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Internet Preventing a Nice House??

post #1 of 84
1/28/08 at 11:58am
Thread Starter 
I know I can't be the only one who ends up spending hours one here. I have decided to take a break from the internet and allow myself to get on here only 15 minutes a day to check important things. I'm doing this for a week. I can't be the only addict on here Would anyone like to join me in this challenge?

Also, if you are on the internet a lot, but keep a nice house, how do you do it? How do you spend enough time with your kid/s? I am way outa control and could use some tips. Set a timer???

I am looking forward to the improvements in my house. I get a lot done on many days when I'm still on the computer a lot, so if I stay off for a week....WOw I could get soooo much done I bet!!!!

Anyone else with me? Am I the only one

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post #2 of 84
1/28/08 at 2:09pm
no...you're not the only one. and it is a source of frustration for dh (that i do this). pretty much, when the babies are happily occupied, i'm on here doing one thing or another.

i need to stick with some internet boundaries myself.
post #3 of 84
1/28/08 at 4:10pm
:sheepishlyraisesherhand:

Yeah, I'm with you. I'm getting better though. I've started setting a timer for ten minutes for all kinds of things. I set it for the internet, for cleaning, pretty much everything but playing with my kids.
post #4 of 84
1/28/08 at 9:54pm
i really realized the impact of the internet on my days when the internet was out for 3 days, my house was cleaner, i had more stuff caught up, DH and i spent more time together in the evenings. i tend to get like sucked in to stuff and before i know it an hour has gone by! yeah..............i need a timer to limit myself. do you think i could find one at goodwill?
post #5 of 84
1/28/08 at 11:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DandeCobb View Post
.i need a timer to limit myself. do you think i could find one at goodwill?
I've bought them at goodwill before, but you might have one in your cell phone, or already built in to the computer. We can also use our microwave as a timer.

I need to join you all too.
post #6 of 84
1/29/08 at 1:28am
Yeah, me too. I've been better the past few days though. I've been motivated to do some decorating so I'll feel more comfortable inviting people over to visit, so I haven't been online as much. It's nice to look around your home and feel satisfied. I've been thinking of using a timer too. It'd also help if I only got online after my son goes to bed. I homeschool and I spend too much time online while my son watches too much TV. But MAN, 15 minutes???? I don't know if I can handle that. I might try for 30 minutes a day and wean myself down.

One thing that motivates me to clean is to reward myself and clean in short spurts. I watch TV and clean during commercials. I clean for a little while and then read a chapter in a book. Then I clean some more before reading another chapter. So I guess that could work for being online too.
post #7 of 84
1/29/08 at 4:35am
LOL So far the consensus seems to be "Yes." One of my favorite signatures of an MDC mom is (something like) MDC: The real reason your house is a mess.

I too am sure I could spend more time cleaning if I didn't get absorbed in reading online. Not only that I'd get more sleep. I say that as I type at 2:30 a.m. At least my kids are night owls, so I can expect to sleep until 9, so that isn't as bad as it looks.

But yes, I will join you all in the effort to reduce the amount of time online, to spend more time playing with my kids and decluttering and decorating my boring disorganized house!
post #8 of 84
1/29/08 at 5:21am
I do all my house work, cooking, mommy stuff during the day, internet at night or during naps.

I had to find my balance, Now that it's just family during the day stuff is settling down. I have been on a mean cleaning spree since January 1st (check the sig)
post #9 of 84
1/29/08 at 12:29pm
Thread Starter 
I have learned so much from being on line and reading like crazy, but I just need to take a break from it. I figure if I can start out strict for this week (15 min) and get caught up on the house then next week I can extend it to 30. I need to get up before my son does and have my computer time because as you mentioned above he ends up watching too much tv and he gets mad at me for being on here. He's only 3 and needs my attention. Also, we are going to homeschool so I need to be spending time with him reading and stuff just like we will be doing by next fall. I'm so scatterbrained.
The internet and MDC have been very good for me. I need to find a balance so that it remains a blessing and not a problem
Glad I'm not alone in this
I did good yesterday with the time limit and it made me happy to feel I was doing the right thing. I got our bedroom straightened and the 1 inch of dust removed from our dressers. I also got the kitchen sparkling again I ALSO went to bed before midnight and I feel great! I haven't been sleeping well so I would get up and start reading online and read way longer than I needed to.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Post and tell what you are accomplishing so we can all be encouraged! Then get off of here
post #10 of 84
1/29/08 at 12:34pm
Thread Starter 
:: back to work.........
post #11 of 84
1/29/08 at 1:00pm
sigh. ok, ok....me too

i've been on here now for 35 minutes. guess i need to sign off and get busy.
back later... oh, say 20 minutes or so?
post #12 of 84
1/29/08 at 1:02pm

I am with you!
For the last few years i've been addicted to this machine!
Since a few months ago I have been limiting myself to one hour a day in little intervals...
Its working out great
my house however, is still not clean but im pregnant and nauseous so I have an excuse
oh and yayy for simons
post #13 of 84
1/30/08 at 12:01am
I suck at this...actually just blogged about a recent, ahem, addiction to my work email.

I don't do well with timers and such. What I am trying to do is to turn off the computer when I'm not at it so I'm not tempted to check in.

I am also working at not getting "off task" when online-- so that I don't go to X and then to Y and Z, only to find AB and C.

I'm glad I'm not the only one!
post #14 of 84
1/30/08 at 3:27am
Oh boy am I guilty of this! My house isn't TOO bad (it's small and pretty well decluttered) but I often feel guilty about the amount of time I spend on here instead of WITH my boys. They aren't sitting around staring at me bored, they're playing, pretending, using the computer themselves etc... but I'm not doing it with them

Quote:
Originally Posted by Savoir Faire View Post
I don't do well with timers and such. What I am trying to do is to turn off the computer when I'm not at it so I'm not tempted to check in.

I am also working at not getting "off task" when online-- so that I don't go to X and then to Y and Z, only to find AB and C.

I'm glad I'm not the only one!
I like your idea of actually turning the computer OFF. I think I will start turning both of ours off so *I* don't sit down at any given chance.. and maybe mr 6yo will stop nagging constantly about playing his games on dads if they are OFF.

I have made a good effort I think today... my 6yo made banana bread (with my help & supervision) then he proceeded to eat about 1/3 of it , we washed the dishes & tidied up his room, and read his excellent pirate book
post #15 of 84
1/30/08 at 3:32am
I took a week off the computer and I was astonished at what I was able to get done. Good luck. I hope you see a big difference in your home!
post #16 of 84
1/30/08 at 3:54am
My son recommended I give up MDC for Lent () and it got me thinkin'. But that's 40 days! What about all my threads that I recently posted? Can I survive without the answers? Oh, the drama of it all!

Edited to say that I am still trying to decide how I will limit my MDC time.
post #17 of 84
1/30/08 at 4:03am
Hah! I don't know if I have the willpower... After the kids go to bed, I turn into a message board addict... housework is definitely suffering....
post #18 of 84
1/30/08 at 6:00am
I often jump on the net as a way of avoiding housework, because I'm so tired. I stare at the screen and mostly just read, too tired to put words together that would be coherent enough to make a positive contribution to the forums I enjoy. In reality, if I went to bed earlier and got more sleep, I would have more energy the next day, the house would be in better shape, and my internet time would be shorter but perhaps more satisfying. Easier said than done.
post #19 of 84
1/30/08 at 6:07am
If you use Firefox, you can use the pageaddict extension
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3685
post #20 of 84
1/30/08 at 6:57am
Yup. The problem is, my pitiful attempts at making money from home all involve the computer. MechTurk, Suite 101, entering my competitions (which is probably a mini-addiction of its own--sad, no?!), checking for mystery shopping jobs etc, all require me to be online. And while I'm there, I figure I might as well chat to DH online, check MDC, check my other forums... and thus the hours pass.

I did get quite a bit accomplished today though. We shall see.

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