Prompt 2

Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it? (Author Leo Babauta of Zen Habits)


The major thing I do that doesn't contribute to my writing - or anything else productive for that matter - is getting distracted by television and internet.  I spend a lot of time watching TV, reading email/blogs/Facebook on the internet, or doing both at the same time.  I know that I get much more done when I'm not doing these things, but they are what I tend to gravitate towards.


The easiest solution to this would obviously be to turn off the TV and the computer.  I have been doing this more this year for two reasons 1) we started getting the newspaper delivered every day and 2) I started reading more books.  

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I love getting the newspaper because I feel like I know what's going on in the world. I used to wake up and watch the first fifteen to twenty minutes of The Today Show before I left for work, but now I read the newspaper.  It gives me a chance to start my day without any electronics and also lets me take a few minutes to think about things before I have to deal with students.  

Image from here

I've also been reading more thanks to renewing my library card and regaining access to the library that's by school and by borrowing my mom's Kindle.  I don't have a hard time reading once I've started a book, but now that I have the Kindle, I always have access to a new book.  I'll work on continuing to turn off the electronics and focus on the things that I need to accomplish or that are more important.