I am now 5 days into reading deprivation week. I’ve decided to make my last day Saturday instead of Sunday, because I have some reading that I need to do for school on Monday, plus I need to read the next chapter in “The Artist’s Way” before week 5 starts. So…only 1 more days to go!!! I can hardly wait. There have been so many instances when I’ve wanted so badly to read, or to throw my book in my purse for those long bus rides to school (by long I mean 15 minutes, but you can get some good reading done in that time), but I’ve stopped myself. I had to read some plays out loud with my class today, but if you leave that out I have successfully stayed away from all fiction and non-fiction material for the past 5 days. This includes TV. I’m not a huge TV watcher anyway, but I do generally turn it on when I eat. Although I’ve been tempted when home alone to watch some “Biggest Loser” (recorded on the DVR), I have always managed to find something else to do.
These are not my biggest accomplishments. On Monday I also made a commitment to limit my Facebook logins to one a day, and I have followed through on that commitment. In the past 5 days I have maybe been on Facebook for 15 minutes… if that. I used to log on all the time! Ugh, I would waste so much time checking back on notifications, and preoccupying my mind with useless noise. “How many people liked my status?” – stupid stuff like that. All this addiction did was create a useless concern with what other people thought of me. Once this reading deprivation is over, I think I may continue limiting my Facebook usage. I think the long-term benefits (ie. The discovery of time I didn’t know I had) will prove worthwhile. Maybe, by cutting out this MAJOR procrastination tool, I will finally find the time to write my e-book. I’ve been planning it for long enough.
Is anyone else a Facebook addict? I challenge you to try this little experiment. For an entire week, limit your Facebook usage to one login a day. Turn the notifications off on your phone – so you won’t be tempted to check it on the go. I was amazed at how little I missed it. Perhaps you will have the same experience. And think about this: What could you do with the time you usually spend on Facebook? Five 15 minute check-ins throughout the day really add up.
I will complete this list on Sunday but, as per the last 5 days, here is what I did this week instead of reading:
– Cleaned off our junk table
– Illustrated a print off of Julia Cameron’s “Basic Principles,” and hung it beside my desk.
– Because I couldn’t read for research, I interviewed a tri-athlete and a marathon runner for my column with the “Capilano Courier.”
– Made a heaping huge pot (that lasted me 8 meals) of Butternut Squash Pear Soup. It was delicious.
– Exercised: 5 P90X workouts, one spin class, and one 5k run.
– Artist’s Way “Week 4” Exercises.
– Morning Pages
– Meditated
– Did some vocal workouts.
– Laundry
– Wrote several blog posts – without my usual distractions.
– Spent time with my boyfriend.
– Went to see “Zero Dark Thirty” with Greg (I didn’t nix movies) and was COMPLETELY blown away by Jessica Chastain’s Performance. I still feel inspired right now.
– I’ve also gone to bed earlier than normal every night this week. (I had a previous misconception that I couldn’t get everything done that I needed to in the run of the day if I went to bed before midnight, but I have been just fine).
It’s been a very interesting week, and I’ve learned a lot about myself. Even if you think that you couldn’t possibly give up books for an entire week, challenge yourself. What could you do with your time instead of reading?
Yes to the Facebook thing — what a lot of time it opens up when you limit it to once I day! I did the same for week 4 of The Artist’s Way (just completed), and will try to stick to it. Like you, I love books, but I’ve gotta say, reading deprivation was awesome!
I’ve sort of fallen back into my constant facebook check-ins, and I definitely need to revert back to the positive behaviour I learned during reading deprivation week. This preoccupation with social networking sites makes me too concerned with what other people think of me. I end up spending all this time worrying about other people, and forget that I could be using that time to just live my life. I agree. Despite my doubts, reading deprivation week was awesome.
I’ve just hit week 4 of TAW and I am cringing and complaining about reading deprivation. But, I will do it anyway. Have read a few peoples posts regarding it and it does seem well worth it!