Z drinks a pint

I went along to the meeting, which was to start organising the various events on in the village this summer.  The good thing was that it was in the village pub, and I don’t get along there half often enough.  The rather depressing thing was that so many events will be sports related.  And honestly, I couldn’t be less interested.  I’m trying to be good-natured about it, interested even, but I’m not.  And the more there is on, the harder it will be to pretend.  Also, I’m supposed to be secretary for this committee and I’ve been failing miserably for months.  The couple of hours a month required seems to have just gone past my tipping point recently, and the chairman, a very good friend fortunately, has been sending out information instead.  I apologised and she brushed it off; I said that I know the reason – that if she acknowledges I’m not keeping up to scratch, I shall stand down and she’d rather keep me on board, even if I’m a bit flakily unreliable for a while.

But what I’m wondering is, do you use the internet as a reward for having done work or as something to stave off the moment when you have to start it?  I daresay many of us would admit to a bit of both, but I do generally set myself targets, if the work is boring enough.  ‘When I’ve written that letter and those minutes (or at least the first page) then I can spend ten minutes reading blogs.’

The phone and iPad do keep me off the computer to some degree, as I can read emails there as they come in without logging on to check if I’ve received them.  I’ve not really missed the computer much, in fact – although actually, I’ve just staved off work that now I’m going to have to do in haste rather than spending all week on it.  I’ve quite missed Facebook Scrabble, but not much else.

Frankly, I’ve never much been one for surfing the net.  I find it quite annoying.  However carefully one puts in the words for a search, there always seems to be a load of stuff that is well off-topic.  Oh for the days of an encyclopaedia and a reference book.  And yes, I know the advantages of having the WWW at ones fingertips, but there can be too much information.  Norfolk isn’t known for too many dual carriageways, never mind super-highways.

16 comments on “Z drinks a pint

  1. Rog

    I find Facebook, Blogs and Twitter far too diverting from work. I often think of installing one of those productivity apps which block access to such sites between certain times of day. Pathetic self will.

    Reply
  2. Z

    Oh Rog. What an admission. Mind you, I’ll admit in my turn that I’m too much of a control freak. I’d resent such a block, even if I’d set it up.

    Reply
  3. Tim

    Is this about setting priorities? Because I don’t ‘work’, I don’t have that problem; I can sit here doing nothing all day and the *pensions* will keep rolling in, and tomorrow will come to pass. I think I miss pressure.

    Reply
  4. Z

    I don’t get paid to work. I need pressure too, though. And I need to feel I’m useful. Sad, really, I don’t know how to just enjoy.

    Reply
  5. Compostwoman

    I am self employed and have to be disciplined during the day time so I actually do “the work” before I start blogging/Fb ing etc etc …after 10 pm my computer time I regard as mine own!

    Reply
  6. Blue Witch

    I’m a thousand times better than I was at not wasting time on computery diversions. And I have a thousand fewer things that I don’t want to do, to do these days.

    So, I should have a million times more time, and yet I don’t.

    When I worked full time I always believed in the saying, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” I used to be that person. I’m not now, and neither do I miss it.

    Reply
  7. Z

    I do use the computer to wind down if the day has been busy. I can no longer stop what I was doing or come in from an evening out and go to bed. I have to relax first.

    I’m so lazy that, if I didn’t take work on, I’d do nothing at all if there were not deadlines to meet. I could sit and read day after day. Or just sit.

    Reply
  8. PixieMum

    Just a quick note to say that I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve chosen you as one of my five blogs for the Liebster Blog award. There was no way I could leave you out, your blog has become as much a part of life as the daily newspaper.

    You can copy the image direct from my post! I hope many more people enjoy finding and reading your blog.

    Looking forward to joining you all on 26th May, a good opportunity/excuse for a mini holiday and to use our NT membership.

    Madeleine.

    Reply
  9. Jill of All Trades

    Hi Z

    I found your blog by all the comments you make on I Hate the Earth. I, myself am new to the blogosphere, so well…I’m new.

    As for the internet, before I started a blog, I still would spend plenty of time surfing the web, when I had the time-like I do now-and when it was part of my work. I wouldn’t say I’m very “good” at surfing-I’m not techy AT ALL, but even when it’s just articles linked on facebook or videos on youtube, I’ve always found inspiration for what I want to do next, what I should do next.

    There’s a little exercise that is supposed to help one tap into one’s intuition when they feel lost, you pick a book-preferably one you feel connected to, but it can be anything-and open it to a random page and meditate on the first sentence you see-I do the same with the internet, and sometimes even with television.

    In that sense, it defintely helps me work and distracts me from my inner distractions, like questions I can’t answer or worries about feeling useless and needing pressure (that was awesome to hear someone else say they feel that way sometimes).

    Good to meet you,
    Jill

    Reply
  10. Z

    Hi Jill, how lovely of you to come by and leave such a great comment. I’ll come by your blog too and bookmark it.

    I’ve never tried your book thing, I’ll give it a go. When I need to distract myself, I have always re-read a book. No need to concentrate too hard, but the act of reading and getting engaged in the plot helps with the stress.

    Reply

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