Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums

Marshall · 03-28-2008, 08:30 PM

This was inspired by the "Cut out TV" tread. Does anyone have recent experience with cutting out computer use? Benefits? Down sides? Suggestions?

Dave Kaminski · 03-28-2008, 09:21 PM

I got rid of my instant messaging programs and that helped a lot.

I'm a Network Admin/DEW Master so I can't really not use the computer...

It's less about saying 'Don't do that anymore' and more about doing the correct amount in regards to your goals and how aggressively you pursue them.

supertom · 03-28-2008, 11:13 PM

tv is just watching tv, where else pc is lots of things, maybe you might wanna try not going to the sites you do when your bored. I know im gonna try this from tomorrow

elliot · 03-29-2008, 02:51 AM

I find the need to make an accurate assessment of where you spend most of your time. for some people it is in instant messaging, other people spend their time on forums, e-mail or web browsing. The important question to ask is:

Am I utilizing my time in a way that would best spent doing something else? In some cases the answer will be yes, and others absolutely not. I find in many ways it is advantageous to set time limits on certain activities in order not to deviate too drastically from your goal.

saaretjie · 03-29-2008, 08:38 AM

I'm not sure, but for me the problem wasn't giving up the computer. My problem was doing things that actually needed to be done.

Like, if I wasn't playing the computer I'd just walk around the house instead of studying/blogging/PD/Reading.

I think it's more about getting your priorities straight and going for them.

Power · 03-29-2008, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

I got rid of my instant messaging programs and that helped a lot.

Same here. I set myself just offline so when I need to message for important reasons I can. I've also asked my friends to stop sending me funny emails and only send me important ones. I also limit watching youtube.

...but to totally cut off the computer is not good for me because I actually work on the computer at least 6hrs each day.

Dave Kaminski · 03-29-2008, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Power

Same here. I set myself just offline so when I need to message for important reasons I can. I've also asked my friends to stop sending me funny emails and only send me important ones. I also limit watching youtube.

...but to totally cut off the computer is not good for me because I actually work on the computer at least 6hrs each day.

I still like to get the emails and links from friends, as my friends that send links know me very well and only really send stuff i will find hilarious. I just use discretion when clicking them - it depends whether or not I'm busy.

The Cloud · 03-29-2008, 07:21 PM

I've recently made a checklist for how many times I can check what sites per day. It works phenomenally well for getting me away from the computer, but if you do it be aware that you are likely to have a lot of free time that you don't know what to do with. At least in my case, my default if I was bored was to go on the computer and check and recheck useless websites. Now that I can't do that, I find that I spend a lot more time reading or just laying on my bed wondering what I want to do with my time now. If you happen to have a lot of very socially active friends, or if your life is jam-packed with craziness, then this shouldn't be an issue for you. But for me, having to figure out what I want to do when nobody else is doing anything is taking some time to adjust to.

elliot · 05-31-2009, 09:03 PM

I tried this but ended up feeling lonely rather quickly. Not dating anyone, I'm lucky if I see a friend once a week. Also painfully shy when it comes to meeting people. What are your experiences like with this?

pianoperformer · 05-31-2009, 10:03 PM

Cut it out? Like, 100%? *shakes violently*

Let's not speak of this again, OK?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Cloud

I've recently made a checklist for how many times I can check what sites per day. It works phenomenally well for getting me away from the computer, but if you do it be aware that you are likely to have a lot of free time that you don't know what to do with. At least in my case, my default if I was bored was to go on the computer and check and recheck useless websites. Now that I can't do that, I find that I spend a lot more time reading or just laying on my bed wondering what I want to do with my time now. If you happen to have a lot of very socially active friends, or if your life is jam-packed with craziness, then this shouldn't be an issue for you. But for me, having to figure out what I want to do when nobody else is doing anything is taking some time to adjust to.

I really like this idea. Can you give a few examples, especially for this site?

The primary sites I visit are:

That's in approximate order from most frequently visited to least.

I don't have as much of a problem with the piano forums, since I get some useful information out of it, being a pianist myself.

I seriously need the extra time, though, for practicing. My goal is five hours a day, and I'm pretty far from it.

