Here's how it went.
Rules: No laptop, no phone
internet from morning till I wake up the next day. Texts and calls
are okay.
9:00am: I am having my
morning tea. With no blogs to read. Wha???? I have to make chitchat
with my husband instead? I suppose it is Valentine's Day.
9:30am: Severe email
withdrawal. What if someone sent me some really exciting news? What
if my sisters responded to my note about the 15th
anniversary Harry Potter covers? I have to know what they think!
9:32am: Mom sent me a happy
Valentine's Day text. And my phone of course informed me with a
large red icon that I have unread email. Will not click. Will not
click.
9:35am: I'm bored. Maybe I
should do some work. Up for today: some reading , research, and
outlining a new book. I wish I'd printed out the plotting
spreadsheet I have already started. But it's probably fine since so
far I basically had “main character wins at the end!”
9:40am: I'm cold. Must get
a sweater.
10am: How is it 10am
already? Okay, I have to get to work, for reals!
11:15am: Stretch break.
I've only thought about checking my email 6 times in the past hour.
That's not too bad, right? I wonder what's happening on Facebook?
12:15pm: Totally got in the
groove. I have so much focus, and I don't even care about my unread
emails. They're probably just updates from Goodreads and my college
newsletter. My mind feels so calm...maybe this is what
post-meditation feels like.
12:16pm: Aum shanti
shanti...Ooh, I'm hungry. Lunchtime!
12:50pm: Back to work. No
tweets to distract me, so I guess I'd better dive right in.
2:20pm: I've been working
diligently, but now I have a strong urge to reach for my laptop.
There are so many things I want to look up. For research, you know?
But I must resist, or I might accidentally spend 4 hours researching
cloth diaper brands again.
2:25pm: Realized I've been
staring out the window for the past 5 minutes. Methinks I need a
stretch break. I have a crick in my neck.
2:40pm: Oooh, those
stretches felt so good, and now I'm ready to get back to work. So
different from an internet break, where I get so obsessed with
reading something that I form three blood clots in an hour, and then
need to take a stretch break from my internet break.
3:40-3:50: Snack and stretch
break.
5pm: Is it 5pm already?
Better really focus now so I can finish this up before the husband
gets home.
6pm: Done for the day! I
accomplished stuff! Yay! Now I want to check email, but my rules
said detox for the entire day. A quiet mind is essential for
creativity. Tomorrow I'll kick all sorts of butt.
Friday 8:15am: As I
suspected, none of emails were vitally important. Nothing terribly
exciting happening on Facebook, and I now have a few more followers
in Twitter. The internet didn't miss me at all. Good to know.
Maybe I should do this once a week!
