Yesterday my friend challenged herself to writing daily for just 15 minutes, attempting to break a habit we all have: wasting time on such frivolities as watching TV or playing a video game. I can pat myself on the back for not falling prey to the first vice, but the second one surely has me hooked. I convince myself that I am "exercising my brain" - important to us who have the dubious privilege of having Alzheimer's in our family and finding ourselves to be of an age that worries about that kind of thing every time we find ourselves repeating a story, misplacing our keys (or glasses, or phone...)
It would be easy enough for me to look back on my day and lament the things that I did not get done - but I'm rarely willing to admit that the amount of time spent on sudoku or mahjong contributed to that.
It's all well and good to acknowledge our shortcomings, but that is the easy part of the battle. I like to claim that my sister inherited all of our mother's "self-discipline gene" - just reading her daily rundown of things accomplished makes me want to take a nap. (Although, to be completely honest, most anything these days makes me want to take a nap... so, there is that.)
Just knowing that we have an area that needs some work and then ignoring it by playing a puzzle is, in my mind, akin to an alcoholic who acknowledges they might have a "problem" as they crack open another can. Or, another analogy that we can all identify with: hearing the alarm clock and knowing it's time to get up, then rolling over in bed for another 15 minutes. (Bazinga!)
I have read countless self-help books and websites designed to inspire and motivate me to focus on the areas that I know should be priorities, but setting the book down or turning off the computer is really the answer.
A Nike means; Just do it!
ReplyDeletePut the phone down and close the laptop lid.
So much easier said than done, but easier with practice and a time limit.