First, the winners of Leslie and Ellen's books from Wednesday are:
Anne Mason (send your mailing address to jennmck at yahoo dot com) -- Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron!!!
It all started with an upgrade to my cell phone. One of the new features was a weekly accounting of how much screen time I was accumulating. When the first numbers came up, I thought it had to be an exaggeration or maybe the cat was using my phone when I was asleep. Because, surely, there was NO WAY I was racking up four hours a day online. How could that be when I only use my phone for quick research questions and occasional forays into social media. Yeah, those forays were turning into bottomless pits, and I was sinking fast.
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| My book came out this week, so it's been higher than normal - I swear! |
I started to pay attention to my time management and realized that I slid over into the Twitterverse, Instagramlandia, FacebookNation, or, heaven help me, Redditdom, whenever the words got hard. So, on a good day that’s every other paragraph and on a bad day it’s every other word. It occurred to me that I needed to find something to do that would stop the auto response of Gosh, writing is hard work so I’ll avoid it by hitting the cyber water cooler.
First, I tried eating, because of course I did. I wore a path from my desk to the pantry and back. After a five pound gain from a steady diet of Cheez-its and Oreos, I decided this was not the best laid plan. Then I thought I’d do some yoga, get my chakra aligned and learn to focus. What I learned was how to nap, sitting up, in the lotus position. This called for desperate measures, which meant, you guessed it, cleaning.
While trying to avoid a slip and slide journey into the Interwebs, I decided to clean my desk. I found a cache of little used gel pens from some Christmas card project years ago. I was certain they must all be dried out. I tested each one by drawing a line which turned into a scribble that morphed into a doodle. Ah ha! I knew I had found my new stop gap from falling into the electronic rabbit hole. When the words got stuck I would use my happy glitter pens to doodle. I thought about getting a coloring book but I know me. My oppositional defiance disorder, a very mild case, didn’t like to have to stay within the lines so doodling was most def the way to go.
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| Jenn's procrastidoodling |
So, here I am a month and a half later with a notebook full of a doodles AND a daily screen time total that is less than half of what it was. I’m down to one and a half to two hours per day of screen time. Huzzah! I don’t know how long the doodling will keep me occupied but so far so good.
So, how do you stay out of the cyber rabbit hole, Reds and Readers? Or have you just embraced the free fall?
I love your doodles, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteSocial media and I aren’t the best of friends, so I don’t have much trouble staying away from that particular time-sink. [Truthfully, I have accounts only so I can see pictures of my grandbabies that my daughters post or see what my oldest granddaughter posts on her pages.] My own personal time-sink, which I’ve never tried to find a cure for, is settling in with a book . . . .
WE don't want you to find a cure for that Joan--reading is good for what ails us!
DeleteAh, the book hole is a whole other dilemma!
DeleteWell, I am completely the wrong person to answer this, but I usually turn the WiFi off on my laptop when I'm writing. Then when the words get hard (about five minutes later), I turn it back on again. Then I go eat a snack.
ReplyDeleteYep! LOL - same.
DeleteI pretty much embrace the free fall. I'm actually surprised my total isn't higher each week. But I don't use my phone as much when I'm home or when I'm asleep, so that helps lower my average.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for sleep! LOL!
DeleteFirst of all, those doodles are lovely! Question: don't you also go online on a laptop, or are those numbers your total for the day? If so, you're doing way better than the average bear, Jenn.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I always start the day with about an hour of internet followed by a check-in over on Ramona DeFelice Long's FB page, where she wrangles the Sprint Hour with the writing champions - yes, you too can join. At seven we all do nothing but write for an hour. I give myself other hour-long sprint challenges all morning. I also stay off the interwebs while writing first draft and type [CHECK THIS] at points when I need to look something up (unless it would change the direction of the plot).
At other times of the day I settle onto the couch with two real newspapers, or the New Yorker. I always bring a book or a New Yorker when I go to appointments where I might have to wait, instead of using my phone to fill up the time.
Hour long sprints! I love this, Edith. And I really like the [check later] note, too.
DeleteWe have Midwestern and West Coast sprinters, too, and people with day jobs who can only write during lunch (as well as East Coast insomniacs...) - they check in whenever they can and sprint when they can - so please join us! You don't have to check in at 4 AM your time...
DeleteJenn, you are immensely talented as a doodle artist! That fish is exquisite.
