Organizing Your Time~Week 2
Taming Technology
Do you have a love/hate relationship with technology? I know I do! What did we ever do before Internet? I use it for just about everything–from staying in touch with friends to paying bills to checking the weather. In some ways it saves huge amounts of time and effort. The downside is that I can also squander HOURS online if I’m not careful. Maybe it’s the same for you.
Phones, too. My cell phone and home phone are tools I just can’t imagine living without–yet sometimes I allow myself to be interrupted by a phone call, and end up feeling frustrated and resentful. Enter caller id. For a long time I resisted having it, even though it was free through my phone provider. I do use it now as well as my answering machine. I really started using these tools shortly after we began homeschooling. It was unfair to my kids for me to answer the phone and get caught up in a conversation when we were in the middle of a math lesson, for instance. So it’s not about showing disrespect to those people who are calling . . . it’s about managing my time so that I talk to them when I am best able to listen and give them my full attention.
Telemarketers are people too . . . and they are just trying to make a living. Please don’t be rude to them. Just don’t allow them to persist to the point where you’re irritated. Just a simple “Thank you, but I am not interested. Please remove me from you list.” CLICK. Don’t wait for an answer.
Keep a phone log for a few weeks. Include the name of the caller, the time they called, and the length of the conversation. Analyze that to see what changes can be minimize interruptions and time wasters.
Here’s another log to keep–though it might be painful. Just a sheet of paper is all you need, but I challenge you to keep track of all the time spent on the Internet for a week. Ouch. Prepare to be surprised!
If you have favorite blogs, try subscribing to them so they’re delived to your email inbox, or following them in a list. Set a timer before getting online–predetermine how much time per day you want to allow for Internet. When the timer goes off–you’re done!
Email is a problem for many of us. Here are a few tips for managing email.
Set a schedule–determine that you are only going to check email, say, twice a day, or whatever works best for your situation. Stick to it! Take a few minutes to reply to emails if necessary, then shut down.
Sort email into folders. I subscribe to several online newsletters and blogs. I have folders set up in my inbox to sort newsletters until I can block some time to read them. It helps keep my inbox somewhat clearer.
Use email subject lines for easy identification, and change the subject line if the subject of the email thread changes.
Keep emails clear and concise and to the point.
Please be selective about forwards. Not everyone enjoys receiving them. It’s polite to ASK before forwarding power point slide shows, political jokes, or the “forward du jour” to everyone on your list.
How about you? How do you use the phone and internet to save time? And how do you avoid wasting time on them? I think this is an area in which many of us continue to struggle. I’d love to read your feedback and suggestions.
My husband & I have to get up real early.Early meaning 1:30a.m sometimes 3:30 if we are lucky.The reason I stay up is because I have learned if I stay up I am ready to go to bed early when he is.We homeschool so I do my cleaning in the morning before the children get up.If I get done with my cleaning then I get on my computer.Once the children get up I dont get back on the computer untill naptime.I have learned to do what needs to be done before the computer is turned on.
I just linked up to your post this morning. My blog post was about how we are losing sleep to our technology. The lack of sleep effects our marriages and parenting! So thanks for a great post – you are linked up here:
http://womenlivingwell-courtney.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-am-so-tired.html
Walk with the King!
Courtney
I have that very problem, sometimes worse than others. Today was a prime example of what I could do without an our of internet! I got up at 5am, which is normally my time to “play” and drink coffee, but instead today I started the morning rush early. By 6:00, when it was time to make the children I had already done a load of laundry, folded what came out of the dryer, emptied and reloaded the dishwasher (didn’t do the dishes yesterday…don’t ask!), made lunches for the two in school, took out the last trash and put the can to the curb for today’s pick up. Why don’t I do that everyday? That only left me about 20 minutes on the computer—plenty of time to check FB, email, and a couple of blogs. I should do that EVERY day!
I had to start being choosy. I gave up all the games and stuff on Facebook. I stopped reading certain blogs and started checking some only once a week instead of four times a week. I’ve got a lot to do, and I really don’t have time for negative or discouraging reading.
I think you may be tapping my phone because this has been a hot topic with my dearest friends and myself!! I am no longer getting on the computer until school is over in our home (we homeschool) – so that has cut down on distractions and the time it sucks away! Same thing with the phone – I do not chat until school is over. It took a few days but now I love it!! I also gave up my farm on FB on New Years Eve – it was GREAT!!
Great post and great suggestions!!
following Him,
~Janelle
I took was sucked in.
I just joined facebook last year and it didn’t take long to start getting all the game invites and I wasted a lot of time playing those games. I stopped playing all of them and just recently got sucked back into one. I needed the smack in the face today to get back on there and remove that game. I know it too has stolen several precious hours I won’t ever get back. I need to remove it now. I finally started my homeschooling family of 6 on a schedule starting this year and it has blessed our family immensely!! I also have my email divided up into folders which makes it easier to read what I need to read and lets me read the blogs I enjoy in my spare time..yeah right. 