Internet Challenge

Hello everyone,

I joined this forum to take on a challenge about my fapping habit, and this challenge is still on. I think I'm doing great.
But I also found out recently I too have a bad habit (might or not be an addiction) of wasting a lot of time on the internet (this includes facebook, youtube, casual videogames, "browsing", this forum, among others). I could spend 8 hours straight (even more) just wasting time in front of my computer, and this also is applied to my cell phone. This time could really be used to do other more productive or benefitial activities. Since I first had my internet connection I've spend hundreds and hundreds of hours browsing, chatting, reading and writing on forums, playing videogames, watching youtube videos, browsing facebook etc., many times as an escape route to problems or responsibilities, or just because of laziness. All this limited life time could be used on better things.

So since this no fapping challenge has given me enough confidence as to believe I have the ability to break a bad habit, I'll start a new one about my bad "online" habits. I post this on the Offtopic section since this isn't porn or fap related but since this forum has been my accountability go to place, I prefer keeping the journal here.

Motives:

- To find out if one can truly be addicted to being "connected".

- To realize that most of the "online" time isn't really quality time. It's just mind numbing time and a big waste of it. I don't need to be on Facebook for an hour a day or two to keep in contact with my friends. I only need a couple of minutes a week. I don't need to spend two hours watching youtube "related" videos. If I want to watch an inspirational video, or a particular TED talk I'm interested in, this only takes a few minutes a week. I don't need to browse for information for two hours. Usually the information is found in a couple of minutes and the rest of the time is wasted reading other unrelated or uninmportant information.

- To find out how life unfolds by being online a very limited amount of time per week.

- To use spare time on more enjoyable or productive things. (reading, writing, playing the guitar, spending time with family/friends, working out, taking walks or jogs, cooking, tidying up, getting rid of unnecesary stuff, planning, studying, meditating, etc.)

- To grow as a person instead of becoming more numb and stupid every day.


Terms:

- First and most important. Computers can only be used on a fixed time of the day, for fixed amounts of time. This time of the day will be from 10 pm to 11 pm. Any other time of the day, computers must remain turned off.. This time must be more than enough to reply to personal email or messages, post on this forums or any other things I'd like to do online.

- Any other use of computers outside this time frame must be exclusively work or study related, in which case computer must be turned off after the objective or purpose of using the computer has been accomplished.

- If a task can be done outside the computer, then do it outside the computer. I don't need a computer to solve every single one of my problems.

- On lazy days (weekends, holidays etc.) this does not change! Time frame keeps exactly the same!

- All of this also applies to cell phone browsing, facebook and youtube. No cheating! I have a habit of going to bed watching shit on my cellphone. This is gone, will have to be replaced with reading books or just sleeping immediately after going to bed.


I'll put a tracker and set a personal 30 days goal. This might or might not work but at least I'll give it a try.

 

Thanks MasterPablo, that's precisely what I want to do. Only turning on my computer for specific well defined productive activities.
mockingjay78, I'll try to check the forums and write everyday! I'm not going "hard mode" on internet usage, I'm allowing myself to use the internet but only on a fixed and limited time frame as I stated in my terms.

 

Charles, that's a great question which I haven't completely answered yet and I guess time will tell. I do have a bare idea however.
During workdays it won't really be that difficult. I work fulltime and I'm studying for a degree so the little free time I get during week days will be invested in some of the activities I mentioned before (reading, writing, playing the guitar, cooking, tidying up, getting rid of unnecesary stuff, planning, studying, meditating, etc.)
The real problem will be on lazy days. Weekends or holidays. I'm not saying I won't allow myself to rest but I won't allow "resting" with mind numbing activities.
Lately I have a tendency of staying home on lazy days and just let time go by surfing the web, playing videogames or watching TV. Now I'll have to think beforehand of pleasing activities that I don't consider time wasters. Planning trips, visiting family or friends, going out more (which I nowadays never do), and if there's nothing else to do then any of the stuff I mentioned before. But no time wasters. Time's a precious thing... it's not supposed to be wasted.

 

So it's been more than 4 days of the Offline challenge and I'll keep it short: shit has been getting done.

It's funny what a big effort it is to actually find things to invest my newfound free time on, but when I do find them, productive shit gets done.
In this 4 days I've studied a lot, passed an exam, cleaned my entire house, visited my mom and sister, did some shopping I needed to do and a lot more. I'm liking this so far.

By the way: I managed my first weekend offline and that was quite tough. It's amazing how much time I waste online when I have a lot of free time in my hands. And it's also amazing how difficult it is to find shit to do when you're used to mind numb yourself on the internets everytime you're bored.

 

So I finally failed my challenge... but things got done in great amounts as it lasted. So I'm giving this another go. But I'm setting a smaller goal this time. Only 10 days. Let's see how this goes.