Day 7. I made it. I was very unsure about this whole thing just a week ago. It amazes me how far I have come.
I have found that I simply can't live without the internet. Its where I have my fun. Its where I go to learn, socialize, and I have some work on there too. On the other hand, it is a incredible distraction. I have also found that it can bring people together, but if you aren't careful, it will come between you and those you care about.
I have caught a lot of grief from friends and family this week. In my experience, if you are being made fun of, you are on the right track. They say that I have to live, I can't deprive myself of everything I enjoy. So, I thought on it for a while. (Lots of time for thinking this week)
Is vegging out in front of a TV really living? I feel like I have lived so much more this week. TV is such a distraction. Not to mention the fact that there is so much on there that I don't care to have my family exposed to. All the advertisers trying to turn my children into mindless consuming machines. There is also the subject matter. Even on prime time. Too much sex, and other adult themes I don't care to have to explain to my 8 year old. There is just to much ICK out there. I know they are going to be exposed to this crap at school and other kids houses, but that doesn't mean I have to invite it into my home.
If you are what you eat, then are you also what you feed your soul? I don't want to feed my soul garbage.
I have found that in this week of no TV or internet that I feel like I have lived more purposefully. I have been more in tune with my family. Less distracted. I have been less frustrated with my children, and more satisfied in my roll as a mother, and wife. I have moved closer to God, partly because I am more in tune with my thoughts and feelings, and partly because if my increased time for prayer.
So, now that the week is over, I find myself as scared to turn the tech back on as I was to leave it behind.
I am scared that if I let it back into my life, I will slowly become more and more lax until I am right back where I started. So, now the time for negotiations begins. I am not the only person living in this home. I also have to take my husbands feelings into account, and he is not as into this as I am.
While I am full on ready to get rid of the TV completely, he would like to watch it occasionally. The one in the bedroom is definitely going. The one in the basement will stay off, except for an occasional family movie night, maybe once per month or so.
Computer games are a thing of the past. no more farmville. No more cityville. Facebook will be limited. I will allow myself to check it in quite alone moments, but the computer will remain off until the kids are in bed. I need to always maintain my focus on my family.
There have been a few events in my life recently that remind me that life is just to short. I don't want to waste a single second of it. I want to live intentionally, enjoying every last second!
So, there it is. My Tech free week. as of today, 4-10, we are still TV free. We did have a family movie night last night, we watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. It was fun. The kids loved it. It was the first TV we had watched in 13 days, and it went right back off afterwards. I have been able to cut my internet use way down, and have gotten a lot more odd jobs done around the house. We are settling into a routine, and it seems to be working out nicely! I have to say, that giving up the TV is one of the best things we have done for our family! And it really wasn't as hard as I feared it would be.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
My Tech free week 4-2
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
Day 6
Today is Saturday. Our first day stuck at home as a family. A normal Saturday would involve some sort of sports programing while my husband naps in the afternoon.
Lucky for us, the weather was beautiful. Shortly after breakfast was cleaned up, we all poured outside. We got the bikes out and cleaned out the garage. I took the opportunity to organize my garden stuff. That is about all I can do at this point since it will be to cold to plant for another 6 weeks at least.
It was fun to watch the kids play outside. We have been cooped up in the house since October. They were in absolute heaven! Riding bikes, skateboards, flying kites. The Boy even made his first ever bike ramp , and The Girl, not wanting to be outdone, promptly followed on her pink sparkly barbie bike.
At the end of the day we read books, did baths, and were so exhausted we didn't even think about the TV. This week has just blazed by!
Day 6
Today is Saturday. Our first day stuck at home as a family. A normal Saturday would involve some sort of sports programing while my husband naps in the afternoon.
Lucky for us, the weather was beautiful. Shortly after breakfast was cleaned up, we all poured outside. We got the bikes out and cleaned out the garage. I took the opportunity to organize my garden stuff. That is about all I can do at this point since it will be to cold to plant for another 6 weeks at least.
It was fun to watch the kids play outside. We have been cooped up in the house since October. They were in absolute heaven! Riding bikes, skateboards, flying kites. The Boy even made his first ever bike ramp , and The Girl, not wanting to be outdone, promptly followed on her pink sparkly barbie bike.
At the end of the day we read books, did baths, and were so exhausted we didn't even think about the TV. This week has just blazed by!
