I’ve been trying to find the perfect topic to start off this blog with but I haven’t been able to settle on one. I’ve written four or five different posts, each seemingly worse than the last. So, if you’re reading this – I finally did it!

Generally, I try to keep my nose out of other people’s business. I don’t like to hound people about doing things or share my opinion when not asked but since this is my blog after all, why the heck not? Plus, as a political science graduate, giving my opinion when not solicited seems to be what people expect of me anyway.

Anyhoo…

I’ve been very aggravated the past couple of weeks and one could attribute this to the fact that I’m pregnant. Or that my husband and I are preparing to move from Florida to Connecticut in just under 2 weeks with 3 dogs and 1 Uhaul and still have not packed a darn thing. Perhaps they’d be correct.

I blame it on realizing just how much the useless consumption of media has taken a toll on my life and affects my family. It wasn’t something that I noticed in the beginning, especially since I do enjoy binging Netflix and scrolling through Instagram any time I pick up my phone. Which is a lot. Too much.

The beginning of last week I was put on bed rest, which was perfectly fine with me because I had already sent in my two weeks notice. I was, and still am, thrilled. However, I never noticed how much time I waste on things that, arguably, decrease my happiness and interfere in the progress toward my goals.

The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

Honestly, I might not have noticed anything if I wasn’t trying to finish my novel by the end of the year. For someone who wrote 10,000 words in a day just to kick off the book and to prove that I could do it, when 11pm hits and I realize I’ve only written 700 words, I become extremely angry with myself. Then I try to retrace where it all went wrong. Where did most of my time go? When you have nothing else to do other than clean the dishes and wash clothes, what happens to all those other hours?

Then I look over next to me and I see my husband sitting there playing a mobile game and it hits me. A year ago we mocked mobile games and scrolling through social media. We valued not having our phones at the dinner table and spending more time reading than we did watching Youtube videos. Now, we seem to have fallen into the same cycle as every other media-obsessed person. Heck, we even started watching reality TV shows like 90 day fiancé when we can’t find anything else. For shame, I know.

I’ve been trying to put my phone down more and focus on doing constructive things, such as finally starting my blog. Lowering my Netflix consumption will be the next step but for now I mostly just use it as background noise, playing shows I’ve already seen. My husband on the other hand is having more of a difficult time not checking his phone every two seconds or mindlessly scrolling through Youtube and watching any video that mildly peaks his interest.

It is a battle, for sure. The main thing that I am learning is that banning phones from an area or scolding because we are looking at them too much is not helpful. Simply asking what is being watched, listened to, or checked can be just as effective, especially if the answer is usually, “oh nothing.” Putting more of an emphasis on family time and finding activities that don’t involve a phone or TV can change the dynamic entirely.

We’ve found success with board games. Instead of spending twenty minutes trying to figure out what to watch on Netflix, we go to the game closet and pick out a game that could be played quickly with two people. One of our favorites has become Five Minute Dungeon. It really tests your ability to work together and is a fun bonding experience.

I do believe that once we move, we will try taking a vacation from unproductive media altogether. I can’t say it will work but it would be interesting to see what alternatives we would come up with.

I’m sure there are some of you that are having some of the same issues. Hang in there. Don’t let it get to you just yet. If you’re worried about yourself, work on being more aware of what you are spending your time on. You could write down what you do each day and how long you do it for. You could make a detailed list of how you would like to spend your day. If you are having these issues in regard to someone else, such as your significant other, casually bring up the concern in conversation. Don’t accuse them of anything but just talk about it. I can’t say that talking about something never hurt anyone but it’s a better idea than holding it all in and erupting later on.

Here’s to hoping this helped someone. If there are any topics you’d like to suggest or if you’d just like to comment about the topic at hand or even just to say hello, feel free to shoot me an email. I’ve had a great time judging myself while writing this and I hope to find more topics like this to share with you all later on.

Thanks for reading!

S.S.S.