Goal: Spend Less Time on the Computer

As a work-from-home graphic designer I am on my MAC all the time. I work for 8-hours, then I design and write  for the three blogs that I keep up, I check my email constantly, Facebook frequently, and scour local sites like craiglist.org and Maui Time for island events and activities. I also get my recipes online; I see my family online (Skype) and I shop online.

I have made an effort in the past to be on my computer less and it has been enjoyable and not all that hard of an adjustment but some how I just keep retreating to my computer little by little and spending way too much time doing nothing online.

Of course there are some influences, I live in Maui, my family lives on the east coast, email and Skype are my connection to them and thank goodness for them both!  I am new to Maui so researching events is a must, especially since I work from home and don’t get much input from others.

But the time I log on Facebook, Amazon, and other places are wasted in my estimation. So I am again concentrating on spending less time on my computer. This time I identified old hobbies and new, alike, that I would like to invest more of my time in. I am satisfied with my selections and think it is creating for a healthy balance of media time, me time, and hopefully social time.

Pastels:

I have taken up my pastels again and am almost finished with my first piece of, “for my own pleasure” artwork since 2004! It is so therapeutic. I sit on our beautiful lanai and draw in the evening breeze listening to classical or Bob Marley.  I am glad I am making the effort to draw again and am pleased with the positive impact it has made on my artistic confidence already. 

Jigsaw Puzzles:

I also adore putting puzzle together, something I realized, when Chad’s friend Angie, from Vancouver, Canada visited us several weeks ago, had never put a puzzle together. We got some people together and had a puzzle party with pizza and beer. Angie enjoyed the evening and was able to mark that task of her ‘life list’. 

So I am now putting together a Charles Wysocki’s ‘Americana’ puzzle together. They are my mother’s favorite puzzles and are mine as well. They remind me of the hours she and I have spent talking, laughing, and eating at the puzzle table in our living room, such a great memory and one that boosts my mood very much.

Cooking/Baking

I have also taken up cooking and baking. I love to bake ‘healthier’ desserts; I make things with less sugar and wheat flour. Chad approves. I enjoy making dinner 3 or so times a week. It’s a true feeling of accomplishment when I finish a meal I thought would be challenging and it turns out tasty. Broiled scallops was my latest accomplishment, Chad said they were the best scallops he had ever had!

Walking/Running

I have always been an athlete and love the outdoors. Working at home I don’t get up and down as often as I did when I worked in the office. So now I make an effort to take at least two walks a day or a two-mile run. I also like to plyometrics outside. 

Blogging

Though Blogging is on my computer I feel it is a better use of my time. I write, design and think. I don’t just mindlessly scroll through pictures and “stalk” people.

Sketching Dress Designs

I did this all the time when I was younger and wedding dress design is still a passion of mine. I have yet to fully devote any time to this but when I am struck with the inspiration I have my sketch book prepared.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding

This is a completely new hobby that Chad and I do on the weekend. We went out this past weekend and I had a shorter, smaller board. I fell off a lot and got frustrated but a kind of mantra came into my head after awhile: ‘Get up, don’t think about falling, stand straight, and react to each wave.” I realized after about the 100^th time of repeating this, that I had learned a great lesson. I was overcoming a challenge in a extremely positive way. My mind just starting coaching my body and I was encouraging myself. I didn’t fall the rest of the day! J

Learning to Shoot and Handle Guns

I have shot a shot gun twice in my life and it has been within the past two months. Chad and I go to the shooting range in Upcountry to shot clays. I was terrified as first but the second time I went my confidence soared. Again, this was another activity that I was intimidated to try, but finally did and now love it and want to get better.

Next New Hobby

Calligraphy

I love hand lettering and fonts. So this is a natural progression for me. I am going to ask for a calligraphy starter set for my birthday. I have a lot of things to focus my time on right now so around the end of May (birthday time) I will be prepared for a new hobby to add to the mix. J