I’m back! After an entire week of being unplugged for Screen-Free Week, which as you may know scared the bejeepers out of me. This is the first time I have logged into my blog in a week and it seems like it’s been a year. My husband was out of town so it was just me and the kids unplugging. We had no Netflix, no videos in the car, no iPhone, no computer time, and I was sans my blog, Twitter, and Facebook. The hardest part for me was the two or three days leading up to us all unplugging – I had become so emotionally dependent on my online life that I backed out at the last minute. I told myself I would only have my kids do it. My blog needed me. Facebook needed me. And what about my Tweepies?
As Screen-Free Week approached I realized that the idea of unplugging disturbed me so much that this meant I was addicted to screens. So there was no question: I would go cold turkey along with my kids. No late-night blogging after they had gone to sleep. No quick Tweets to let everybody know I am still alive.
So before I logged off, I Googled “blog addiction rehab,” and found this:
Before I nodded off to sleep I told myself that if things got really bad – that I could go to blog rehab and find serenity amid the green mountains of Vermot.
The first morning of Screen-Free Week went badly. Fi is an early-bird so she always wakes up before the rest of us. I woke to her standing beside my bed saying the first words of the day, “Computer – computer – computer,” – repeating it like a mantra, whispering it into my ear. I had hidden the laptop under my bed. I replied: “Screen-free week,” to which she replied: “Nooooo!” So within the first few moments of the first day I realized that my 10-year-old had developed an early-morning addiction to watching tween shit like Suite Life of Zack and Cody on Netflix – and I’d been in denial about this. By the time we got to the car to go to school she said, “DVD?” and I replied: “Screen-free week,” and she replied, “Noooo!”
I had my second Aha! moment: my kids were watching too many DVDs in the car.
After that it went just fine. We started listening to BBC news in the car and the kids have become fascinated with the plight of the blind Chinese dissident, Chen Guangcheng, and his escape to the American Embassy in China. As a mother I find this much more palatable than a discussion of whether Shaggy and Scooby eat too many submarine sandwiches because Shaggy might actually be in love with Daphne or something. We listened to poetry CDs, Coldplay, and XM Radio. Sometimes, we talked. We spent a lot more time outdoors, and playing games like Old Maid, chess, and – gulp – hide-and-go-seek.
I was Mrs. Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver!
I felt a strange and giddy kind of liberation – alongside the yucky realization that this past year, I’ve let blogging and online time encroach my “real” life in ways I wasn’t aware of before I made myself unplug. Normally, I would blog at night after the kids were in bed, but increasingly my blogging was moving up into my daytime – my time with my kids. Instead of being outside with them pushing then on the rope swing I’d be inside checking email or finishing up a blog post.
Thank goodness I caught myself.
I’m not gonna do that anymore. I’m back to my rule of turning on the computer only when the kids are at school or in bed asleep, period.
The good news is that in the first two days I mapped out the plot of my entire novel, and spent the rest of the week writing my novel. I have made a huge amount of progress, and I realized that although I love blogging, my first love is novel writing. This past year I’ve been getting distracted from my novel writing with this blog. So now I’m back on track – all because of participating in Screen-Free Week even though it made me feel sick to my stomach, at first!
10 Things I Learned
1. I realized my 10-year-old is actually watching crap on Netflix that I don’t want her to watch – which is why we killed our TV in the first place.
2. I realized that my 7-year-old hates all things electronic and is in her heart a nature girl who could happily never see another computer or screen in her life.
3. Without my blog, I read. A lot.
4. I wrote the whole plot of my novel in two days.
5. I realized how I use DVDs in the car or blogging or screen-time as a crutch way more than I thought I did.
6. I missed Monday Listicles (that was hard).
7. I missed my Tuesday Yeah Write link up, and all the voting that goes on on Thursdays. And reading about the winners on Friday.
8. I realized that I can actually do this: I can exist and thrive, offline. What an epiphany!
9. I missed everybody on Twitter.
10. At least someone missed me – my friends Mommy Padawan and House Talkin’:
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I’ve been thinking about you all week, my friend. And wishing I could do the same, go screen-free. But I know myself, I simply can’t.
So kudos to you, you did it! And amazing bunch of things you managed to do offline – yay!
(FYI, still pregnant here)
I survived #Screen-FreeWeek! But now I’m addicted to chocolates. Oh well. (-: http://t.co/EFhSy1pl
I missed you too! Wow, the whole plot of your book in 2 days! Good for you.
Thanks so much Bruna. (-:
missed you here, but so glad you found a little piece of yourself {and some chocolate} along the way. i have found the same when i’ve taken a break from the interwebs. {ps? pumped to hear about the novel. i want that in my hands like now. soooo keep working on it!!
}
Thanks Tara (-:
Well I for one missed you like cray-zay. So happy you’re back. But I’m glad you enjoyed your time screen-free and learned a few things from it – that alone was worth it I’m sure.
(-:
Well, I definitely noticed your absence on FB and Yeah Write, but I love reading about your “unplugged” experience. I’ve been crazy busy the last couple weeks with my sons’ school and I noticed the same thing about how the computer has creeped into my life. I used to limit myself to writing while the boys were at school and the baby napped, but it has definitely worked its way into family time and I’m not okay with that. As of last Monday it’s been back to board games, books, and playing outside when we’re together now, and it’s nice. Now just to pray I can keep it up!!
