It is eight months since I started blogging. I had begun a blog simply to be able to comment easily, with a profile, 6 months before and have been "Ruby" on the net for a couple of years.
I admit, I really enjoy my blog. I also have to admit though, that some of my old routines have changed since I started blogging and I am interested to know whether this is so for others. And if so, are they positives or negatives?
For example, I still get up before the rest of the house hold for my quiet time, but now I often take my bowl of cereal and cup of coffee to eat as I check emails afterwards. This used to be my morning tea time ritual, but with possible blog mail in the post, I guess I like to check on it earlier in the day.
A lot of my stuff is posted first thing in the morning but it is not written then. I very seldom publish any thing which I have not had drafted, sometimes for quite a long time, but at least the night before. This is one positive goal I set myself early on in the hope of not posting things which were foolish, ill advised or hurtful.
What about keeping up with blogs you are following? I feel I have quite a large number of blogs that I enjoy and I like to read the updates regularly. What do others do? Do you visit your favourites every time they have a new post? Do you rotate them or perhaps have a weekly order? I try to comment on my favourites regularly. I get involved with my friends and want them to be encouraged. I know how much I love comments on my own blog.
The biggest question I have to wrestle with is, Do I spend too much time on the blogging circuit/ forums? Am I slacking on other more important duties? Have I neglected family or real life friends?
At present I do not feel this is the case. However, I know that when my foot was injured and when I've had periods of illness I have tended to spend rather an excessive amount of time in front of the screen!
Several of the bloggers I really enjoy keeping up with have taken "posting breaks", suffering a sort of bloggers burn out. And one I know of who has closed her blog altogether. These things make me conscious of how very addictive, draining and time consuming this pass time can be.
Most of all I have been contemplating, Is this glorifying to God?
I would really appreciate some thoughts from you who read and comment here. How do you manage your internet time? Do you schedule a specific amount of time? Do you allow yourself the occasional luxury to blog surf and check out other commenters on your favourite blogs? (I do that every so often!) Having only the one computer in our house helps to limit both hubby and I. Do you have more than one? Do older kids/ mum/ dad have their own computers?
This technology has not been around for very long. It is not a time consumer ( waster) which our mothers had to battle. Nor did they have all the appliances we have. They worked and worked hard. Are we slacking off? But perhaps they felt much more isolated and lonely as well?
Again I have to ask myself, Does this glorify God?
Very thought provoking post Ruby.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first really started getting into blogging my husband was away on a 3 month training exercise. I use to blog-surf during nap time and write my own blog after the children were in bed.
After HB had been home for a few weeks he accused me of spending too much time on the computer (he has his own laptop, so it wasn't that he was competing with me for computer time.) At first I was furious because he himself spends hours surfing the net, but then I realized he was right and I had to cut back.
So now I try to limit it no more than an hour a day, in two half hour sessions.
It is addictive - some days I hear my computer calling my name! Then I wonder if it really is a good thing! Even though I originally started my blog to keep our far-flung family members up to date with the latest news, it has been gratifying to know that there are other people who like reading it too.
Sorry for the huge long comment, I guess I was 'thinking out loud'.
This topic seems to be one that many bloggers discuss. I think we have to manage our computer time just like we do anything else. It's all about balance and we each have to judge ourselves according to our own lives. I am able to spend more time on the computer at this stage of my life than I would have 10 years ago when all my girls were at home and homeschooling. I find that it is easy to spend too much time on the computer and I have to watch myself. I always read my favorite blogs, though, and you're one of them! Have a great day, Ruby.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying all the blogs and thoughts of others is rather like entering fantasy land! Such fun but must be used with wisdom, discernment and discipline or it can so easily take time away from the very real issues of our life and family!
