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One of the resolutions I’ve made for 2012 that is most daunting for me is to reduce screen time. This has been an ongoing desire of mine, but I’ve not yet found the strategies that work for me. Here’s a list of some I’m considering:
- keeping a screen time log for myself for a week (I expect this to be horrifying, which is probably exactly why I should do it)
- setting some get-active goals and tracking my progress
- eating dinner in front of the TV less (I know, it’s a horrible habit and bringing the end of Western civilization closer and closer)
- being active during screen time, including doing stretches or lifting weights while watching TV. I think using screen time for active Wii games would be a good switch here too.
- cutting down on the most purposeless/time-suck ways I am on the Internet. Blogging is okay, stupid gossip websites are less so. And specifically, maybe check those embarrassing sites once a day, but no more.
- I think it would also be helpful to make a list of “good” uses of screen time: blogging, Family Movie Night, shows like “Top Chef” I enjoy watching with my girls, and let myself off the hook for those.
- accepting that I don’t need constant access to my inboxes and that sometimes, emails can wait until later to be answered. I don’t think I could fall asleep without checking my work email in the late evening at least once, but I certainly don’t need to check as often as I do.
The big piece will be focusing on myself; I think I do fairly well in monitoring my children’s consumption and screen hours, as well as keeping screens out of the bedrooms, but my own habits have gotten untenable. I don’t have a smartphone, which I think is good for me, but my laptop is on far too often, and too often I’ve got the TV on in the background as well.
Blech. I know this isn’t a new insight, but I really think one of the road blocks to keeping resolutions is that trying to be a better person also means acknowledging all the ways in which you fall short, and who wants to think about that for too long?
Newsflash: resolutions also often involve stopping doing things that are easy, and replacing with things that are hard. Sigh.
Related articles
- Screens in the Bedroom, and Everywhere Else (jackieregales.com)
- New Year’s Resolutions 2012: Reduce Screen Time (lenina.wordpress.com)
- Healthy Habits for TV, Video Games, and the Internet (education.com)
