A few months back i was working as a freelancing online grader. Although, it was called a freelancing job and had flexi hours, we had to clear the queue of grading essays uploaded at the US. Sometimes, we would work on festivals, Sat and Sunday too. After an year and half, The job got monotonous. To break the monotony, i would take breaks to read the updates on FB and on twitter. I had subscribed to TIME, The Hindu and follow some of my favorites like musicians, artists and get news much before the news mag/paper hit the stands. Similarly,on FB, i was not a great contributor by posting photos and status updates, but i used to check the status updates, check deals, participate in online promotional contests, like some photos and wish people on their birthdays. All these during the little breaks that i would take between work.
This continued after my work hours too since i had activated the social sites on my phone .I slowly realized i became a slave to virtual life .I would play a few games endlessly that i would'nt even know that the whole night went by. In the morning, after my routine, i would come back to the monitor again to resume my work with severe wrist, neck and shoulder pain. It would also end in throbbing head ache. Social life was also cut off. When i went down for a walk or when my friends met me they would say " Id ka chand bhi dikta hai, tum to dikti hi nahin ho". They all would think work was keeping me busy. But only, i knew that i was addicted to virtual world.
The hitting point came when i was checking FB updates one day and my daughter peeped into the phone screen and said " Ma, are you so jobless? that you are always on FB or twitter". And to think it came from my child. Actually, children are supposed to be chatting and addicted to such sites and parents are supposed to hold them back. It was ulta in my case. My children though played Farmville some 4 years back. During the initial days, we had restricted their timings to one hour each in the early morning(summer time), but they soon got over once the school started and they got busy. They are now totally out of such sites and chatting. Sometimes, i tell them to check their updates and they refuse saying no time and here i was totally on it.
But then, Was i jobless?
I had so much to organize, sort and above all my domestic and official work took so much of time. Socialization offline was totally nil for me except during my yoga class when i met a few friends.
Then came the month of May and I was off to my home town. My parents home does not have a computer and so the Husband suggested i take my laptop but i refused saying "extra luggage" and that was the best thing i did.
I socialized, went around the town, taught a girl to read and write english and did so many constructive work. Even when my hands were tempted to use a system, i did not use my sister's or my cousins machine. Except for an ocassional mail check, i stayed away. The best thing i did was learn crochet. The colors and my creations were like a therapy. I learnt the basics from my mom and when i returned back, i de-activated FB, whatsapp, skype and other online chats. Now, i have ample time to attend to my priority jobs and other hobbies. I spend time with my friends. Now, when free, i turn to the yarns and do some yarn work, photography or go for nature walks in the nearby cantonment. Reading books is something i have to resume. I still spend time online but constructively, i have restricted my timings only 15 minutes for FB and ocasionally on twitter. I am still recovering.
BTW, this is what i did with that stack of colors which i mentioned on my crochet post. I loved this when i saw it on a blog site and immediately followed the tutorial. This is a crochet bunting. The tutorial is from Jacquie's beautiful blog called bunnymummy. I am now her huge fan. There is even a fest for this in UK called Yarndale. If interested catch the photos. The place looks like a fairyland.
BTW, did any of you notice this in my golu pic? :)
This continued after my work hours too since i had activated the social sites on my phone .I slowly realized i became a slave to virtual life .I would play a few games endlessly that i would'nt even know that the whole night went by. In the morning, after my routine, i would come back to the monitor again to resume my work with severe wrist, neck and shoulder pain. It would also end in throbbing head ache. Social life was also cut off. When i went down for a walk or when my friends met me they would say " Id ka chand bhi dikta hai, tum to dikti hi nahin ho". They all would think work was keeping me busy. But only, i knew that i was addicted to virtual world.
The hitting point came when i was checking FB updates one day and my daughter peeped into the phone screen and said " Ma, are you so jobless? that you are always on FB or twitter". And to think it came from my child. Actually, children are supposed to be chatting and addicted to such sites and parents are supposed to hold them back. It was ulta in my case. My children though played Farmville some 4 years back. During the initial days, we had restricted their timings to one hour each in the early morning(summer time), but they soon got over once the school started and they got busy. They are now totally out of such sites and chatting. Sometimes, i tell them to check their updates and they refuse saying no time and here i was totally on it.
But then, Was i jobless?
I had so much to organize, sort and above all my domestic and official work took so much of time. Socialization offline was totally nil for me except during my yoga class when i met a few friends.
Then came the month of May and I was off to my home town. My parents home does not have a computer and so the Husband suggested i take my laptop but i refused saying "extra luggage" and that was the best thing i did.
I socialized, went around the town, taught a girl to read and write english and did so many constructive work. Even when my hands were tempted to use a system, i did not use my sister's or my cousins machine. Except for an ocassional mail check, i stayed away. The best thing i did was learn crochet. The colors and my creations were like a therapy. I learnt the basics from my mom and when i returned back, i de-activated FB, whatsapp, skype and other online chats. Now, i have ample time to attend to my priority jobs and other hobbies. I spend time with my friends. Now, when free, i turn to the yarns and do some yarn work, photography or go for nature walks in the nearby cantonment. Reading books is something i have to resume. I still spend time online but constructively, i have restricted my timings only 15 minutes for FB and ocasionally on twitter. I am still recovering.
BTW, this is what i did with that stack of colors which i mentioned on my crochet post. I loved this when i saw it on a blog site and immediately followed the tutorial. This is a crochet bunting. The tutorial is from Jacquie's beautiful blog called bunnymummy. I am now her huge fan. There is even a fest for this in UK called Yarndale. If interested catch the photos. The place looks like a fairyland.
BTW, did any of you notice this in my golu pic? :)