ReplyDeleteFor me, now retired, it fills a void at times but I still must limit my time on the net and discipline myself to do things that have lasting results, like quilting, lunching with friends, visiting others, corresponding by mail with old friends, cooking healthy meals rather than snacking on unhealthy things! So the net is a great 'filler' but must be seen as such and taken in rationed amounts and not used to depend on for life's contentment!
I never want to spend time on the net that would decrease my time reading His word! There should be balance, give and take!
I'm thankful for your blog Ruby and enjoy dropping in and catching up!
Blessings, Nancy
Hi my wise friend,
ReplyDeleteI too consider regularly whether my blogging is glorifying to God. So far I consider that it is not causing me to neglect other more important matters (well, except the ironing...), but if I ever felt that it was becoming excessive I would stop. Period.
I do not blog or otherwise 'play' on the internet when my husband is at home. I rarely post on the weekends - and never on the Sabbath. This tends to keep me under control.
At the moment blogging gives me a great deal of pleasure. It is the hobby I was looking for, and I'm so glad I found it.
I love your blog and value your comments very much. As I said at the beginning you are one wise lady. Thanks Ruby.
I was thinking that of all the Social Media, blogging and email are the most valuable. Facebook is often cosmic screams that don't have the content of a thoughtful blog like yours, Ruby.
ReplyDeleteSince I am semi-retired, I do have time for it, but select which blogs I read. I don't always respond to them unless I can do it right away.
Always want to get my devotions in and be available to my husband. He watches a lot of TV and so I tend to get on the computer to write or e-mail or blog. I like to read am taking a seminary counseling class so that takes my time also. Then there are really areas of organization that needs to happen in my house.
That was what I would say a cop-ot response I just gave. Yes, this Social Media is addicting often for me.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRuby,
ReplyDeleteI love your blog(s). And, you know how I have admitted addiction to the blog at times, and a lack of moderation at other times. It is hard, and I am glad when we can be honest about it! In my opinion, you are doing great just to ask yourself these hard questions!
Practical suggestions for Christian bloggers (some/most of these you already practice):
- no computer usage before quiet time, and if this rule makes you rush through your quiet time, then you may be addicted
- let all posts sit at least a few hours before posting
- limit time on the computer when young children are awake and running about
- take occasional breaks from the blog just to test and see if you are addicted... are you able to go a day or so without writing and composing new blogs in your head?
This is just a few suggestions, for what it's worth. I speak as one who knows what blog addiction is, and feels I have overcome, by the grace of God. For me, blogging and facebook is too much, I have to choose one or the other. As for following other blogs, I no longer feel compelled to do that. I started reading every blogger's every post, and commenting on most... but I think much of that was to get my own name out there and generate my own "following." This was an awful precident to set! And, I quickly learned that I could not respond to every comment on my own blog, or read every post on my friends' blogs. I no longer feel guilty about this, my family comes first! yes, my site meter tells me that far less people are visiting per day, but I have to reconsider who I am writing for anyway. Sure, I want to influence and encourage others, but ultimately I want the blog to be glorify God, as you said.
Blessings to you as you try to find balance!
Bethany
Oh, and letting comments be immediately posted saves time too!
ReplyDeleteRuby,
ReplyDeleteGood food for thought. I try to get my surfing/visiting in when the boys are having "bounce breaks" (out on the trampoline or running around the yard, between spurts of homeschool work), and usually do any writing late in the evening when they're sleeping.
Still, I have to force myself to limit the time... not to add more blogs to my reading list, not to check each blog every day, etc.
My husband wants me to blog... it's sort of our family journal. (I'm way, way behind on the paper scrapbooks since we went digital...)
And it's been really encouraging "meeting" other moms of Deaf/HoH kids, since there aren't many in our community.
Love your idea of not posting anything immediately.
Julie
Good morning! and thanks everyone for these thoughtful replies.
ReplyDeleteI will give them some thought myself and maybe post again when I get it together.
Have a wonderful day!
Some of these questions only you can answer, as God leads you. I'm not into posting a computer schedule for myself, but I try to make sure my other duties are taken care of before i go on.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I think I am a hilbilly, of sorts.