Friday, April 8, 2011
My Tech free week 4-1
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
Day 5
Boredom has set in. I have managed to find time for some of those little odd jobs now that I am not wasting my life online. Today I cleaned the cupboards in the kitchen and set up a table in my living room so my seedlings can catch the south sun. We also ventured out into my mud bog / garden to work on cleaning that up a little and getting it ready to plant.
We started emptying out the compost bin, a lot of it is still frozen solid. We also pulled up past years corn stalks.
When we still had time left in the day, I managed to bake 2 loves of pumpkin bread, read to the kid's, prepared and cleaned up a meal, and played a few games as a family before bed. Its amazing the time I have found!
At day 5, I already pretty much know the outcome of this trail, but I will keep you in suspense for a few more days.
Day 5
Boredom has set in. I have managed to find time for some of those little odd jobs now that I am not wasting my life online. Today I cleaned the cupboards in the kitchen and set up a table in my living room so my seedlings can catch the south sun. We also ventured out into my mud bog / garden to work on cleaning that up a little and getting it ready to plant.
We started emptying out the compost bin, a lot of it is still frozen solid. We also pulled up past years corn stalks.
When we still had time left in the day, I managed to bake 2 loves of pumpkin bread, read to the kid's, prepared and cleaned up a meal, and played a few games as a family before bed. Its amazing the time I have found!
At day 5, I already pretty much know the outcome of this trail, but I will keep you in suspense for a few more days.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
My Tech free week 3-31
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
Day 4
There isn't really much to say about today. We are settled into a new TV free routine. I quit reaching for the remote control first thing in the morning to catch the weather, and last thing before bed we have been talking instead of mindlessly watching Letterman. What a concept. Communication.
There was one really neat even this evening. The Baby took his first step! We were all goofing around at bath time, instead of watching TV when My daughter opened the door the little ones was balancing on, leaving his hands free, and since he has been walking on by, he continued to walk, taking 1 full step before falling. Since we were distraction free, all 4 of us saw it. What a special moment!
Day 4
There isn't really much to say about today. We are settled into a new TV free routine. I quit reaching for the remote control first thing in the morning to catch the weather, and last thing before bed we have been talking instead of mindlessly watching Letterman. What a concept. Communication.
There was one really neat even this evening. The Baby took his first step! We were all goofing around at bath time, instead of watching TV when My daughter opened the door the little ones was balancing on, leaving his hands free, and since he has been walking on by, he continued to walk, taking 1 full step before falling. Since we were distraction free, all 4 of us saw it. What a special moment!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
My Tech free week 3-30
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
3 days in , and I am starting to see and feel some differences in my life.
I can hear my children more. I could always hear them, as muffled sounds under the sound of the TV or radio, but now in the silence of the house, I can actually HEAR them. They way they interact with one another. I am really enjoying listening to them. These are little moments that had been there all the time, I have been missing it!
My husband came home from his business trip and entered a TV free zone. He has agreed to try to conform with the spirit of my experiment, even though it is impossible for him to go internet free. He has agreed to no TV and no gaming. He considers reading his blogs to be the same thing as reading a book, so he will continue to do that.
I have had less desire to cheat. Today my email activities didn't take the full allotted 30 minutes and I find myself thinking I could get away with just getting on the computer once a day. I'm with the twice a day plan though, since my correspondence needs to be done in a timely manner.
As for the TV, I am ready to sell it now. I don't miss it a bit, neither do the kids. I could watch it go out the door and not batt an eye.
I finished my book "Better Off" which was my inspiration for trying this experiment. It was everything I expected. I highly recommend it. It drives home the point that we strive for convenience in our lives, but in our quest to make things easier, we actually make things harder. How the things we use to save time, actually end up costing us more time in the long run. How our lives are driven by our possessions. We work long hours to buy things that we can't take with us when we go. How true! At the end of the day what matters is our relationships with each other. I would sell all my things , move to a smaller house, if it meant I could have more time with my family. In a society that is so driven by consuming, I hope I can teach my children what is really important in life.
Don't get me wrong, I dig some of my conveniences. I won't be getting rid of my electricity or running water any time soon. There sure are a lot of things I could do with out though. In fact, doing without some things can actually strengthen our relationships. Before giving up my dishwasher I never spent tie time after dinner singing and dancing with my children. Now the memories of my baby bouncing in his highchair, my oldest shaking a tambourine and my daughter spinning in the living room are some of my fondest memories.
3 days in , and I am starting to see and feel some differences in my life.
I can hear my children more. I could always hear them, as muffled sounds under the sound of the TV or radio, but now in the silence of the house, I can actually HEAR them. They way they interact with one another. I am really enjoying listening to them. These are little moments that had been there all the time, I have been missing it!
My husband came home from his business trip and entered a TV free zone. He has agreed to try to conform with the spirit of my experiment, even though it is impossible for him to go internet free. He has agreed to no TV and no gaming. He considers reading his blogs to be the same thing as reading a book, so he will continue to do that.
I have had less desire to cheat. Today my email activities didn't take the full allotted 30 minutes and I find myself thinking I could get away with just getting on the computer once a day. I'm with the twice a day plan though, since my correspondence needs to be done in a timely manner.
As for the TV, I am ready to sell it now. I don't miss it a bit, neither do the kids. I could watch it go out the door and not batt an eye.
I finished my book "Better Off" which was my inspiration for trying this experiment. It was everything I expected. I highly recommend it. It drives home the point that we strive for convenience in our lives, but in our quest to make things easier, we actually make things harder. How the things we use to save time, actually end up costing us more time in the long run. How our lives are driven by our possessions. We work long hours to buy things that we can't take with us when we go. How true! At the end of the day what matters is our relationships with each other. I would sell all my things , move to a smaller house, if it meant I could have more time with my family. In a society that is so driven by consuming, I hope I can teach my children what is really important in life.
Don't get me wrong, I dig some of my conveniences. I won't be getting rid of my electricity or running water any time soon. There sure are a lot of things I could do with out though. In fact, doing without some things can actually strengthen our relationships. Before giving up my dishwasher I never spent tie time after dinner singing and dancing with my children. Now the memories of my baby bouncing in his highchair, my oldest shaking a tambourine and my daughter spinning in the living room are some of my fondest memories.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
My tech free week 3-29
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
48 hours in
I am a big fat cheater. I have to put it right out there, because I have been catching hell from my friends. They will totally call me out on it. I have no defense. Only excuses. Although, I feel they are valid excuses.
I had to google a phone number. Since going green, I have removed our address from the phone book delivery list. Why kill a tree when you can look up any number you want online? I also popped onto Facebook to get a friend a copy of an email I had written to proof read before I sent it. These were "work" matters and not for fun, so I don't feel so bad about it. In interest of full disclosure, I also caught myself accidentally googling for VBS costumes, which I was told we need by our director, and also spent a few minutes on amazon.com trying to figure out how to lend a kindle book to a friend. *hangs head in shame*. Tomorrow is another day. All addicts fall at times right?
I don't seem to be getting anymore done around the house. I'm not sure why that its. I should have tons more time now. Maybe my kids were just especially needy today. Could be that each daily activity takes more time because I am not rushing through it, and I am taking time to interact with the kids while I am doing it.
I also found that when my evening allotted email time arrived I actually dreaded turning on the computer. Could be because I knew that my e-mail business tonight was a work activity, and not for fun.
All in all, I didn't miss the TV a bit today. The kids haven't asked to use the computer or watch TV at all these past couple days. My daughter even said she likes it better because she doesn't have to watch boy shows. This is an unfortunate result of being in a family of mostly boys. Daddy and The Boy have enjoyed watching Night Rider, Magnum PI and the Incredible Hulk in the evenings. Lame. Dang retro TV.
Now, for the past 3 nights I have been alone with the children, so being tech free has been relatively easy. Daddy came home from his business trip today. He makes his living on the internet so he HAS to use it. This will be an interesting transition in our experiment. I have a feeling there will be lots of negotiations!
48 hours in
I am a big fat cheater. I have to put it right out there, because I have been catching hell from my friends. They will totally call me out on it. I have no defense. Only excuses. Although, I feel they are valid excuses.
I had to google a phone number. Since going green, I have removed our address from the phone book delivery list. Why kill a tree when you can look up any number you want online? I also popped onto Facebook to get a friend a copy of an email I had written to proof read before I sent it. These were "work" matters and not for fun, so I don't feel so bad about it. In interest of full disclosure, I also caught myself accidentally googling for VBS costumes, which I was told we need by our director, and also spent a few minutes on amazon.com trying to figure out how to lend a kindle book to a friend. *hangs head in shame*. Tomorrow is another day. All addicts fall at times right?
I don't seem to be getting anymore done around the house. I'm not sure why that its. I should have tons more time now. Maybe my kids were just especially needy today. Could be that each daily activity takes more time because I am not rushing through it, and I am taking time to interact with the kids while I am doing it.
