5: Pry your eyes from the TV and start to write

There are some days I wish that Netflix had never been invented. Or simply, the concept of watching TV on your computer. Or TV in general; could we go back and reverse that choice? What about Werther's original and chocolate and doughnuts? How about we nip back in time and trash those ideas before they even begin? And what about online gaming? Why do I care so much about the hoard of cartoon, personally-named, and completely fictional dragons living behind the screen of my company iPad?

We live in a capitalist world full of shiny, sweet, spectacular items trying to win our eyes and hearts and wallets. But mostly, all that they’re doing is soaking up our time. Maybe you’re like me and you wish you could go back to the days when there was nothing to do but sit around the cottage, read books, and make cheese from scratch because there were no such thing as factory farms. But who’s to say whether you’d have had more time or not if you had been born in a completely different, less technology-oriented era. And anyway, time travel is not exactly an option yet; at least, not that the general public is aware of.

So the question we are faced with is this: what to do with our time? Or rather, how do we not waste our time on what feels like (and may be) the hundredth binge-watch of yet another new hot Netflix original that everyone’s talking about.

Here are a few steps I’m planning to take to start cutting down on my technology use -- even if it means pushing the new season of Gilmore Girls back a few more months. Perhaps they can help you too, if you suffer from the same “overdose of entertainment” epidemic that my generation is wilting from.

1. Count the amount of time you spend playing games, watching instant TV or other, non-productive pursuits that make take up writing time. Those minutes may not seem like much at the time, but once they pile up you’ll finally see them as that colossal chunk of your life that’s been missing, that precious time in which you could have been writing.

2. Treat writing time like your work time. Schedule it and make a routine. This, of course, can become difficult if your normal working schedule is irregular (as is mine). Still, put it into the schedule along with your normal work hours to enforce a little more regularity at least on a weekly basis.

3. Let the time-waster motivate you. Being in the right mindset will help with that (I’ll talk about that more in the next post). But notice the characters, if you’re watching a TV show. What are they doing to get ahead? Or the actors: they probably didn’t waste time while trying to get into the cast of Sherlock. Or even at the artwork on your game. I bet talent went to that, creativity, and obviously, a great deal of time. Let these observations motivate you, too, into striving to be great.

4. And finally, consider how you’re spending your time. Will the last season of How I Met Your Mother be the thing that defines your life when you look back in the future? No, because that show was someone else’s masterpiece. Prioritize your time towards creating your own.

Technology is a blessing and a curse. But it doesn’t have to be as much of an Achilles heel as it is. Use it in the right way and soon you’ll start feeling satisfied about your progress again. Only then can you reward yourself with the next episode of the Walking Dead.

#Technology #Wastingtime #writing