I have a few critical times of the day (and certain situations) where the computer is so tempting. The main challenging times are: 1) After I get home in the mornings from walking DD to school; and 2) If I am under the weather (not super sick, but not in great health).<br><br>
For situation #1, I have some tricks that work. I set up a weekly schedule and each day has a focus. I don't spend a TON of time on that focused activity each day, rather short chunks here and there or one hour right from the get-go. My "trick" is I do that task/activity before opening my laptop each day. This method is particularly helpful early in the week. Monday is my home blessing day where I spend one hour cleaning/attending to whatever needs the most love in our home. Doing that first thing ensure it gets done and then the "reward" is computer time. Ironically, I find myself motivated to not only clean longer some days, but also just more motivated to do other things period.<br><br>
Tuesday is my paperwork and finances day. I use the desktop for the finances and I purposely do not have any non-financial links/bookmarks/etc set up on my web browser on the computer. I do not have my email account set up on the desktop, either, which can be a bit obnoxious sometimes even though it is far more beneficial overall the way I do it. Of course, I could google anything and find anything and could access my email via alternate methods. However, the point is I completely separated the financial tasks to that computer alone and "fun" on my laptop. It is like I am headed to "work" where there is no email or MDC or other such places. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> Once I am finished with the finances and phone calls related to paperwork, then I open my laptop and deal with calendar and email and other paperwork related issues. THEN, I can do whatever I want. Some Tuesdays these tasks only take 15 minutes or less, so this isn't really about length of computer time but more about accomplishing important tasks FIRST. Other Tuesdays require hours of work and I find the motivation to get it done simply out of habit and the satisfaction of completing important-to-us tasks.<br><br>
Wednesday is my project day. "Projects" run a WIDE gamut! Some are computer-related and some are physical and some are volunteer events out of the home, etc. Even when it is a research project that involves the computer, I have trained myself to focus on the project FIRST. I don't even open email or MDC or other tempting sites until my self-determined project is completed or far enough along for my satisfaction.<br><br>
Thursday is my DD's early day from school and my focus is extra time with her. We typically cook lunch together and do something together (wide variety). Sometimes it involves other people (playdates) and sometimes it is just us. No matter what, this all starts at noon, so I don't restrict my computer time in the morning at all.<br><br>
Friday is my friend day. I do <i>something</i> related to friends every Friday. As little as a phone call to a friend or spending some time chatting with mom friends at school at drop-off or pick-up or spending some time chatting with neighbors...or as much as setting up a Mom's Morning or making specific plans with specific friends, etc. Today included FOUR such activities! My computer time today was minimal, although I am on a bit later than usual tonight since I stumbled upon this thread. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"><br><br>
Saturday and Sunday are family days (each in a different way). Computer time comes later, if at all.<br><br>
With all of the above, I get important-to-me/us tasks done FIRST. Therefore, I feel good about my accomplishments and experience very little, if any, guilt. Also, often those original tasks spur me on to do more of the same tasks and/or do other tasks beyond my original focus and just in general keep my laptop closed far more than before I had this system in place.<br><br>
While I was first instituting the idea, I did something a little different. I would grab my laptop as soon as I walked in the door after walking DD to school and sit down at the kitchen table with it open while I fixed and ate my own breakfast. Once I was done with breakfast, then I'd close the laptop and do the task related to the focus of the day. I'd leave the laptop disconnected from power and only allow myself breaks online during the tasks and/or computer time after the task was finished until the battery ran out.<br><br>
Something of note that I learned about myself years ago, which comes up in many, many ways all the time is I figured out my "best" times of the day for high energy tasks and my "best" times of the day for low energy tasks. The key has been for me to match them up as best as possible within reason. I found the computer was interfering a LOT for awhile. Honestly, I am okay with my computer usage during my natural "low energy" timeframes. It is only a problem for me personally when I play on the computer during my "best" time of the day for high energy required tasks. That is when I feel like I have wasted time and/or opportunities.<br><br>
Therefore, I don't worry much about #2 on my list way up at the beginning of this reply. If I am feeling under the weather, there isn't a whole lot of other tasks/activities I would be doing if I were NOT on the computer. I do try to think about that actively and adjust my activity accordingly. Like, if I am feeling ill enough to be in bed asleep, then I think about why I am on the computer instead. Most of the time, that thought process is enough to motivate me to self-correct the behavior and close the laptop and take a nap. (I can usually call in reinforcements for child-care duty under these circumstances, but sometimes the timing has to be adjusted and sleeping has to wait.)<br><br>
Not exactly computer time, but related and easily transferred to the computer time issue....<br>
When I was making the switch from mindless TV watching at night to barely any TV watching, the trigger for me was thinking about what I would like to accomplish and how I would rather be spending my time. For me, it was crafts. I wanted to be able to sew and scrapbook and do other crafty things for personal fulfillment. When DD was a baby, that had to happen when she was asleep at night because her naps were 15-30 minutes long and I held her while she napped in order to get even that much time. TV time conflicted with my "free" time, so I had to make a choice. DH and I started out with a schedule. Monday nights were cleaning nights. (We both worked then and preferred to have our weekends clear.) Tuesday nights were finances. (We each had certain tasks.) Wednesday nights were our individual project nights (self-defined). Thursdays were TV nights. We alternated Friday and Saturday night date nights within our playgroup babysitting co-op several times a month. (They were "open" nights when we didn't have a date night nor a babysitting night.) Saturday and Sunday alternated on house projects (or other joint projects) with family hikes. Sunday nights were always "open". We gradually began to fill those "open" slots with hobbies instead of TV. Me more than DH, but my goals were different than his. We both actually filled them with computer time gradually, also. Him more than me, but his career AND hobbies center around the computer industry to a large degree. No matter how you look at it, though, we both became more well-rounded from our concentrated efforts to turn the TV off more and more. *Some* of that TV time turned into computer time, yes, but not all of it by a long shot.<br><br>
Best wishes in finding what works for you! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">
