My Internet-Free Saturday

I decided to go without the internet on Saturday to try to minimize distractions for a productive day. And while there were some annoying side-effects (I wasn't sure what time the library closed, the name of an actor in a movie I was watching escaped me, I couldn't check Facebook to see if my friend had her baby), I was more than pleased with the results.

• I finished a friend's book, D-day And Beyond: A True Story Of Escape And Pow Survival, which I've been trying to find the time to read for a month now.
• All the documents that have been piling up on my desk are now in my filing cabinet.
• I laughed aloud while reading the delightful Z Is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, ill. by Paul O. Zelinsky.
• I cooked, yes, as in used my kitchen to prepare meals.
• My sister would be proud: I made a pie.
• I went to the library, recycling drop off, grocery store, library, gas station...
• I taked to my mom and my sister and looked up flights to Chicago for my cousin's wedding.
• The manuscripts critiques for next month's workshops are nearly finished.

The list could go on forever. I don't know why I'm always surprised by how much I accomplish when I go internet free. We think technology has made us so much more productive, and while in some ways it has, it's also giving us more resources to waste our time.

So in July, I'm going to limit my internet time to one hour each night. I still have to be online for work and will check email throughout the day, but I seriously need to cut back on how much time I spend online. We'll see if I can exercise any self control.