Daffy Duck · 06-01-2009, 04:32 AM

Practice piano for five hours a day? Whew... that's a lot. I learned to play piano in a college course and I loved it.

I wouldn't want to give up my computer completely, but it is wise to track WHAT you do on the computer. It's not good to waste time on useless activities, whether that be online or offline.

CoolBee · 06-01-2009, 08:47 AM

Here's a couple of things I do as I am perfectly capable of having 12 hours or more of my life sucked away by the computer if I don't discipline myself!

(1) I try to have 2 days a week - normally Tuesday and Saturday - when I do NOT switch the computer on at all - so because I normally go to bed around 130am, the computer goes off at, say, 130am on a Saturday morning and then does not go on again until as late as I can make it on a Sunday. I also try to make these my two days off each week - as I work from home mainly. Wherever possible I just block these days right out in my diary for anything other than leisure.

(2) I've checked out a couple of computer use monitoring packages and found RescueTime (Employee Time Tracking and Time Management Software | RescueTime) to be pretty good. You have to spend time tagging or categorizing different sites or software apps but that's ok. I'm only on my 3rd week of using it so I haven't sussed everything it can do out yet.

pianoperformer · 06-01-2009, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

Practice piano for five hours a day? Whew... that's a lot. I learned to play piano in a college course and I loved it.

Ha, such is the life of an aspiring concert pianist.

Remiel · 06-01-2009, 02:47 PM

I found its best to define what it is I want to do and less so about what it is that I don't want to do. I start off with identifying and making a decision to cut it out. But then the quesiton becomes what do I do with that time? I've found that if I don't have an answer to that question I'm far more likely to slip back.

Recently I've made a decision to cut out Anime and Manga. I've done this multiple times before and always slipped back into it. This time what I'm doing is making a decision about what I am going to do with that gained time. Previously I tried to replace all my free time with more work. That didn't work at all. I just burned myself out so quickly. This time I am dedicating 2 hours a day to fun activities. Now I simply change what things I do to have fun. I picked up 4 fiction books, 5 boxes of legos, and a computer game to play with my younger brother. I'm actually cutting out manga this week and I've made a decision to finish off 3 series that I'm watching as they are about 3-4 episodes till the end and I figure 3 per week isn't going to kill me. I'll likely replace it with a TV series or two that I find useful like Lie to Me (Awesome show btw).

Mostly I'm giving myself permission to have fun, just in a different manner than before. Some of my future thoughts are to take up dancing, go bowling, write a video game (not entirely sure if it would work for fun but it's worth a 30 day trial), and go meet strangers. Basically anything that I can find that constitutes fun for me.

Well, like I said. What has worked for me is finding things to replace a behavior with once I've decided to stop the behavior. When Video Games, Manga, and Anime constituted all of my fun I was banging my head into a wall when I just decided to stop doing all of them. This is counter productive and most certainly drove me back into doing the exact thing I wanted to stop doing.

03-28-2008, 08:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
Marshall Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kentucky Posts: 28	Cut out computer... This was inspired by the "Cut out TV" tread. Does anyone have recent experience with cutting out computer use? Benefits? Down sides? Suggestions?

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03-28-2008, 09:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
Dave Kaminski Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 795	I got rid of my instant messaging programs and that helped a lot. I'm a Network Admin/DEW Master so I can't really not use the computer... It's less about saying 'Don't do that anymore' and more about doing the correct amount in regards to your goals and how aggressively you pursue them.

03-28-2008, 11:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
supertom Banned Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Homeless Posts: 3,548	tv is just watching tv, where else pc is lots of things, maybe you might wanna try not going to the sites you do when your bored. I know im gonna try this from tomorrow

03-29-2008, 02:51 AM	#4 (permalink)
elliot Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 109	I find the need to make an accurate assessment of where you spend most of your time. for some people it is in instant messaging, other people spend their time on forums, e-mail or web browsing. The important question to ask is: Am I utilizing my time in a way that would best spent doing something else? In some cases the answer will be yes, and others absolutely not. I find in many ways it is advantageous to set time limits on certain activities in order not to deviate too drastically from your goal.

