Sunday, February 19, 2012

Technology Fast

Hi there,

Today is the Sunday of a three day weekend. It is beautiful, lovely, serene and calming. Yet, now I feel like I have reached my capacity of R&R. I sit idly trying to figure what to do with my time. Usually, when I am bored, I turn on the television, play on my computer or go to bed. Yet, right now I feel like that is a waste of time, a waste of life. For instance, I played Words with Friends online for the past hour today, slept an extra two hours in-between breakfast and lunch, and watch television for a half hour. I feel like I don't know what to do with myself when I have time. I search for the easy way out. What is the thing that takes the least amount of energy with the most entertainment. It is a ratio. The activity that has the greatest ratio, is the one that I end up doing. On a positive note, I read 70 pages of Les Miserables in the past two days. That is a feat. It is better then television or sleep, because this requires thoughts.

Anyway, the reason of this post is not to complain, but to come up with a resolution. Starting Monday, February 20, 2012, I will do a technology fast. The guidelines of this fast are not the same as the last technology fast I did a year ago. Last year, I fasted from television, music and nonwork computer time. These are my new stipulations for a new year:
  1. No Facebook or YouTube
  2. No Television on-line (Netflix or Hulu or other movie sites)
  3. You may watch one television show with mom (Vampire Diaries). 
  4. Do not use phone as entertainment
  5. Do not use computer for entertainment (Skyping does not count as entertainment
So, this is the prohibited list. Things I think are necessary to survival are: skyping with George, E-mail for work and new job,  limited research, and use of computer for meet-up group events. I will also say that gym technology is okay to use. That is also a time period I may watch television. Hopefully, with this time I find from my purge of specific technologies, I will learn what boredom is again. I would guess that boredom will wreak havoc on my mind. I will have the urge to turn on the tube or open my laptop. To combat these urges, I am compiling a list of things to do when bored. I am compiling a list of things to do instead of watching television, sleeping and playing on the computer. Here it is:
  1. Bake
  2. Cook
  3. Read
  4. Write
  5. Practice Guitar
  6. Do Art
  7. Make a card
  8. Ride my bike
  9. Clean my living space
  10. Do laundry
  11. Go to the gym
  12. Play basketball with my siblings
  13. Go on a hike
  14. Jog
  15. Go to the library
  16. Study for the GRE
  17. Update Career stuff (Linked In, Twitter)
  18. Wash the dog
  19. Look at spanish stuff
  20. Go through life stuff and donate things
  21. Play games with my siblings
  22. Learn a new hobby knitting.... making something or another
This is all I got. I feel like I have other ideas up there, but can't think of them. I'll keep you posted on how things go.

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