computer time

19 Mar 2012 by Marcia Francois 7 Comments

CD players and computer comfort numbers

My twins are now 2 years 8 months and have been falling asleep to their sleep CD for about 2 years 6 months 🙂

If conditions are right, they’re off to dreamland after about 1 – 2 tracks.

Well, the CD player in their room broke. From somebody’s enthusiastic handling of the machine.

We just put them to sleep without it but it’s been a lot harder. As in an hour’s chit chat accompanied by lots of giggles and other sounds of naughtiness.

Last weekend I really needed them to sleep quickly without all the shenanigans.

So I took my laptop to their bedroom to play the CD.

Because the laptop was with them and I have a self-imposed no iPad when I’m at home rule, I was forced to do something else whereas normally during their naps, I read a little and then veg, reading blogs on the computer.

This time, I tackled some organising in my study, finished some crafts, got birthday gifts ready, took pics for the blog, etc.

All this in two hours.

This is what happened to the felt placemat – I think it’s very cute!

In other words, I was super productive. All because I wasn’t on the computer.

Even I couldn’t believe it.

I used to have another rule – no more than two hours on the computer a day. That’s once I get home from work, of course.

I’m not sure when that one fell by the wayside… but I need to bring it back so that I have more time for reading, cooking, baking, taking photos and creating.

It’s tough but I know I can do it.

How about you?

What is your computer time comfort number?

PS the sleeping baby pic was taken this weekend. He never even stays still long enough to be held, let alone to fall asleep so I had to get a pic 🙂

15 Apr 2011 by Marcia Francois 10 Comments

How disciplined are you with computer time?

I was just browsing my Google Reader and somebody linked to an application called Freedom that will prevent you from going online for a certain, predetermined time.

The idea is that during that time you do what it is you’re supposed to do:

write your book
work on projects
organise your home
menu plan, etc.

I love it and hate it.

Love that the decision is then taken away from me and hate that I would need something to help with my self-discipline.

I recognise, however, that the computer eats into many things I should be doing but don’t get around to doing.

So it is a necessary thing in our overcrowded lives. And if this is the only way for you to impose self-discipline, then I say, “go for it”!

How about you?

How do you feel about this? Would you use it (there’s a version for PC and Mac)?

PS nobody’s paying me a single cent for writing about it – it just triggered a hot button and I want to hear from you

Filed Under: Time management Tagged With: computer time, procrastination, time management

9 Nov 2010 by Marcia Francois 1 Comment

Are you spending too much time on the computer?

Sometimes I feel like I’m not getting other things done or my life starts to feel a little chaotic.

This is almost always due to too much computer time.

When I go through these patches, I limit myself to two hours of computer time daily. That’s besides my full-time job.

I draw 8 little lines in my desk notebook and set my timer in 15-minute intervals. 15 minutes works for me.

And then I go for it.

It’s amazing what you can do when you know you only have two hours to get things done.

I do emails, blog, write newsletters, articles, etc. all while the timer is ticking down the time, 15 minutes at a time.

When those 8 little lines are all crossed off, that’s it.

I keep my word to myself and make do with good enough. Like the picture on this post. I probably could spend another 20 minutes looking for the perfect one but this one is the first I found in my folders that was suitable and it’ll just have to do.