Over the past few months I’ve been slowly trying to change some habits, trying to break the patterns that led me to be on the computer until the wee small hours doing nothing particularly productive.
And it seems to be working.
I’ve cut down on the number of websites I visit on a regular basis, be they work or play related, and I now find myself with almost a natural time limit of how long I want to spend on the computer. By removing distractions and some websites that I still visit for no other reason than “I always have” regardless of the fact that they offer me nothing other than sapping my time (I’m looking at you Neowin forums!), I can feel my natural “ok, bored now” reactions kicking in much sooner than they used to.
This is helping me free up my time to do other things, as well as making my time on the computer more productive (I’ve currently got two websites in design phase, breaking a rule for ‘one man designs’ only because one is for sister!).
Now all I need to do is stop filling my newly found free time with extended bouts on the PS3. One step at a time!
In all honesty, part of me is just happy that I am able to change these patterns as it means I’m not quite so deeply ingrained in my way of life as I’d thought. It can be easy to fall into patterns that were ok at the time but no longer have the same benefits (or the same reasoning behind them), so whilst this post doesn’t hold anything particularly revelatory, I am quietly pleased with myself.
This is not change for sake of it, this is change for the better and that’s always a good thing.
Yay for change for the better! 🙂 I’ve said it before, but i’ll say it again, 2009 is definitely going to be a good year for change (imho)!
I’ve been through the same thing myself on a few occasions, and sometimes found that having created some free time, I’m left with a sense of “now what?”
As you say, it’s nice to be able to prove to yourself, by action, that you are capable of making these changes if necessary.
Good blog sir. Your honesty and openness shines through.
You are now added to my blogroll.
“trying to break the patterns that led me to be on the computer until the wee small hours doing nothing particularly productive.”
I don’t think there’s inherently a problem with doing nothing particularly productive (we’ve had this discussion before!!), but when pootling about the computer goes on into the wee small hours it can play havoc with your sleep patterns, giving rise to a deficit, which has a knock-on negative effect on dozens of other parts of your life. Trust me – I know from personal experience!
I too am trying to break these patterns and I’m finding it horrendously hard. 🙁
Were I too finally manage to free up more time, I should use it for sleeping as getting only six hours a night makes me feel like cr@p!