Downsizing...

[martinlivings]

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I spend (or possibly waste) my time, especially online. A goodly portion of every day get eaten up by a variety of things online, particularly:

- LJ f-list
- LOLCats (and related amusements)
- Cracked.com
- web comics (about a dozen of them!)
- Dark Horizons entertainment news
- Facebook (primarily playing Countdown)

And probably many more. How many of these things are actually important? Any of them? And are they more important than getting some writing done?

I don't think so. And, with my new job absorbing most of my time, I think it's time to downsize.

I don't want to drop off LJ altogether. But I think I read too much on it. So it's time to do that most dreaded of all things, and cut back my f-list. I have to be brutal. I need to regain some time for writing. At any cost. Minimise the distractions. When I sit at my computer, my first reaction should be to open the Work In Progress, not spend an hour trawling through f-list posts. Bad writer, no biscuit!

Anyway, that decision is easy. The next - which to keep and which to cut - is hard. Like choosing which fingers to chop off.

Comments

[halspacejock.livejournal.com]

LJ allows you to add a bunch of friends to a filter in a batch - you could set up a 'pushed for time' filter and add the most often-read ones to that. Gives you a subset without having to actually ditch people.

[mikandra.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, you're not even on Authonomy. Talking about eating up time!

[shrydar.livejournal.com]

..oh and no offence taken if you cut me btw.

It's probably time I did a cull myself.. (*eyes off the page of doom warily..*)

[1phish2phish.livejournal.com]

I'd understand if I was one of those to get the downsizing f-list chop.

[thefon.livejournal.com]

Try unplugging from the internet for a few solid hours of work, that's what I do. Even for an hour. The other thing that works for me is starting the day by doing some work, before I start checking blogs / comix / email / ...

[callistra.livejournal.com]

I reckon give Izz your password so she can log in, and change your password to something you don't know, and then don't log in!

Just go cold turkey for a bit.

Or... dump every one, and when you feel like checking in on someone, then go and read their blog and their blog only, so you don't get caught up in all the small stories out there.

[hkneale.livejournal.com]

I understand. This is why I don't get on the internet some days--too many things to do that are more important.

Ditto Simon's flist filter.