once a week

The computer is a very big part of our lives here at our house. We communicate with friends and loved ones, we shop, we play, we learn. It is a tool and a thing of entertainment. We use timers to help us manage our time with it (5 computer users! ONE computer!), and yet it still can suck half the day away if you aren't careful.

So we made a choice together a while back to turn the stinkin' thing off for a whole day, once a week, and try to do other things. Like talk to each other and maybe even go outside!

Wednesdays work best for us. The week is halfway over and we're usually in need of a change of pace. We aren't into weekend planning mode yet (which often requires the internet) but we are past the catching up that comes in the early part of the week. The machine gets turned off (completely) and the cabinet gets closed. Not only do we get to admire the nice looking cabinet we bought to close the computer up in, but we also get to find other ways to fill our time. We are usually quite productive on Wednesdays- it is amazing how much one can get done around the house when you aren't checking your email every 10 minutes!

This is a really great habit once you get into it (and get past the nervous twitching and cold sweats), and I think everyone in our family benefits from it. I've seen other bloggers doing it too- so we must be on to something! Give it a try- you won't be sorry.

p.s. I have a secret hope that our Wednesdays can become entirely Media Free sometime in the near future (so, no TV either), but we'll see what happens. Maybe after the move. Shhhhhh- don't tell the kids about this plan!