Limiting Facebook Time

I joined Facebook many years ago when a friend's daughter was critically ill and she was posting updates on FB.

At the time, I was nervous it would take up too much time.  I have many many home responsibilities, and (like many people) am sometimes tempted to avoid some of my responsibilities by doing something fun.  I was concerned that FB would prove a significant temptation to waste time foolishly.

I was right.

And I was wrong.

Let me talk about why I was wrong.  FB really has been a blessing to me in keeping me in contact with many friends.

I am home a LOT.  A lot.  I find getting out with our 9 children to be challenging, so we don't go on frequent field trips or playdates together.  We also have a tremendous amount to do at home. Just keeping the clothes clean and under control, and cooking for the masses, and doing the daily housework, is a big job for all us "big people".  And by big people, I mean Kevin and me and the older 6 kids.

So wow, to have access to my friends on FB is a blessing.  It really is!  I have found friends whom I've not seen in decades.  It is so neat to keep in touch and know what is going on in their lives.  It is great that I can keep up with local friends whom I see occasionally, but not often.

I don't have hundreds of "friends", but I believe I have between 100 and 200 now. I'm also part of several FB groups, including Ohio homeschooling groups with members who provide ideas and feedback for homeschooling moms like me.

All this is awesome but yes, it can be a HUGE time sink.

I was reading a book on busyness a few weeks ago, and felt convicted of, yes, my Facebook time.

We have a couple of hours during the day which are Arsenic Hours (I like the way that phrase rolls off the tongue though of course it wouldn't if the "h" in hours wasn't silent.  But Arsenic Hours...all those lovely vowels.)

Ok, back to the blog.

There are times in the late afternoon and evening when our littles are nuts.  They are cranky, noisy, and whiny.  They scream a lot.  They are tired, but it isn't quite bed time. Or they are a little hungry, and dinner isn't ready yet.

Those are the times when I want to shut out the world as much as possible, and surf Facebook while I'm cuddling a cranky little person.  I feel like I can't even accomplish a TASK during those times because the littles are so difficult.

BUT, but, but, I can spend more face to face time with a Little (or a Big) during that time.

I can probably go downstairs with a cranky Little or two and work on an organizational project down there.

I can do SOMETHING.

So I felt I should limit my FB time, and came up with a near instant solution.

No Facebook on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. At all.

I know myself too well. If I just thought "well, I'll spend less time on Facebook", I would have trouble analyzing "less time".  So this is simple.  If it is MWF, I don't check FB at all.

I've been doing it for a little more than a week, and it IS good. I can still interact with my FB friends 4 days a week, but the other 3 days I am definitely getting more done.

So this is a good compromise for now.  If God pokes me to reduce my FB time even more, I will.