The Pros and Cons Of Being Offline During The Holidays

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This Christmas 2012 is probably one of the busiest holiday season ever for me.  It's weird because there are only a few relatives left here in my area, so except for the usual family gatherings on Christmas and New Year's eve, we have nothing planned.  However, there were so many other activities both at work and our volunteer organizations, invitations from friends for baptisms, weddings and other gatherings, that I found myself tired at the end of each day with no energy left to go online.  Or maybe because I am back at work and it now entails traveling (driving) a total of 40 or so kilometers a day. This situation should have given me a lot of stress but wonder of wonders, I actually did not mind not getting my daily 6-10 hours online fix.  Oh wow! I am not addicted to the internet!


Take the Test

The PROS

Having a full schedule was very good because it broke my habit of going online every opportunity I get throughout the day. Suddenly, I found myself doing the other important, although not urgent things on my to-do list.  The compulsion to go online to check my Facebook, email and blog ASAP greatly diminished. I realized that all of those things can wait and that there are more important things other than your friends' status updates. I was even able to clean up some of the clutter in my room. 

The CONS

Unfortunately, I missed greeting some friends on their birthday and was not able to update my blog pages in time for Christmas.  Since my access to the world wide web was often only through my mobile phone before bed and not my pc, I missed a lot of updates and news by a day or so.  Unlike last year when I had no work and was able to send out Christmas greetings to everyone, this year I only wrote a generic greeting on my status update a day after Christmas!  It made me feel like a bad friend :(

Lessons

  1. Time Management  -
    • I do not have to attend all the parties and events, only the ones that really matter to me and my family :) 
    • Since I travel 20 kilometers back and forth to work each day, I must learn how to avoid traffic, so I can come home early. This will also prevent me from being too tired at the end of the day and allow me quality time with my daughter.  I could then access the internet for 2-3 uninterrupted hours before going to bed. 
    • This is just the end of December 2012 not the end of the world.  So everything else that needs to be done online and offline can wait till next week.
  2. Do first things first - Going online should never be the first thing one should do to start the day :)  I learned that doing the important things first (even if not urgent) gives me even more time to be online later in the day.
  3. Face time with family (and friends)  during the Christmas season is more fun than Facebook ;)


HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

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