I originally intended to follow up seven days after the experiment started. Two things ended up happening that sidetracked me from this original goal, the first is that I got the results I thought I was looking for after only three days, and the second is that I got lazy and never bothered to respond with an update. School finals have just ended with me being put through the full range of productivity from extremely lazy to finals cram mode. I feel that the answer to my challenge is much more tangible now than it was after just three or seven days.
For the three days I challenged myself, I succeeded in keeping to my schedule. Any opening of a tab to an unproductive website had me closing it within seconds. After my productive time on the computer had been used, I closed the laptop and moved on to something else. Almost instantly I found myself with an incredible amount of free time.
After those three days were up I tended towards my routine and continued to enjoy my new found free time. As finals approached however, I found myself sacrificing the newly developed habits to fulfill my need of empty-brained activities to counteract the amount of time and energy spent studying. This resulted in a gradual increase of time wasted on websites such as Reddit until eventually, I was spending the time outside of studying on Reddit. I felt that the balance between productive and non-productive in my brain worked out and I continued through finals like this.
Towards the end of finals, I took at how my productivity was sustained with breaks to browse the internet. I realized that there was no boost to productivity and that after breaks, I continued working with constantly decreasing productivity. What breaks did contribute to productivity? I looked to see what activities answered this question and were productive in their own way. The answer came with many replies including walking outside, showering, napping, and running.
At this point it all began to come together. For day to day living, my time wasted mindlessly on the internet can be utilized for other activities such as writing, working on a craft, or playing a sport. During the times of high productivity that require lots of attention and brain power, I have the answer to that too in the form of showers and naps. In conclusion, time spent browsing websites such as these and doing similar activities like watching trashy TV have no place in my life.
What are you wasting your free time on and what's stopping you from changing your daily routine to accommodate that hobby you always wanted to get started on?
