Internet Detox Day: 2/14/13

Hi, my name is Maya, and I suffer from click addiction. When my twitter feed says there are triple digit new tweets, I must click. This happens approximately every 45 seconds. Therefore, last Thursday I decided to try a day completely free of not just internet but my laptop, inspired in part by this blog post: An Ode to Pen and Paper on YA Misfits.

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 15^th 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!