Tips for Living Wicca: Take an E-break

Do you ever find yourself saying you have no time to meditate, do a ritual, exercise/eat right, get outdoors, read, involve yourself in other hobbies, etc.? Do you ever feel like you are not spending enough time with your family or closest real-life friends? Do you have chores you're always complaining you can't get to?

Is it possible you are wasting too much time in front of a screen?

Electronics have totally transformed the modern world and become a vital part of our everyday lives. I remember when you needed a phone number you turned to the phone book. For a recipe, you looked through books or files. To get directions, you got out a map. To pay a bill, you broke out your checkbook, and grabbed for some envelopes and stamps. Now we do all these things with electronics. For many of us, electronic devices are vital to work or get information quickly, and it'd be impossible to go without it.

That in itself isn't a problem-- what is a problem is the way electronics dominate some of us sometimes. Some of us just don't know when to shut down the computer, or put down the Ipod. Some of us don't even REALIZE how much time we waste on the computer in a day. Studies show that the average adult spends 8.5 hours per day in front of a screen!

If you deducted necessary tasks ( like working, paying bills or finding an address on GPS) from the time spent in front of a screen each day, how much time would that leave you on the computer for unnecessary tasks (like using the computer to goof off from work, watching TV, wasting time on Facebook or video games)? 

Would unnecessary time add up to more than an hour? More than two? More than 3 or 4? 

Are you sure you don't have time for things? Or are you wasting a lot of time on the wrong things?

In Wicca, we strive for a healthy balance in life in things that we do. There's nothing wrong with spending some time every day in front of a screen for entertainment/social media, but if it's more than 30 or 60 minutes and you find you don't have time for other things, it's fair to say you might have an imbalance you want to tend to.



My Tip for you Today: Schedule a daily hour-long "electronics break" and force yourself to drop all screen-based activities.  

Take a daily E-break and turn off, or turn away from, all screen-based electronics and phones (it's fine to listen to music while you do other things though). Now that you've freed up that hour-- what else can you find time to do? 

Maybe you can split it up-- 30 minute E-break in the morning and a 30 minute E-break after dinner. Put the time to good use and see if you can't find more balance in your life. You may decide to lengthen your E-break. 

Does the idea of getting away from gadgets frighten you or stress you out?

Do you worry you  might have an electronics addiction?

Discuss: