Christa, Day 8: Media Fast? NOT Going to Happen

Media is, for better or for worse, a big part of my life. As I think I mentioned in yesterday's post, certain aspects of my jobs involve updating Facebook... browsing is another part. I cannot get away from online reading and blogs and social media because these three things are part of my arsenal of professional tools. A full-on media fast is an utter impossibility, even on the weekends because I'm working then, too.

With that out of the way, let's look at today's idea:

Limit your media consumption. This tip won’t be for everyone, so if media consumption is important to you, please skip it (as with any of the other tips). However, I believe that the media in our lives — TV, radio, Internet, magazines, etc. — can come to dominate our lives. Don’t let it. Simplify your life and your information consumption by limiting it. Try a media fast.

Honestly, as much as I putter around on Facebook and as I admitted yesterday, need to curb some of my constant update checks, my relationship with the constant barrage of media that's shoved at us from every corner is pretty good. Am I perfect? No. Media is definitely one of the things that keeps me from pursuing yet another enriching activity - I could spend the post-bedtime hours working, but if you know me at all you know that I work enough as it is. And I make art and get my craft on and my home is not slipping into disrepair. Typically, by the time I decide to steep my brain in nonsense, I have done a poo ton of work, enjoyed a significant amount of time with my child, done things around the house, and stopped to smell the freakin' roses.

So what COULD I improve if I felt so inclined?

TV
Like a lot of people, I watch television, and I'm not ashamed to say we watch some every day. But since we don't have a cable service we tend to watch things we actually want to watch because there's no clicking around to see what's on. And TV time for me is also exercise and sewing time. Yesterday, for instance, I rode the stationery bike for a while and then mended Tedd's corduroy jacket while watching the tube. I guess I could be pursuing certain personal projects, but I do my worst work after 8 p.m. and that's when we watch television.

The Internet
I could definitely be reading fewer articles on Femail or looking up not as many pictures of Angelina Jolie or watching auto-tuned Charlie Sheen when I ought to be writing or editing, but I'm working on that. Usually, my rule is that I have to have actually crossed off a to-do item before I can take a media break, and unless I'm having a particularly undisciplined day, that works just fine. I've actually pretty much curbed my purposeless browsing habit - I have my go-to sites, I'll check out things Tedd is laughing at*, and I love design blogs, but I don't just sit and watch YouTube for hours.

Other Media
The other media in my life is either work-related and thus necessary or Tedd's music, which doesn't get in the way of anything I'm doing. I don't watch the nightly news or subject myself to the content behind alarmist headlines about all the things in my house that are killing me and the pedos lurking behind every corner. I block ads and don't watch commercials. I don't click through channels to see what's on. And so on.

Basically, my preference is to only spend my time on the media that informs me, entertains me, or otherwise enriches me - using numerous definitions of 'enrich'. And I feel like I'm meeting that goal. I'm going to call Day 8 DONE and then call it a day... with a little exercise and TV.

(*Note: Took a break here to watch this and some others smack in the middle of writing this. Come on, how could I not?)