ReplyDeleteSocial media is a double-edged sword for me. I spend a lot of time on my own, and having the ability to interact with people without leaving the house has made a big difference to make that a less isolating experience. But it has also made me less likely to leave the house, in some ways. Since June, Steve's office has been at home, though, and we are doing better than we expected. But social media is still a good distraction. Or not good. I was just talking about it with my friend, and she thinks it's changed how we interact. Not just us, but everyone.
Before the Internet, I used to spend every spare minute making messes in my sewing room, completely absorbed in projects or potential projects. Right now I have nowhere to do this, but will soon, and I hope to get back to using that particular part of my brain again. I have collected all the fabrics for enough quilts to slipcover my entire house, after all. Anyone up for a quilting bee in Cincinnati?
Oh, I’ve always wanted to learn how to quilt! I’m in! Yes, I feel like it’s changing us all - in some cases not for the better!
DeleteJenn, I am really awed by the talent behind your so-called "doodles." (In my mind, doodles look like scribbles -- things no one would want to see. What you do looks like artwork!)
ReplyDeleteAs to how I avoid the rabbit hole, well, I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out. I, too, have recently been aware that I escape into the web far too often and stay too long. I've been trying to replace it with a quick walk, but it's not a perfect substitute. Still seeking a solution that works for me!
Walking is a great idea! I’ve started going to the gym because I sit too much. I feel better physically and it’s been nice to have something outside of the house that’s all mine.
DeleteWhen that Screen Time thing popped up on my iPad (which I use for entertainment), the first thing I did was look for a way to turn it off. Apparently you have to go to Settings --> Screen Time and enter a code. I didn't even know I had a code! I couldn't guess the code. SIGH. I recently when to the Apple Store with a friend and took my iPad along. They didn't know the code either. Apparently the only way to get rid of it is to reset my iPad to factory standards, then reinstall everything. I decided I would teach myself to ignore that annoying screen time number!
ReplyDeleteCrap. I forgot to say that I really like your doodles, Jenn! I bet that's much more relaxing than social media.
DeleteThank you. It’s less time consuming for sure. Doodle a bit and get back to work! I love that your first thought was to get rid of the screen time! LOL!
DeleteDoodling is actually a very healthy and productive activity. I've read several articles on this, and the upshot is that it helps attention, focus and creativity. I am an inveterate doodler although nothing as artistic as Jenn's. When I was in those interminable management meetings, I managed to hide my activities fairly well as none of my bosses got it. Instead they should have thanked me and directed everyone to doodle. It would have kept more people awake.
ReplyDeleteHere's just one article: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-thinking-benefits-of-doodling-2016121510844
Oh, thanks so much for this, Ann!!! Yep, me and Harvard - great minds! ;-)
DeleteThose doodles! Wow! If I did that it would look like dots on a page or wiggly lines (not pretty wiggly lines). I'd love a coloring book with your doodles! OK, here's the thing - I didn't even know my phone had that 'screen time' feature in settings. Ha! I'm not sure I care to know, so I think I'll ignore it. I have taken a step away from social media and do very little of it - only blog reading mostly. Me, I read. Or I walk and listen to audiobooks. I find that I can get very obsessive about social media and I deleted Facebook a while back. I had seen all my college friends and their grandbabies and my daughter's high school friends grown up and their babies. My husband still has his account and he'll show me things I need to know. I found that too many of my friends had behaviors on Facebook that drove me bonkers - politics deluxe, recipes (like hundreds of them), every cartoon thing known to man, more politics - it was changing my opinions about the friends themselves, so I decided I didn't need to know that much about them. Truly. Oh, love the idea that one can nap while in lotus position! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI’m with you on the too much information. I’ve pretty much stopped posting on my personal page and the professional page is just to connect to readers and promote the books (sigh). I admire people who have never gotten on social media. My SIL said from day one - nope, it’ll suck up my time and make me feel lousy about myself. She’s never had an FB page. Crazy, right? Yeah, crazy smart!
DeleteIn awe of that artwork, Jenn! I use my phone for text and talk. Period. My computer is for looking things up, catching up on social media (not much), and working (as in, using Word to actually write, edit, etc. Using Excel for analyses, etc.). And I still fall down the rabbithole every so often, but I'm getting better at cleaning (sigh) and reading (yay!) and just in general finding something else to do.
ReplyDeleteI am still lacking in the cleaning but I live in a frat house so I give myself a break!
DeleteLOVE those doodles, Jenn! I wonder if there's a way to work them into a novel...
