Ways to waste time
What are you doing?
No I mean, what are you doing? Stop for a minute - and take a look at where you are and what is in front of you. Whilst I can assume most of you will be in front of a computer when you read this, I need to have a look at what else you are looking at.
Why is that important?
Well, we can and do waste a lot of time on non-essential "stuff".
How many email accounts do you have open? How often do you check these accounts? (answer - too often). What other tabs / windows or programs do you have open?
When you last went on the Internet - was it for a specific reason or were you just wasting time "surfing"?
Truth is we can all be faked out by having a million screens open. Is this the best way of handling what you have to do. Or should you focus on one thing until such time as you cannot work on "it" any more? Really the only person who can answer that question is you and you do that by taking a good look at how productive you really are. If you are guilty of wasting too much time on programs and things that don't matter, then limit your time on these programs as much as you can. Easier said than done perhaps I know, but it can be done.
My daughter loves the SIMS games. Creating and living a fantasy life - which sounds OK as we are told by many of the "experts" to dream about the way we want to live our lives and it will come into being....one word - NOT..... playing fantasy games either on the computer or dreaming about how we want to live our lives will not get us what we want or where we say we want to be. We need to stop "playing" and start doing. And my daughter found that out the hard way.
Last week she accidentally dropped water onto her laptop and all of a sudden priorities had to change. She didn't have the means to get onto the net...she could borrow mine for emergencies - but myspace and the SIMS don't count. So what did she do? Homework. As boring as that sounds, she had been focussing on the wrong things and she had the marks to prove it. Consequently, last week we managed to spend a lot of time looking at the way she writes and structures sentences, and she has been able to get ahead on her reading and assignment preparation, all critiqued by her mama. Now please don't think I am asking you to do something as radical as blowing up your computer to stop yourself from using it, that would be a little extreme. But you can limit your time on those things that do not get you the results you want and focus on the attitude and the disciplines that will. And yes it helps when someone you know can help you, critique your work and make suggestions as to how you can improve. As a writer I've been a little wary about "helping" too much. But all that changed a few weeks ago - after exam time and every child in one class failed and were told by their teacher they were "sh**" and I do apologise - but that was the exact word that was used. I was not impressed. Anyway, as a result of a combination of events - no computer and mama taking a hand in teaching real world examples, my children have a better understanding of what it takes to get on "in the real world" away from school and people who may have a lot of theory, but can't put that into real life examples. That may sound a little harsh on my kids school teachers, but I will argue that point in a few weeks - parents evening is coming....(rubs hands in glee).
Are you willing to have a look at what you do?
Are you willing to turn off the reality TV and the social networking sites and get stuck into living the life you say you want to live. Only by spending time and working on those goals you say you would like to complete if only you had the time - will you get on and do them. Well today is the day.
Oh and before you say - but what about your daughter's computer? Well it is being dried out "at the menders" and hopefully it will be back online by the end of the week.
With many thoughts
Elle
July 20, 2009 at 20:28
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