Get off-line and Get a life

If there's one thing that annoys me every time I walk along a street, it's people walking towards me while staring at their phones. They're not even looking where they're going, and they have no idea I'm even there. So I wait until they're within a few steps of walking straight into me, and I yell," Look out!"

It's funny to see how much they jump, but it's also annoying that they are so inconsiderate (and stupid). 

A few days ago, I was in the food court at a local shopping mall, and there was a young woman at the next table, staring constantly at her phone. She wouldn't take her eyes off it for even a second. Sadly, she had her young daughter with her, who was desperately trying to get her mother's attention, even standing by her side, hugging her arm, and talking to her. But the woman ignored the child completely. It was as though she'd forgotten she even had a child. It was sad to watch.

But it's not just phones that people are addicted to. It's tablets and computers as well. This technology, originally designed to save us time, now seems to take up all our time. If we let it.

The truth is that phones, tablets and computers are mostly used as a distraction, because while we're "busy" online, we ignore everything else. And I'm not much different from most people. Once I start searching online, I can easily get lost down a rabbit hole and end up looking at things not even remotely connected to what I was originally searching for.

To stop myself from doing this (because it can happen often), I began doing what I call a Digital Detox. When I want to look at social media, I do a timed session for 25 minutes maximum. I've set 25-minute screen allowances on my phone and computer settings. I also take breaks from social media and news for a week or two at a time, because these sites can end up being depressing.

Entrepreneur Derek Sivers says he is now offline 23 hours a day, which he says improves his productivity as well as his mental clarity. https://sive.rs/off23 

I've also recently read about the benefits of being offline for most of the day, and I agree with them all, including Reclaiming Time, Mindfulness, Enhanced Physical Health, Increased Productivity and Focus, and Stronger Relationships.

I now spend most of my time disconnected from the internet, and it feels good. I sleep better, I can think more clearly, I'm (a little) less anxious, and I have more time every day.

I'm also much more creative when my mind is free to think. There may be a lot of ideas that can be found online, but they're not good ones, so I don't need to look up everything.

At the moment, I'm experimenting with only being online 2 hours a day max. A one-hour block of time in the morning and a one-hour block in the afternoon. And no internet whatsoever in the evening.

Being so limited with my online time not only keeps me focused while I'm online, but also keeps me focused when I'm offline because I can't look for answers, so it makes me think for myself more.

And I find I make better decisions.

Prioritise or Die

Do you know what your priorities are?

Does what you say you want correspond with what you do on a regular basis? 

If it doesn't, then you may feel as though you "die" a little inside every time you don't do what you always say you want to do. Or you may feel like you "die" a little inside every time you feel bad for not doing what you really want to do.

Author and self-help guru James Arthur Ray says you can tell what your priorities are by looking at the five things you do the most every day. 

For instance, you may say that writing is important to you, yet you do little or no writing, yet spend five hours a day watching TV or playing computer games, so clearly those things are your priorities. Or you might spend more time on social media than on putting pen to paper.

I believe that sometimes the hardest person to be honest with is ourselves.

So how about you? What is it that you really want to be spending time doing every day? Being completely honest with yourself is the only way to truly understand what you want out of life. Be true to yourself, not to what you think others want you to do.

Knowing what you want means first knowing what interests you, because if you have no interest in what you do, you won't do it.

And don't forget that priorities can and do change. When my kids were young, they were my main priority. Now that they're adults and can look after themselves, they're much further down the list.

These days, my list of priorities looks more like this:

My Home – I always take care of where I live.

My marriage – My husband, Dean, and I spend most of our time together.

My Writing – I write almost every day, sometimes for a short while, other days for hours.

My Health – I get plenty of exercise, and all my meals are home-cooked. Eating out and takeaways hold little to no interest for me.

My Crafts – I'm always productive, and even when I'm just watching TV, I'm knitting or sewing or doing something else at the same time. Home cooking is also my hobby.

These are the five things I spend my time on daily. 

They are my priorities, and each interests me greatly.

Mission Critical For Life
Start Living Life On Your Terms By Pursuing Your True Life Mission
https://cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/MCFL.html 

An Extra Benefit From a Daily Writing Schedule

 No doubt you're aware that I've been talking a lot lately about having a daily writing schedule and sticking to it.

Schedules are great because you don't have to wonder when you'll sit down to write, since it's already there in your schedule.

But there's also another reason why having a schedule is important.

A schedule lets you know when you can shut down for the day.

It's one thing to know when to start writing. It's another thing to know when to stop.

I know that I can get a lot of writing done in just two hours a day. But sometimes when I'm in the flow, I can write for hours.

Some days, I sit down and write thousands of words in my two allotted hours. On other days, I'm restless, so I don't write as much. But that's OK as long as I sit at my writing desk for the full two hours without distractions, because being forced to sit there gives me time to think, and that's when ideas come. 

Thinking creatively is also working, even if I look like I'm staring into space doing nothing.

Being creative is a lot more than getting words down on paper (although that IS the goal), it's about giving ourselves time to think.

And to also know when to stop working.

And scheduling just two hours a day means I know when to start, how long to keep going, and when I can stop if I want to.

But I don't always want to.

Stop Procrastinating 
And Take Back Control Of Your Life

https://cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/sp.html

83 Free-to-Enter Writing Contests in March 2026

If you enjoy entering writing contests, you'll like this.

This is an amazing list of writing contests that are free to enter, and all have deadlines next month, so you might have to be quick to enter some of them.

There are more than six dozen free writing contests on this list for short fiction, novels, poetry, creative nonfiction, nonfiction, and plays. 

The prizes range from $100,000 to publication. And don't forget, it costs nothing to enter.

Some of these contests have age, geographical, and other restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.

Start writing today, and good luck.

https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/2026/02/76-writing-contests-in-march-2026-no.html