Monday, January 05, 2009

A Productive New Year's Resolution

On January 2nd, I posted the following new year's resolution on my Facebook page:

Beth's new year's resolution is to set aside mornings for writing and not get online until after lunch.

I did this publicly so if I failed in my resolve and got online or sent emails to friends before noon then maybe they would remind me of my resolution. Knowing that, I might be more likely to stick with it. The reason I made the resolution is that I've been neglecting my writing lately in favor of communing with friends online. I didn't quite expect the flood of comments I received:

"Good luck with that!"
"Impressive. Let us know how it goes, but not before noon."
"that sounds painful"
"I want to have that same goal, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to do it."
"You're an inspiration, Beth. I resolve to do the same as soon as I stop procrastinating."
"That's a great one, and a tough one!"

It sounds like a lot of people might have the same problem as me, with online social networking eating up so much time that it's interfering with their other life goals. What do you think? And, what are you resolving to change about your life in 2009?

13 comments:

Joy said...

Great idea but oh so hard to do. I think I'll join you, at least for a little while in this pursuit. I spend WAY too much time on line.

Anonymous said...

I think you are absolutely right! I resolve to rethink which social networking sites are really a benefit to me and ditch the others.

Shari

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I'm involved in about a dozen of these sites, so I understand how much time they can devour!
Stay fast to your resolve!

Morgan Mandel said...

I always check my email, do my blogs, follow other blogs, etc, then decide to write. It should be the other order, but I need to be in the mood when I write.

Lately I've been writing in the evening when the DH and dog are sleeping and all is quiet.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://www.morganmandel.com

Lael Johnson said...

Hi Beth,
Thanks for visiting my site. I admire your resolve to place writing before social networking. I'd love to hear how you progress toward reaching that goal. I'm working through the blog book tour for the first time, as that is enough of a goal for me this year.

Best wishes,

Lael

Heidiwriter said...

That's a good resolution to emulate! I've been so busy marketing and doing social networking that I haven't made the time to work on revisions for my next book! Aarrghh!

I'll try it along with you, how's that?
Heidi M. Thomas

Adonya said...

You're definitely an inspiration.

I resolved to spend less time online in '09... and hub went out and bought me a G1 (T-Mobile's answer to the iPhone) for my upcoming bday! I would've cursed him, but he meant well. :D

One thing I've noticed since having this new gadget in my life is I do spend less time online. Trying to accomplish on a teeny screen what was once done on a larger screen is daunting.

Unfortunately, I now spend way too much time playing Solitaire on it. {sigh} ;-)

Wishing you luck with your resolution! :D

Anonymous said...

Sounds great.Thank you for sharing.My new Year resolution include to report victories over victories,not to depend on any one and not to find faults in others,pray for the absolute happiness ,peace all around.

LOL:)
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Joan De La Haye said...

Good luck with that one. I try and get my emails, blogging, and facebook etc done first thing in the morning. That gives me the rest of the day to write and carry on with my life.

Eliza Gayle said...

I admire your resolve to do this. I know I would be much more productive if I could stay offline more, but it's so very hard to do.

Good Luck! And hopefully you're not reading this until after noon. *g*

Katie Hines said...

I belong to a few social networking sites, and haven't been too impressed. Seems like it was more of a drain on my time. But, I see you got a lot of comments, so maybe it is worth a second look.

Angela said...

Good luck! Stay resolved and keep us posted. You are in the right mindset to really make headway on your MS.

Angela
http://www.marketmynovel.com

Lael Johnson said...

Hi Beth,

How are you doing with your new years resolution today?

Lael