The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: Lans Holman on May 23, 2013, 03:03:30 PM
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OK, it's not really for financial reasons at all but it does fit with a lot of the other things discussed on here. Every Sunday, no tv, no internet. Do projects, spend time with family, read a book. I've been doing it for a few weeks now and its really nice. Really makes you realize how easy it is to just drift into fb/twitter and waste all kinds of time.
Definitely recommend giving it a try. And feel free to administer facepunch if you see me posting here on a Sunday.
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Since it is Sunday, I won't expect you to answer. =-) I do this on Saturdays, and it's lovely.
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I also do Saturdays (technically, sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday). Just happens to coincide with the Jewish Sabbath. I'm not very religious but it's nice to be able to do something that's both spiritual and mustachian.
I highly recommend a screen-free day, regardless of religious or spiritual background. It's a wonderful way to connect with friends and family. I feel like it's made me a more content and patient person.
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Bumping up an old thread. I started thinking about this a few weeks ago, and figured someone, at some point, must have posted about it on the forum here. I've been thinking about screen-free Sundays for a while, and I'm going to try it for the month of September, and see what happens.
I don't think I spend an excessive amount of time in front of my laptop or phone (we don't have TV). I also don't think that it leads me to be lazy or unproductive. In fact, just the opposite. I think screen time tends to make me anxious and over-stimulated. I'm actually doing this to help me relax better.
Only problem is that I have occasional side-hustle work on Sundays. For example, I'm committed to four hours of consulting work this coming Sunday, and it requires parking myself in front of computer at least part of the time. So I need to make an exception for that. I may declare one evening next week to be screen-free, as a tradeoff.
Anyone want to join?
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This is a good idea. I don't think an entire Sunday would work for me, but one night per week sounds like the right amount of time.
Can people post ideas for screen free activities?
Here are mine:
board games/cards
visit the library
cook something using a recipe from a cookbook
go for a walk / bike ride
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I have to say that I saw "screen free" and thought about bugs flying in the window - why would you want to be screen free? Ooooh. I get it.
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I just did my first screen-free Sunday. I was already obligated to working four hours in the afternoon on my side gig, which requires a computer. Other than that, it was really nice to be screen-free the rest of the day, especially in the morning, when I tend to get sucked into the internet while I drink coffee and try to plan my day. Instead, I went through some storage and ended up with 4 grocery bags of stuff, which I dropped off at Goodwill. In the afternoon, we went to a neighborhood bbq across the street and I did not bring my phone. The thing I enjoyed most was being focused on what I was doing in the moment, not compulsively checking my phone or my laptop to see what was happening elsewhere.
I did cheat a little by watching a movie in the evening, after dinner. I also looked at my phone a couple times to make sure I didn't miss an urgent phone call or something (I didn't).
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I saw a great video about a woman who does a "Technology Shabbat" with her family that's like what you're talking about. I'm definitely one of those people who gets totally sucked-in if I start watching TV or browsing the internet and I lose all my productive time. Here's the video: http://on.aol.com/video/episode-1--technology-shabbat-517965297 (http://on.aol.com/video/episode-1--technology-shabbat-517965297)
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It's hard to watch the Seahawks when living out of state without a screen. If they play on Thursday or Monday maybe this becomes a feasible challenge. ;)