ReplyDeleteI am in email and out of the news outlets and email every ten minutes at least. When it's getting in the way of my writing, I turn off the wifi on my laptop and set a timer for thirty or forty minutes. I reward myself with a trip to the Internet.
I try to shut of the WiFi but then I just pic up my phone. Ugh!
DeleteJenn, I love these doodles! I stay out of the cyber rabbit hole by focusing on one social media - Instagram because my account is mainly about books. Another way to stay out of cyber rabbit hole is to read your Hat Shop books and many books that I love.
DeleteDiana
You are so talented Jenn! I embrace the fall, I like staying in touch with all my pals. and it is soooo much easier than writing:)
ReplyDeleteYes!!!! It is - damn it.
DeleteVery lovely doodles!
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm doing day-job work, I flip over to Facebook frequently as a stress relieve or brain break. But when I'm writing I just...don't go there. It's not time to check social media, it's time to write.
Discipline - I used to know what that word meant.
DeleteLiz is part of the Sprint Club, too!
DeleteJenn, you add so much to my day! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI have gone back to knitting. I'm not a skilled knitter and so I need to pay very close attention to what I'm doing. The current project is on my desk right NEXT to my computer. If I find myself lagging, I pick up the knitting and go for a few rows. The structure of the knitting pattern forces me to let the writing recede to my subconscious where it works on healing itself. And, it doesn't cause weight gain.
Thank you! And so smart to keep the needles handy! I knit, too, but it’s my reward at the end of the day because it takes so much brain juice to cable or follow a pattern I’d keep knitting instead of writing.
DeleteThe Clue in the Doodles. Jumping on FB is my reward after completing a writing stint. I do research in the late afternoon when my eyes are ready to fall out of my head. We've had 48 hours of rain in Cincinnati so yes, I was on FB more than usual. I walk the dogs at lunchtime and hit the gym three days a week.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHank Phillippi RyanFebruary 8, 2019 at 10:03 AM
ReplyDeleteLOVE the doodles--you are so talented! I am so vulnerable to this--so I set my timer for 34 minutes. I've been doing it since 2011, writing The Other Woman--there's a homage to the timer tucked into the book! And I promise myself I won't stop writing for that 34 minutes. I'm not sure where the 34 came from it just seemed doable, and it is. SO if I am tempted to do ANYTHING else, like get food, do laundry, check the mail, even do research--I say NO, I promised myself.
AND THE WINNER OF Jessica Strawser's book is..LYDA MCPHERSON!! Email me via by website...or message me your email!
ReplyDeleteYour doodles are beautiful, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that effectively works for me is Freedom, the internet-cancelling software. I use it to block myself for one or two or three hours at a time - I can only access the internet by rebooting my laptop, and that forces me to confront my work-avoidance tendencies.
I have found a good balance by doing a short household chore every 45 minutes or so. It gets me up to stretch and move around (which I often forget to do,) I accomplish something, like sweeping the kitchen or emptying the dishwasher, but it's not a BIG job that will take me away from the work.
You don't need to be a writer, Jenn. You could be a fabulous illustrator. Next project... Illustrate your own children's book!
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeleteInteresting. Creative activity is just that talent blooms from Jenn be it through the pen, or through the word processor. . A word about meditation, it takes time to learn and then to practice. I have been a meditator off and on since I was 8 years old. Folks fall asleep all the time; so napping is not a bad thing. Chakra meditation IS NOT EASY. I am impressed that you tried it. Stick with it cuz it can be a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteMy second thought was how on earth does she accomplish so much in such a short amount of time? Standing and applauding
Finally, unlike writers, I am retired (she snickered) I can go into any time suck I want.
If you want it some day some how you can retire too. Although I suspect your readers will forbid this
I have to say, Jenn, I tore myself away from several cat videos to stare in awe at those doodles. Gorgeous. I always find doing anything with my hands that is NOT clearning (cooking, juggling badly, etc.) is a better break for coming up with a writing solution for me.
ReplyDeleteChecking in on Jungle Red isn't falling into the cyber rabbit hole, is it? Please say it isn't!
ReplyDeleteI love your doodles, Jenn! If I was that talented at doodling, I'd doodle it, but I'm not so I don't. I do have a couple of little programs with simple games on them that take less than a minute to complete, and I'll dip into those for a brief brain break when I really need it. Or, if I'm at the office, I'll just answer the phone and sell somebody some tickets for a minute or two. That seems to do the trick.
