May POP Project Check-In
So it's May 15. Which means this month is moving entirely too fast and we're already halfway through. And I gotta tell you something: I'm not doing so well with this month's POP Project.
If the tv is off, I find myself on the internet, searching furiously for things I will need, you know, someday. Twice before my appointed "start day" I found myself on media benders: hours in front of the television followed by hours on ebay. The evenings are my most troubled time. Who doesn't just want to be entertained at the end of the day? But all of this is not making for a very good media detox.
How are you all doing? Are you struggling? Do you find yourself 15 minutes into America's Next Top Model only to say, "Drat! I'm supposed to be detoxing!" If you're living totally, blissfully media-free, how are you doing it? Any tips for those of us who are having some trouble finding our way would be so very much appreciated. And for all of you, here's a nice little reminder to bookmark.
Comments
Well. I haven't even started yet- truthfully- on my detox of magazines. Since I just graduated and am done with all things academic for a brief time- frankly my brain needs trashing I guess. So my intended start date for my 7 day magazine detox is officially next Monday. I mean, I haven't touched a Martha Stewart Living or VOgue in months! AAAGH! So this week I have been delighting in magazines, books for pleasure, watching and deleting stuff on the DV-R, and internet surfing. It's most delish- let me tell you. Next week- the books and my garden and herb pots will be getting all of my attention.
Posted by: Sara Rose | May 15, 2008 9:25 AM
Ah. I have not done so well. I like the IDEA of a media detox...I'm just very, very bad at actually doing it. It has made me more aware though: even if I DO watch a beloved tv show for an hour, I now turn it off when the show is over, instead of watching mindless crap for another hour or two that I don't particularly even like. That's something, right??? :)
Posted by: Karen | May 15, 2008 9:51 AM
Sara Rose, It's been a while since I was a student, but I do remember that feeling of relishing glorious, trashy television and magazines after reading Derrida and Cixous. You're entitled to it, I think.
Karen, I'm very much with you on this one. I've also been more aware about it. For instance, I won't just flip on the tv when I get home just to decompress. In fact, come to think of it, the other night I came home, put on this amazing Bessie Smith record I got at a flea market and puttered around making dinner. So that was better than watching E! mindlessly. In short, yes! I think that's something. But I really would love to be able to cut out the junk for a week.
Posted by: Sarah | May 15, 2008 10:13 AM
One of my biggest media problems/timesuckers is the internet, specifically reading blogs. I have almost 300 on my feed reader, and I TRY to keep up with them. What I've prepared to do, but I haven't actually DONE, is skim my categories for my absolute favorite, read every word blogs, and put them in a folder. I'm doing this with the intention that if I get behind I mark all the others as read. It's a happy thought, but I still haven't been able to follow through!!! I'm an addict!
Posted by: geek+nerd | May 15, 2008 1:21 PM
Are we all hopeless?
Posted by: Sarah | May 15, 2008 1:50 PM
I completely sympathize because I am having similar issues. I'm on an enforced TV break because we have guests staying in our living room, but I can't get away from the internet, email, etc! It's like those diets I always promise myself I'll start "tomorrow," haha. I really look forward to reading how other people did at the end of the month.
Posted by: Elizabeth | May 15, 2008 3:45 PM
My pledge to cut out my addiction to 'Celebrity Scoop' on the radio has been a success - but it has also involved rearranging my life so I'm not in the car at 5.20 in the afternoon. I turned it back on yesterday while I was making dinner only to discover that I've been out of the loop for so long I just don't care.
As to the other media, I don't watch serial tv and I haven't streamed npr since my son was old enough to ask me about specific acts of violence in foreign countries, and I don't find terribly much joy in browsing the internet. I have caught myself a few times on the third page of Etsy treasuries before I realized that this was exactly the kind of mindless activity I was supposed to STOP!
It's been a wonderful exercise in mindfulness.
Posted by: tarabu | May 16, 2008 2:23 PM
I didn't even bother to try this one. Well, I did consider it for about 15 seconds, but I'd never succeed!
Posted by: Anita | May 16, 2008 7:14 PM
Ok today is day one of magazine detox. I stared longingly at magazines this am when I was inline with my cafe creme and pecan danish but resisted. My brain is gloriously peaceful and ready to read books instead of flipping through endless magazines. I am pumped!
Posted by: Sara Rose | May 19, 2008 10:18 AM
Hey Sarah-
I actually made it through... and lived to blog about it. Here's how it all went down: http://spicedish.typepad.com/spice_dish/2008/05/my-life-unplugg.html
EB
Posted by: EB | May 20, 2008 12:56 PM