It can easily creep into “real life” in a kind of sinister way because it’s so slow you don’t really realize it! PS: I’m wondering if the reason you missed me on FB and Twitter is because I am a blabbermouth. (-:
welcome back! And kudos – I couldn’t do it. no way, no how and you can’t make me….
well, maybe Facebook. I could easily leave that behind.
that’s a start – right?
It’s a start! (-:
I’m so impressed you did it! I hate to admit that I don’t think we could. I think my girls would stage a coup. And neither my husband or I could go without the computer. I’m glad it was an overall positive experience for you!
My husband was (thankfully) out of town all week – there is NO way he would be able to do it as he works 24/7 practically, so it was just serendipity that he was away. Otherwise – no way, no how!
What a wonderful experiment! I’m so glad it went well for you! We unexpectedly went through a screen free week last September, when the hurricane knocked out our power for 10 days. So it was a no screen, no power, no hot shower week. It was surprisingly nice to have all that time just to play with my son, enjoy the outdoors, and go out and experience our town rather than just sitting in front of the TV. The no power and no hot shower thing…that’s a whole different story.
Oh my gosh, I am SO glad you are back! I really did miss you a lot this week but it sounds like it was a great experiment for you and your girls and things went great! We cancelled cable t.v. last week and I went through some serious withdrawal but all of a sudden, I’ve read a whole book and started on another – haha! I love that you spent so much time on your novel and re-discovered your love of writing, that’s so awesome. I like your new rules for your blog and computer time as well. Yay for you and I hope my tweet made your heart happy and let you know you are loved
It did make my heart happy. Thank you my friend. (-:
I’m glad you survived! And I can’t believe you wrote the whole plot of your novel in two days, Superwoman! It’s definitely a good idea to unplug every so often…but I’m very impressed that you unplugged everything. Way to go!
Thanks Jacqui! (-:
BTW although I wrote the plot in two days it’s been “cooking” in my head for months.
Yes, you were missed. I bet it was nice though. I know I could get more writing done without that internet temptation. Glad to see you back
Apparently they have this software that you can plug in to “eliminate” or “bar” you from the Internet for an amount of time you specify while you are writing!
I was wondering if you’d be back or if unplugging gave you some sort of epiphany and we’d have to wait to read your published works! Welcome back!
i missed you on yeahwrite! I didn’t realize you were going screen free b/c I’ve not done as much reading lately and am a it outta the loop.
For the record, I was gonna tweet you too, but I didn’t want to tempt you. I was being THOUGHTFUL!
That is SO sweet! Really. (-:
Wow!!! Great job to you!! Without my blog, I read a lot too. I’ve actually been blogging less because I have some really great books to read. I’m proud of you girls!!
P.S. Did you catch up on sleep?
I didn’t catch up on any sleep as I seem to be hard-wired to be a late-night owl, so instead of up late blogging I was up late reading. (-:
Kudos for sticking with it and making it through the week. I really don’t know if i could go completely screen free. But I would love to be able to read more again!
Honestly: If I can do it, anyone can.
And I really was surprised at how much more reading I got done.
But look at me now – here I am on the computer. Not reading.
Good for you for following through with it.
I love our camping weekends, when we are totally unplugged. Even though I also love my blog and Twitter I have to say that it’s just furthering all kinds of procrastination!
Now get on that novel!
Welcome back. You have been missed very much!! I expected this post and I predicted this would happen! I have been slowing down a lot in a past month and ,like you, trying to blog only in the evening. I realized even though I started with a very strict rules for my online time I lost track along the way and my blog takes much more of my time that it needs too.
Glad you unplugged. I think sometimes we all should!!! Thank you for sharing this, truly.
I went screen-free for almost 2 weeks, and realized that I could handle it much better than I thought I would. Loved the calm days when I could focus on my kids more. We should all do this more often.
Welcome back from the real world. Its a scary place out there. I prefer my virtual reality to that alternative.
Bravo for making it a whole week. I’m worried about my own sanity if I decide to upgrade to a smart phone in two months. I’ve seen the effect if has on so many people. My significant other seems to spend hours a day on Facebook, checking it every five minutes. I don’t want to be that “plugged in” to things.
I’ve missed having you around. I always enjoy, and look forward to, reading your writing. Now get cracking on that novel so I can buy that!
Hi David:
Yes, do be wary of the smart phone, it dumbs you down. I learned by unplugging that it really is nice to be uncontactable for long periods of time. You notice the trees more, or your own thoughts. The smart phones make you compulsive if you’re not careful.
BTW you can buy a novel I’ve written – email me at adriennecb@yahoo.com if you want one and I’ll send you the link. And thanks for your really nice comment – it was good to be offline but it’s good to be back too!
Welcome back online. Great that you managed to survive the screen free week.
Thanks Dominique! (-:
Congratulations to you and your kids. Extra congratulations for making headway on your novel. What a nice reward, eh?
It was really surprising to see how much more writing I got done without the screens!
Welcome back! I’m so glad to hear your week away was so fruitful. I stayed off of my computer during the day last Friday when I had the day off, and I did a lot of reading, too. It was nice to hold a real book in my hands.
Thank you. Glad you had a day off! (-: