We all know what kind of winter it's been. At this point, we've been stuck inside for almost five months straight, and it ain't pretty. There's been much more TV watching then I care to admit to, and I found myself refreshing Facebook and my email "just one more time" to see if anything new popped up.
It's gotten old, and I realized that I don't want my kids to see me constantly in front of a screen. If I don't want them them to be that way, I have to model it myself.
To combat this technology addiction, I made rules for myself. I enjoy my coffee and bagel while browsing the net, but by the time the kids have finished their breakfast, I've put my lap top away and don't look at it again until I'm bopping around preparing lunch around 12pm. That's usually only for five minutes or so, then I put it away until the kids' nap time at 2pm, at which point I do look at it on and off throughout the afternoon/evening (it is where I get my recipes from, where I blog from, where I do my job from, etc).
Like diet and exercise, once I started tracking and monitoring my laptop usage, my lifestyle improved. Moderation is key.
I've employed similar techniques with my phone. While texting with buddies gets me through my days more often than not, I've tried not to jump to the phone every time I hear that tell-tale "ding". What's the urgency? I'm doing this for myself but I'm also doing it for my kids. I don't want them to see my face glued to screens all the time. I want them to see me engaged with them, engaged in life. I want them to see me living in the here and now, not in screen time.
I'm not perfect with these new guidelines. As I write this, for example, it's a snowy 12 degree day in the middle of March. We're all just done. More TV was watched than on a typical day, and I was more lax on my lap top and phone "rules". We all have these days.
The more I step away from screens, the more I'm present with the people around me. I'm not ashamed of the boundaries I've had to create for myself because we live in a time of excess. We want more, and we want it now. I can't tell my kids that's unacceptable unless I model it myself.
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