Self Discipline Versus The Internet!

“Just give me one second to reply to this…”

I posted a blog on how to develop & practice self discipline in order to meet targets and reach goals. However there are those of us that don’t have a problem getting started or staying on track. There are people who instead find it hard to slow down and stop working! I have the ability to go into full workaholic mode, in fact about 6 years ago I pushed myself until I totally burnt out! I’ve learned from my experiences and I have in place a number of arbitrary points at which I’ll stop work. I make sure I eat well, get my exercise, take regular breaks and quit when it’s quitting time. However I still struggle because of one thing: the internet!

“Just gonna check the stats one more time…”

For a lot of people blogging is a hobby, something to enjoy after a long day at work. Blogging for me, makes up part of my work day. I’ve always made it known that my blog is an important part of my business, helping to promote my books, music and other services. Don’t get me wrong, I love blogging, most of time it doesn’t feel like work as all, and I love that I get to meet so many funny, interesting and amazing people through it! But yes, when I wake up and look at my to-do list, among responding to emails, writing and everything else, blogging is there. I know a lot of other bloggers who have a semi-professional approach to their blogging as well. After spending a day in front of the computer though I just want to shut the damn thing down and take a walk, eat out somewhere nice (when I can!), be with people face to face and enjoy something non-interactive like a movie or book. Forget about the online world and catch up with it tomorrow.

However I’ve simply lacked the discipline to do so! I become anxious after a few hours offline have passed. I want to check my stats! Did Kozo and Miss Four Eyes respond to my comments yet? What if some troll took a proverbial dump in my comments section! Or there is a argument raging below one of my posts that requires moderation?!

It’s not just blogging either. “I’d better check my emails and facebook while I’m here.” Does any of this sound familiar? The worst is when I (stupidly) decide to do one last check before bed on my tablet and there is a comment or email that just HAS to be replied to right now! So there I am getting frustrated typing on a touch screen at midnight because I know that if I don’t reply now I will simply ruminate over the comment, and my answer for who knows how long!

I’m by no means the worst when it comes to all this. I never check my email, blogs or social networks when I’m out, or on my phone. I’m simply challenging myself to become more disciplined when it comes to internet use. There’s just no way that typing comments 2 minutes before going to sleep could be good for you. There has to be a point where we say “Screw it, that’s the internet done until tomorrow.” I remember when I was 15 and I worked at Dominos Pizza (my one and only real job!), when my shift was up it was “sorry guy’s you’re on your own!” (I rocked at pizza making, could make a large supreme pizza in 31 seconds). I’d walk out that door in my red and blue uniform and I wouldn’t spare a thought for the place until my next shift started.

When a good chunk of your work is done online however it follows you home, and into every device you own! The internet doesn’t turn off, and neither do your public profiles or avenues of contact. There could be a red hot email burning a hole in your account right now while you’re sitting and watching The Fast and The Furious 5 (I know, I’m a bad person). And so we compulsively check and check again. As I learn more about the importance of embodiment, creating routines and good communication I worry that our increasingly “On Demand” and “Always Online” lifestyles are creating a host of new forms of anxiety and dependency. They say we are more “connected” than ever, but I can’t think of anything more disconnected than the people I watch texting while cycling, the mothers and fathers pushing their children with one hand, their eyes glued to their phone, or the young people sitting in a park on a beautiful day never diverting their attention from their social networks.

Maybe I’m just old fashioned; can’t keep up with the times. All I know is that a little self discipline goes a long way. I love the technology, but I feel we can enjoy and utilize it much more effectively by spending plenty of time away from our screens and devices. I want to use the technology to make my life easier, better and more pleasant. I want the technology to bend to my will, to help fulfill my needs, and not the other way round.

To this end I will be setting limits after which I won’t even check the darn thing. I’m tired of being a fireman, ready to be called into action any time, day or night. This is not directed at any bloggers, or anyone at all by the way. You guys are all awesome! You make it all worth while It’s more just the nature of the internet as a whole. Oh and no one will notice my new routine except me, my comments and posts won’t change one bit. I just want to see what happens after an extended period of internet discipline. So I’ve posted a poll below, let me know what you think will happen after a couple of weeks of internet discipline. Will I:

a) Break within the first 2 hours?

b) Become so anxious that I take up a drug habit to compensate?

c) Get more rest and relaxation, making my internet time more enjoyable and efficient?

d) Realize the internet is for suckers and join a monastery?

You decide, and in a couple of weeks I’ll let you all know how it went

After my internet day is over anything else can wait till tomorrow when I am fresh and excited again!

Do you every have trouble being disciplined with internet use? Do you check your blog, email and facebook obsessively? What do you do to discipline yourself?

Thanks for reading All the best!

Rohan.

Rohan Healy is the author of “Greeks to Geeks: Practical Stoicism in the 21st Century”, “The 7 Things That Made Me Genuinely & Irreversibly Happy: And How They Can Do The Same For You” and Sci Fi Action/Adventure novel Gyaros: The Mice Eat Iron!

Click the book titles to visit their Amazon pages, read the reviews, and sample or purchase the books.