinterest because I felt it did foster those feelings of discontent I like to avoid about cool stuff I could buy or make but don't need. And it did suck up a lot of time." Thank you, Jen, for crystalizing for me exactly why I hated Piniterest from the first time I looked at it and never signed in again. I kept feeling like it was window shopping, which I also detest---not because I am virtuous, but because it makes me want to spend money and get things i don't even end up really wanting.
Thanks for the idea Kirsten! I like the idea to keep a time diary for Internet usage as I found I had trouble keeping one for the whole day. That being said, I don't need one to tell you that Internet is by far my greatest time suck. We bought a desktop computer on purpose to keep in the basement from the main living area. That really reduced my unscheduled e-mail checks/Internet surfing. However since my laptop and wireless connection have been fixed, those random 5minute check-ins that turn into 1 hour zombie surfing have resurfaced. I think I'll try scheduling a specific computer time and once it's over turn it off for the day. I've been resisting Pinterest and I think Jen has given me more reason to continue! Thanks Jen!
I generally check in on my laptop 3 times a day. In the morning I read the paper online and check email and facebook. At around noon I look at my favorite blogs and pinterest, as well as my email and facebook and in the evening I watch shows on hulu and check email and facebook before I go to bed.
I find if I limit myself to 3 times a day, I spend less time online. Although, I am reopening my etsy shop soon and I'll have to factor in time for that.
One thing that I've found really helpful for me is an extension for Google Chrome called "Stay Focused" - it allows you to choose which websites you want to limit your time on and which you can peruse freely. A good and/or bad thing about it is that it limits time on all blocked sites collectively - so you cannot tell it you want to be able to peruse facebook for 15 minutes and pinterest for 15 minutes, you just set a max time for all "blocked" or limited sites.
Another interesting extension is called "RescueTime Productivity Meter" - it attempts to monitor and categorize the time spent on different types of websites for you. I tried using it once and felt it took too much time to get it to understand which websites I was browsing productively and which were distracted browsing, so I ended up not using it after that... Worth checking out if interested though!
The computer is definitely my big time-eater... although I think most of my computer-ing is due to my online college classes!
Thanks for sharing this post. Not only do I sometimes waste too much time online, I feel like that time is spent adrift looking for something to capture my interest...like browsing a magazine at the doctor's office. Instead of being deeply engaged, I'm just purusing trying to find an idea that grabs my attention, and I waste way too much time on money blogs looking for that next big tip or idea. Meanwhile, the real big tip is to limit this lost time, focus on the blogs I really enjoy and from which I learn and then get active in the real world. After this comment I'm switching off. One last thing -- I've tried giving myself an hour on Friday nights (oh, my exciting life) to check out my time wasters, and when I keep to that practice I find the indulgence so much more satisfying.
Too much computer time here, too! Here are my time diary results:
http://readysetsimplify.com/2012/06/27/time-diary-experiment-results-yikes/
Check out Mind the Time add-on! I use Firefox and have just been using the add-on for a couple of days but it has already shown me websites that I am spending more time on!
Sadly I have never been to an Aldis nor do I know where the closest one is to my house. Sounds like a store I would like though! Consider yourselves lucky for having options; we have two regional chain grocery stores and a Super Walmart(which I hate).
I received my Aldi gift card. It was a welcome blessing. I just wanted to let you know it was used to have a mommy and son date night. My 11 year old son Noah and I had Sirloin steak screwers (verrrry yummy) and sweet corn as a special treat for our "mommy and son" only party. He of course helped me cook. I love my little sous chef. We then laid the rest of my mulch around my Hostas and the all along the back side of my house and then went in and played a long game of Payday (bought at a garage sale). It was an awesome Saturday night "out"...er well "in" with my son.
Tina Ray
I absolutely love Aldi and what Aldi has done for the "poor pocket communities" where the residents are literally
Targeted by major food conglomerates to sell them complete junk foods, made from artificial flavorings, artificial coloring. Basically "Laboratory Food" that was never meant to be eaten at all. But the price is right and parents are often forced to feed this crap to their growing off spring because the alternative is literally "starvation" ....With. Aldi stores n now serving these neighborhoods many people are able to eat like real humans. Their kids (& often themselves) have the ability to expand on their cuisine. They can n o w afford Artisan Crafted cheeses, real sweet cream butter (1 lb fit 2.69$) half the cost anywhere else, enjoy fresh produce, pnut butter (organic) for 1.99, variius other dairy products. The can throw dinner parties and serve first rate dips. Great bottled water. Even if your a Ginger ale obvessed nut like me you can by a 12 pack for about 2.75. These are regular everyday prices. Baking supplies fir a fraction of the cost anywhere else. They gave given alot of Moms some "fire power" to fight back some of the bad food companies. Aldi and Trader Joe's. I am thankful to have access to both of these places!