I think that deep down we probably all ask these questions from time to time about the internet and blogging etc. I would write a lot more on my blog and comment a lot more on others if I had the time, but I don't :) And I still think that the time I spend on the computer is too much...but I enjoy the fellowship and encouragement from others. Also, blogging is a form of community for me as I lack it in person :)
ReplyDeleteI think just the fact that you are asking these questions is an indication that you are checking that it's in perspective to the rest of your life.
And for what it's worth, Ruby, you are an enormous blessing to me. Even though we have never met I consider you a friend and I value what you have to say on many topics.
Dear Ruby
ReplyDeleteYou are expressing the thoughts that I have had quite often over the past few months!
I was so touched to read that you draft your post before posting. I have had three previous blogs and I deleted each of them because I felt that I had overstepped the mark and posted things of too personal a nature. I also felt it was my right to express my views on any topic, regardless of whether of not it might offend. I am deeply regretful of that. I am trying more with this blog to stay "neutral" and I think you idea of drafting is great.
I am a bit of a compulsive person. If I get up first thing in the morning and start the day with the computer then it is quite likely that I will still be there four hours later! Like you, I love to check other blogs and emails etc etc and it can takes hours!
For the past two weeks I have stopped starting my day in this way. I now get up, get showered, make dinner (yes in the morning) and then do my housework. After I have given the children their work goals I then open the computer. It is proving to be much more beneficial to my home life and my husband is happier that my obsessive need to check the computer upon waking has ended!
God bless you Ruby for being so open and honest. x
Ruby I just wanted to add that I too have been so encouraged and strengthened in getting to know you from your blog -- whatever you decide for future regarding time and other responsibilities and delights, it is clear that God has answered your prayers that your words would not be destructive etc.
ReplyDeleteI have a harder time keeping the puritanboard in check with all the many fascinating discussions and personally don't find facebook worth trying to keep in check. I recently, at least for the approaching winter when I tend to have more difficulty keeping up at home, decided to limit my internet time to a few blogs. I love my blog reader because I don't feel compelled to visit different blogs daily but can simply open my reader when so inclined and read through a blog or two.
I'm so grateful for the texture and color of life away from a computer screen; but also so very grateful for the friends I've made this way.
I'm still trying to figure out how to balance it all. I took a long break because it was taking too much time away from my husband and girls. Now I stay up too late:( I also want my posts to glorify God. My husband is very supportive, though,because he feels it has helped me have an outlet of expression that I otherwise wouldn't have.
ReplyDeleteRuby, I think blogging is like anything, really. I find when I decide to have a break from blogging, I read too much. When I decide reading too much is bad and I should do something else, I clean so compulsively that no-one is allowed to mess anything up (NOT fun!) then other times we go out too much or I exercise too much or I ....
ReplyDeleteSo for me, I think the issue is not so much about blogging, as it is about my attitude.
As someone mentioned above, I started blogging when my husband was absent. Not so much that he was staying away somewhere, but that he had something on every night of the week, and I stayed home with the children who all went to bed early. What to do all night by myself? I don't watch tv, and blogging/forums were a way to connect with like minded people, and an opportunity to share and learn.
It is challenging for me now, as my family circumstances have changed somewhat. I don't have the same time to myself (in fact, it is such a rare commodity I can't believe I once had an excess!) and I miss being able to write more.
I find it easier to keep up with my wordpress blogging friends because there is a reader on my dash that shows in full each new post. With my blogger friends, I tend to forget where I've been and commented :P For some reason I also have trouble commenting on some blogger sites so that can be limiting.
So that big long answer was yes, I often have to reassess where I'm at with the internet, but more so, where is my heart? Am I running away, or being drawn away, from more important priorities? I think the answer will often be yes, but the lure will be different at different stages of life..
Thanks for your thought provoking post, Ruby x