Computer Fasting

Ever ask yourself these questions? “How can I get it all done?” “How can I squeeze more hours in the day?” “How come I’m home with my kids but don’t seem to find time to actually BE with them?”  “Why does housework just pile up even though we are home all day?”

Well, I’ve been asking myself those questions in recent months.  So I started keeping mental track of how much time I spend doing various things – mostly so that I could be justified in saying “There’s really no way that I can get everything done that I need to get done so I might as well stop trying”.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get the answer I was looking for.  As I started to track my time I found several time wasters that just eat up time I could be spending doing better things.  One of those was the computer. 

Don’t get me wrong – I get on the computer for noble purposes: to print off an assignment for a child’s schoolwork; to check my e-mail & facebook(the primary way in which I communicate with people); to check our account balances; posting a blog; downloading pictures; etc. etc. etc.

The problem is that once I’m on, I am generally on for at least a half hour or more.  I can’t always say what I end up doing, but I can easily look at the clock and more time than I care to admit has passed.  There’s always one more thing to check, one more e-mail to write, etc. 

So I had a God mandated experiment a few weeks back – our computer crashed.  I couldn’t get on if I wanted to…and I did really need to get on to do some things for Awana the next day.  But I couldn’t.  Guess what?  I had extra time I didn’t know what to do with!  I had extra time to spend in God’s Word, with my kids, doing housework, even writing notes!  It was very humbling to realize just how much time this amazing tool had become somewhat of an addiction and even an idol for me. 

So here’s my new plan:  I will be having regularly scheduled computer fasts.  Based on my schedule and when I really need to use the computer the most, I will start with Thursdays and Sundays and hope to add Tuesdays in the near future.  I’ve also committednot to get on the computer until I’ve had a quiet time with God and we’ve had a good start to our school day.   

I’m hoping that this time will be profitable and I will be able to get some things done that I just never seem to get to.  I’m really excited, but also a little apprehensive as I know that it will be hard for me. 

I would love to hear what others are doing to manage their computer time…

Blessings!

-J