If the weather is halfway decent, I usually get up and go out with the dogs for a few minutes, or do a chore. I've been spending so little time on Facebook lately that I feel out of touch with friends.
ReplyDeleteI've started doing sprints when I'm writing. Not actually setting a timer, but just writing a start time in my planner and "hour sprint" or whatever amount of time fills the available slot. That got me through the end of the most recent book, so maybe I need to institute that nearer the beginning... :-)
I spend about 30 to 40 minutes each morning reading blogs, including this one. Other than that, I check email twice a day, morning and afternoon, which probably takes 5 minutes. That's it. I do not have/look at/do Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media thing. None. I'm retired, so how is my day spent, after my morning laptop time, I read until linch time, eat, spend an hour working a jigsaw puzzle, nap, read some more, figure out and prepare dinner, clean, watch PBS Newshour, read, bed. In spring and summer, less reading and no puzzle because I'm in the garden.
ReplyDeleteShalom Reds and fans. I once heard someone ask the question: If you were given, every day $864.00. The only condition was that you had to spend all of it in one day. You couldn’t save any of it. What would you spend it on? I thought about it for a while. Of course, there are the necessities: rent, food, car note etc. Even if you include philanthropy there’s only so much that you can do each day. I would pay for music lessons and language lessons. Then it was explained to me there are 86,400 seconds in the day. And you have to spend them. Even with sleeping, there are quite a few remaining. And you can’t bank them. What would you spend it on? What do you spend them on?
ReplyDeleteI’ve reached the point in my life that many more of those seconds are behind me rather than in front of me. I really do love the computer age and especially the internet. However, sometimes, I have to take stock and reevaluate everything. Is this or that, something I really want to spend my limited time doing?
To reading good books!
Very cool, thank you David Shalom to you as well.
DeleteReading books help me avoid the cyber rabbit hole!
ReplyDeleteDiana
Our pastor is retiring, so a couple of months ago, he asked us to fast for who God wants for our church. I struggle with severe hypoglycemia, so not eating is not really an option. Knowing that I spent an inordinate amount of time online, I chose to take one day a week to stay away from the Internet. This also included reading on my Kindle and listening to audio books on Audible. I was amazed at how much I got done - including more prayer time. I was so astounded at the difference that I continued having Tuesday as my "No Internet" day. What I realized as time past was that it was changing how much time I spent every day. My Facebook time has gone to less than half with Google curiosity searches second in line- and my days have become more productive. Reading and audio books are still a problem, but baby steps, baby steps.
ReplyDeleteWe don't think reading and audio books are a problem, Judy!
DeleteGood to know, Deborah as they are my greatest weakness. My Ipod is often the first thing to come on when I get out of bed and the last thing to go off at night - and it's not to listen to music (though I love that too.)
DeleteReading is NOT a weakness, it's a strength.
DeleteI started the new year by purging social media apps from my phone. Anytime I want to reach for my phone, I grab a book instead. I have already read double the amount of books that I normally read in a month. I have added a few apps back to my phone and I catch myself wasting more time scrolling through. If I could doodle as well as you, perhaps I would do that. I hope to find a good balance of reading and scrolling. Good luck to you in finding your balance.
ReplyDeleteSince I live alone and am retired, I don't feel guilty at all about my computer and phone time. Emails, texts and Facebook help connect me with family and friends. I also enjoy reading authors' posts and blogs. I still have plenty of time to read, see friends, watch TV, etc.
ReplyDeleteJenn, you are so funny! And, your doodling is not what I think of as doodling. Yours is art, Jenn, and I would love to see you incorporate that into your writng. Maybe, as Debs suggested, a children's book?
ReplyDeleteI know that I spend way too much time on the Internet, and it's good for me to have days like today when I had errands to run and my mother-in-law to check on. And, last night I went out to eat with friends and to a play. Of course, with my husband away for two weeks, I've had to take breaks for walking the dog. And, since I had the pulmonary embolism, my doctors have encourage me to get up every half hour or hour and move around doing something else. But, oh it's so easy to get caught up in reading postings on FB and visiting a few blogs. My first stop is always Jungle Reds, and in trying to cut back on Internet time, I'll never sacrifice reading and commenting on this favorite blog. I do need to do my own blog, too, and I consider writing reviews more work-like time. I am so glad that I haven't gotten addicted to games online. I know people who have, and that's a rabbit hole I avoid like the plague.
I love your doodling! And I HATE that screentime-shaming iPhone feature. If anyone knows how to disable it, MESSAGE ME!
ReplyDelete