I also found that when my evening allotted email time arrived I actually dreaded turning on the computer. Could be because I knew that my e-mail business tonight was a work activity, and not for fun.
All in all, I didn't miss the TV a bit today. The kids haven't asked to use the computer or watch TV at all these past couple days. My daughter even said she likes it better because she doesn't have to watch boy shows. This is an unfortunate result of being in a family of mostly boys. Daddy and The Boy have enjoyed watching Night Rider, Magnum PI and the Incredible Hulk in the evenings. Lame. Dang retro TV.
Now, for the past 3 nights I have been alone with the children, so being tech free has been relatively easy. Daddy came home from his business trip today. He makes his living on the internet so he HAS to use it. This will be an interesting transition in our experiment. I have a feeling there will be lots of negotiations!
Monday, April 4, 2011
My tech free week 3-28
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
24 hours without technology.
Today was very interesting.
When my alarm went off this morning, the first thing I did was roll over and grab my phone. I had an alert saying that I had 25 new emails waiting for me. I had to stop myself from checking them just out of habit. I had to wait until the allotted 1/2 hour, which didn't actually come until after lunch. It killed me to have to wait to check them. They weighed on the back of my mind the entire morning.
I managed to avoid checking my facebook. I counted 6 times between when I woke up at 6:30 and and 8:30 that I felt the need to check it. I have the Facebook app on my phone, as well, and I generally check it when I am out running errands. I counted another 6 or 7 times I would have logged in before noon. I am sure I check facebook at least 50 times on any given day. I never realized how often I did it until I had to start stopping myself from doing it. I also took my phone out of my pocked 4 times to google something. Clearly I have a problem!
I did have to check Facebook a few times just because it is my only way to contact a few different people,but I am proud to say that I spent less than 10 minutes on, and never once looked at my own wall.
I found that even though didn't have the TV on and wasn't using the computer, I am still technology obsessed. I kept finding moments that I should post as status updates, I continuously dictated this blog in my head.
I also found in the quiet of my house, little things that I hadn't noticed before. The sun streaming in the windows, my children interacting with each other, the words and tones they use. It is really incredible to hear them together, when I am listening. I mean really listening.
I have been allowing myself the luxury of a radio. I have been listening to our local Christian station. As I was listening this afternoon I heard the words " you never know the moments your children will remember forever."
This is very true, and it was exactly what I needed to hear to drive home the whole point of my efforts. I want my children to remember me as a happy, hands on, responsive, active, plugged in Mom, who always puts them and their needs first. In order for them to know me that way, I have to BE that way.
I survived day one. Tomorrow is another day.
24 hours without technology.
Today was very interesting.
When my alarm went off this morning, the first thing I did was roll over and grab my phone. I had an alert saying that I had 25 new emails waiting for me. I had to stop myself from checking them just out of habit. I had to wait until the allotted 1/2 hour, which didn't actually come until after lunch. It killed me to have to wait to check them. They weighed on the back of my mind the entire morning.
I managed to avoid checking my facebook. I counted 6 times between when I woke up at 6:30 and and 8:30 that I felt the need to check it. I have the Facebook app on my phone, as well, and I generally check it when I am out running errands. I counted another 6 or 7 times I would have logged in before noon. I am sure I check facebook at least 50 times on any given day. I never realized how often I did it until I had to start stopping myself from doing it. I also took my phone out of my pocked 4 times to google something. Clearly I have a problem!
I did have to check Facebook a few times just because it is my only way to contact a few different people,but I am proud to say that I spent less than 10 minutes on, and never once looked at my own wall.
I found that even though didn't have the TV on and wasn't using the computer, I am still technology obsessed. I kept finding moments that I should post as status updates, I continuously dictated this blog in my head.
I also found in the quiet of my house, little things that I hadn't noticed before. The sun streaming in the windows, my children interacting with each other, the words and tones they use. It is really incredible to hear them together, when I am listening. I mean really listening.
I have been allowing myself the luxury of a radio. I have been listening to our local Christian station. As I was listening this afternoon I heard the words " you never know the moments your children will remember forever."
This is very true, and it was exactly what I needed to hear to drive home the whole point of my efforts. I want my children to remember me as a happy, hands on, responsive, active, plugged in Mom, who always puts them and their needs first. In order for them to know me that way, I have to BE that way.
I survived day one. Tomorrow is another day.
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