03-29-2008, 08:38 AM	#5 (permalink)
saaretjie Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 45	I'm not sure, but for me the problem wasn't giving up the computer. My problem was doing things that actually needed to be done. Like, if I wasn't playing the computer I'd just walk around the house instead of studying/blogging/PD/Reading. I think it's more about getting your priorities straight and going for them.

03-29-2008, 07:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
The Cloud Family Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,203	I've recently made a checklist for how many times I can check what sites per day. It works phenomenally well for getting me away from the computer, but if you do it be aware that you are likely to have a lot of free time that you don't know what to do with. At least in my case, my default if I was bored was to go on the computer and check and recheck useless websites. Now that I can't do that, I find that I spend a lot more time reading or just laying on my bed wondering what I want to do with my time now. If you happen to have a lot of very socially active friends, or if your life is jam-packed with craziness, then this shouldn't be an issue for you. But for me, having to figure out what I want to do when nobody else is doing anything is taking some time to adjust to.

05-31-2009, 09:03 PM	#9 (permalink)
elliot Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 109	I tried this but ended up feeling lonely rather quickly. Not dating anyone, I'm lucky if I see a friend once a week. Also painfully shy when it comes to meeting people. What are your experiences like with this?

06-01-2009, 04:32 AM	#11 (permalink)
Daffy Duck Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 3,001	Practice piano for five hours a day? Whew... that's a lot. I learned to play piano in a college course and I loved it. I wouldn't want to give up my computer completely, but it is wise to track WHAT you do on the computer. It's not good to waste time on useless activities, whether that be online or offline.

06-01-2009, 08:47 AM	#12 (permalink)
CoolBee Family Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 2,044	Here's a couple of things I do as I am perfectly capable of having 12 hours or more of my life sucked away by the computer if I don't discipline myself! (1) I try to have 2 days a week - normally Tuesday and Saturday - when I do NOT switch the computer on at all - so because I normally go to bed around 130am, the computer goes off at, say, 130am on a Saturday morning and then does not go on again until as late as I can make it on a Sunday. I also try to make these my two days off each week - as I work from home mainly. Wherever possible I just block these days right out in my diary for anything other than leisure. (2) I've checked out a couple of computer use monitoring packages and found RescueTime (Employee Time Tracking and Time Management Software \| RescueTime) to be pretty good. You have to spend time tagging or categorizing different sites or software apps but that's ok. I'm only on my 3rd week of using it so I haven't sussed everything it can do out yet.

06-01-2009, 02:47 PM	#14 (permalink)
Remiel Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 470	I found its best to define what it is I want to do and less so about what it is that I don't want to do. I start off with identifying and making a decision to cut it out. But then the quesiton becomes what do I do with that time? I've found that if I don't have an answer to that question I'm far more likely to slip back. Recently I've made a decision to cut out Anime and Manga. I've done this multiple times before and always slipped back into it. This time what I'm doing is making a decision about what I am going to do with that gained time. Previously I tried to replace all my free time with more work. That didn't work at all. I just burned myself out so quickly. This time I am dedicating 2 hours a day to fun activities. Now I simply change what things I do to have fun. I picked up 4 fiction books, 5 boxes of legos, and a computer game to play with my younger brother. I'm actually cutting out manga this week and I've made a decision to finish off 3 series that I'm watching as they are about 3-4 episodes till the end and I figure 3 per week isn't going to kill me. I'll likely replace it with a TV series or two that I find useful like Lie to Me (Awesome show btw). Mostly I'm giving myself permission to have fun, just in a different manner than before. Some of my future thoughts are to take up dancing, go bowling, write a video game (not entirely sure if it would work for fun but it's worth a 30 day trial), and go meet strangers. Basically anything that I can find that constitutes fun for me. Well, like I said. What has worked for me is finding things to replace a behavior with once I've decided to stop the behavior. When Video Games, Manga, and Anime constituted all of my fun I was banging my head into a wall when I just decided to stop doing all of them. This is counter productive and most certainly drove me back into doing the exact thing I wanted to stop doing.

Personal Development for Smart PeopleTM Forums

Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums