The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: DagobertDuck on July 15, 2018, 11:58:38 AM
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So, after my previous challenge ( https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/give-up-the-hooch-booze-free-for-as-long-as-you-please! ) went well so easily, and the benefits were so clear, it's time for a new one!
To reduce screen time and improve sleep!
Why?
-Because I spend too much time online, on facebook etc.
-Specifically because I have the terrible habit of using my smartphone and iPad in bed, both late at night, which reduces the amount and quality of sleep I get (glowing screen inhibits sleep hormone melatonin yada yada yada) and early in the morning (First thing I do when I wake up is check social media and news, even before getting out of bed. Pretty pathetic huh?!)
The rules:
-Smartphone and iPad (and laptop/PC if you own those. I currently don't) must be turned off completely at or before 9:30 PM
-They must be stored in a drawer away from bedside table
-Smartphone is NOT to be used as an alarm clock
-In the morning, said devices may NOT be turned on before one is fully dressed and has finished breakfast
For me, this challenge starts today and finishes on august 15th. I'll keep you posted. If I fail, please punch me in the face.
Who's in to join me?
And yes, I know this should not be a challenge but just a normal habit, but apparently I need my ass kicked to achieve it.
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I've already started something a lot like this, based on Reinhard Engels' Weekend Luddite - https://everydaysystems.com/weekendluddite/ so it's easy to say I'm in. :)
My "rules":
1. no screens before breakfast
2. no IPad except sitting at a table, i.e. not lounging in chair/on couch/in bed
3. no IPad surfing while also semi-watching TV (terrible for my eyes and is a clear time waster)
4. no surfing/clicking session on computer/IPad/phone longer than an hour at a stretch (computer time to do admin tasks or other actual work is not limited)
I started this two weeks ago and have already increased my reading in the morning and in bed at night. Cutting mindless IPad surfing has also cut mindless TV watching as I would tolerate bad TV because I was also surfing. Good grief!
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I shall join you all! I do not have a smartphone (still use a flip phone -- ha!) but I definitely have an internet addiction through my laptop that I need to conquer. The rule after 9:30pm should be easy for me since I go to bed at 10pm, but the rule before getting dressed is going to be harder. I can see myself cheating on the spirit of that latter rule.
I specifically avoided getting a smartphone because I saw so many people walking around with their eyes glued to their screens and I didn't want to become a walking zombie, but it is becoming harder for me to get by without one.
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I have been trying to do this too. If I get on my phone before work I am 80% of the time later than I would have liked.
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Great challenge idea.
I recently downloaded an app called QualityTime. It reports to you how many times you unlocked your screen in a day and how many minutes or hours(!!) you spent on your phone. I can legitimately say this app has been eye opening. I didn't think I was a smart phone abuser, but holy crap!
I quickly came to realize a few things about myself... I unlock my phone's screen to either check the time or to check notifications more than once every 7 minutes. Seems ridiculous!
I also spend on average, 1-2 hours a day on my phone. What the actual %^$& am I doing might you ask? Great question! Instagram, chatting on Hangouts, taking photos, Googling random stuff, DuoLingo (10 minutes a day sucka!), and various other things that REALLY ADD UP.
I recommend it because you'll quickly realize how un-present you are in so many situations. And others too. I haven't been using it long but I feel like I've already got more time back to myself, and I like it.
A side note - I love your idea of not getting on your phone before a certain time in the morning. This is something I've been doing for about a year now. It's KEY for me to have a great, productive, and focused day. Plus, thinking your own thoughts in the morning is much more powerful than thinking of someone else's (especially if it's negative like Facebook or the news tends to be).
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I will join until Aug 15...I've been doing something similar on & off for a few months so will make a concerted effort for the next month.
My morning are more stress-free when I start them this way and I definitely don't like the evening zone-out browse time that I can be guilty of.
I still find myself falling back into the habit of compulsive 'checking' which I would like to quell.
So--I will try: turning off phones/computers by 9:30pm, and then not turning things back on or going on social media/email before 9:30am (except on days I have early morning appointments/meetings)
I feel more relaxed already :)
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This is good. Already took twitter off of my iPhone (I still maintain it on a work iPad).
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Update notes below! Some slippage but also some satisfying results. More reading, better sleep, less eyestrain. Progress noted in Green (yay!), Orange (Hmm), and Red (Yikes!).
My "rules":
1. no screens before breakfast - this one is sticking well. I read instead and it's great.
2. no IPad except sitting at a table, i.e. not lounging in chair/on couch/in bed - going well with some slippage - see below
3. no IPad surfing while also semi-watching TV (terrible for my eyes and is a clear time waster) - have done this a couple of times in the evening - aargh!
4. no surfing/clicking session on computer/IPad/phone longer than an hour at a stretch (computer time to do admin tasks or other actual work is not limited) - going mostly OK except when I forget to check the time
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I'm in. I do pretty well in the evenings (starting at 8:30 when the kids go to bed). I used to use the laptop, but now read & don't use any electronics. The mornings are a problem. I read coffee & catch up on emails from my APAC team, and then read social media. I do then usually work out, but honestly should just skip the laptop/phone usage until I'm in the office.
So, here are my goals:
-No electronics of any kind past 8:30 pm (preferably 8 pm)
-No laptop/phone in the mornings. May carve out a 5 minute "check email for emergencies" phone look, so I can be prepared before I walk into the office
I'm hoping to use this time to prep for my day, clean the house, etc. And, doing anything that is generally just more useful than more screentime
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I left the Ipad in the car last night. No twitter at all. Felt pretty good about that.
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I think I'm going to make a rule to not use my smartphone between the time my toddler goes to bed (around 6:40) and 8:30. That's prime time for spending quality time with my older one and getting stuff done, but it's so easy to fritter away half of it on Facebook and message boards. I'll make an exception for stuff that qualifies as "getting stuff done", like paying bills, since it's fastest for me to do that on my phone.
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This seems like an important one. Count me in.
Edit: this post shouldnt exist because its 23:05
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How's everyone doing? I've been doing really well except for my #3 below. When I'm bored or stressed or both I just grab that iPad, slump in a chair and semisurf/semiwatch tv. Even though it kills my eyes, and my time. I know it's bad but I just put my ears back and doubledown, exactly like the cat when I tell her to stop scratching the couch. Going to experiment with listening to podcasts and fool with easy crafts/colouring books instead...
I've already started something a lot like this, based on Reinhard Engels' Weekend Luddite - https://everydaysystems.com/weekendluddite/ so it's easy to say I'm in. :)
My "rules":
1. no screens before breakfast
2. no IPad except sitting at a table, i.e. not lounging in chair/on couch/in bed
3. no IPad surfing while also semi-watching TV (terrible for my eyes and is a clear time waster)
4. no surfing/clicking session on computer/IPad/phone longer than an hour at a stretch (computer time to do admin tasks or other actual work is not limited)
I started this two weeks ago and have already increased my reading in the morning and in bed at night. Cutting mindless IPad surfing has also cut mindless TV watching as I would tolerate bad TV because I was also surfing. Good grief!
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I am a bit late to this challenge, but one thing I have been doing since the beginning of the year is turn my phone data/wifi off about an hour before bed. This way I am not getting any notifications besides texts/calls making it a lot easier to put the phone away.
I use my phone as an alarm and turn it to flight mode before going to sleep (doesnt seem very mustachian to buy an alarm clock when I already have something that works) but I keep it on flight mode until breakfast.
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Here's a possible motivator for this challenge:
Blue light from phones, tablets could accelerate blindness and hurt vision, study finds
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2018/08/13/blue-light-phones-tablets-could-accelerate-blindness-study/974837002/
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This is so much needed. I'm in.
I mindlessly surf mobile or watch youtube videos. I have to reduce that and substitute that time with either reading books or writing.
Last weekend I was able to reduce my mobile time considerable but it requires lot of conscious effort.
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I'm considering getting rid of my iPad altogether and just using my phone and computer for online stuff. I have a desktop, so it's not like i'd be trading an iPad for a laptop.
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Posting to keep this on my radar, think I will be joining in next week.
My big one is using my phone before breakfast. I can't formulate thoughtful responses and something about the fragmented nature [twitter, MMM forum updates, instagram, reddit] makes my brain feel all fragmented in a way that some focused reading doesn't.
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Yes, I think I am in too. This has become a big problem for me and I have tried to change my habits for far too long and have failed. I need to put the time to good use instead of frittering it away doing mindless surfing and watching youtube videos that serve no purpose other than helping me procrastinate.
I will be starting tomorrow.
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For me, this challenge starts today and finishes on august 15th. I'll keep you posted. If I fail, please punch me in the face.
Sorry to say, but I have failed completely. As expected, this challenge was way, way harder than a month without alcohol....
The interwebs is just such a pacifier for me. On some days I succeeded, but on these days I noticed missing this pacifier made me seriously nervous.
Please facepunch me.
Will try a fresh start of this challenge soon.
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I pretty much do this anyway, so didn't formally take the challenge. But I've found that not using devices until after breakfast...and not using them after 7pm or so means that I feel much more grounded, get more enjoyable things done and more "chore" kinds of things done--am just much more productive with things that are important to me... and I don't get the eyestrain that makes my eyelids red For me, I think my biggest wake-up call was the red eyelids. And less time on devices seems to calm my mind and help me focus more. My devices are my iPhone 8 and my MacBook Air 11".
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I've instituted a personal rule of no screen time within 10 hours of my scheduled wake up time. So, if I'm getting up at 8:00 AM, no screen time after 10:00 PM. I have been reading a bit more before bed and getting closer to my planned 8 hours of sack time.
Good luck to everyone!
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Oh this sounds really hard which is probably a good sign I need to participate. I really hate my dependence on my smartphone.
"My Rules"
1. No Phone after 9:30 PM
2. Turn on airplane mode at 9:30 PM
3. Don't turn off airplane mode until after I have walked the dog (I have breakfast at work about 2 hours after I've been up and I use my phone for audio-books on the drive to work.)
Will start tonight and see how I do over the next month.
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I've been about 50/50 with this. No phone after 10:30 or earlier and then I don't use it until after 7:30 AM (after walking the dog) I'm much better in the morning avoiding the phone than at Night. I tend to play some games before bed and I really should not be doing that.
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I have started simply turning my phone off at times. My family all think I'm weird. But I'm not charging it as often!~
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I'm in. I do pretty well in the evenings (starting at 8:30 when the kids go to bed). I used to use the laptop, but now read & don't use any electronics. The mornings are a problem. I read coffee & catch up on emails from my APAC team, and then read social media. I do then usually work out, but honestly should just skip the laptop/phone usage until I'm in the office.
So, here are my goals:
-No electronics of any kind past 8:30 pm (preferably 8 pm) - generally pretty good
-No laptop/phone in the mornings. May carve out a 5 minute "check email for emergencies" phone look, so I can be prepared before I walk into the office - Definite fail. And, haven't been working out in the mornings lately, so this can easily be turned into workout time.
I'm hoping to use this time to prep for my day, clean the house, etc. And, doing anything that is generally just more useful than more screentime
Checking in on this one. More work to do!
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Well, was practically cut off while I was in Europe for vrs reasons - you'd think I'd be cured after two months. Nope.
I have projects to finish - instead, I'm hanging around the net.
OK then - I'm in - will try to limit "fun" surfing to two hours a day.