I enjoy computers. I’ve enjoyed them since I was young and I think I’ll always enjoy them. Computers have a power and potential that nothing else has - which also makes them dangerous. I’ve recently been trying to land some more freelance, on-the-side, web design work and have been spending a lot of time on the computer.
An idea will get stuck in my head and I’ll have to immediately go to the computer and start coding it out… and I won’t stop - I won’t stop until it’s done. Whether that’s an hour, a day, a week, or longer. In the meantime - life goes on. Then, I also realize that I need to be active in the web community - so I’m tweeting, I’m reading everything in my Google Reader, I’m commenting, I’m favoriting, I’m saving things in Evernote, I’m working on a client project, I’m invoicing, I’m researching, I’m coding, I’m designing… and in the meantime - life goes on.
On one hand I rationalize it - I’m working towards my dream, I’m working for my family’s finances, etc. And maybe that’s true - but at the same time, I want to be there for my family - I want to be a good dad and a good husband. Am I really helping my family out by having my face in a screen the whole time I’m home? Is that how I want to live my life? Constantly thinking about a clever tweet or something cool to post on Facebook or another blog post or a design that would help promote my services? Am I ever really present if I do that?
So, I was ready to throw it away and take a moratorium from all online activity. I had decided that yesterday. Once I decided a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. But after speaking with my wife last night - I don’t think I should take a moratorium from all online activity. The trick is restriction. In this age of distraction, we need to place restriction on ourselves.
So I am restricting myself from online activities during certain times of the day. I also might restrict what content I allow myself to consume - I certainly don’t need to consume a bunch of crap.
Then, just now, I read this blog post -> I tweet, therefore I am, which kind of sums up some of my thoughts. There are certain times when you just should not be thinking about Twitter or any online activity - you should be enjoying life, here and now.
So, what are my restrictions?
My restrictions that I’m putting in place today are - no online activity between 5:00 and 11:00 in the evening. That’s only 6 hours… but it’s some of the most important 6 hours as far as family goes. That also leaves me 18 hours to do what I need to do.