My New Year Resolution

I don't normally make resolutions but this year I made one - to spend less time on the computer, partly to appease certain quarters who say they hardly see my face because I'm glued all the time to my PC, and partly because I'm getting rather thick around the waist and hips from too much sitting and too little exercise!

"You'll never be able to do it!"” was the general consensus of opinion. Well, I said "LESS time”, not "ZERO time"! With a few personal blogs to manage and a quarterly magazine to work on, it may be difficult, but as they say, where there's a will, there's a way.

Before I bought my first computer, I had a little typewriter, an Underwood which was in a light shade of blue. It was a frustrating little machine. It rattled noisily every time I practised asdf lkj on it and sometimes the keys got jammed and refused to budge. I fought endlessly with dirty sheets of carbon paper whenever I wanted to make multiple copies and when I made mistakes, erasing them copy by copy drove me nuts.

Graduating to a computer was sheer bliss - no more exasperating duels with erasers, carbon paper, liquid paper, etc., etc. After I had mastered it, it became my best friend.

It's the first “person” I say "Good Morning” to when I wake up. I check my mail even before I brush my teeth. One thing leads to another and before I know it, I have spent an hour interacting with my friend. My breakfast becomes cold, so does my warm water bath. Fortunately my addiction does not go to the extent of me having my meals together with my electronic friend!

So to start working on my resolution, I sat down the other morning with a piece of paper and pencil and wrote out my "new" daily routine. More exercise, more reading, more activities outside the house with certain hours only for computer work. It looked easy on paper but the temptation to go and sit in my little “office” was great. When reading or out walking, I couldn't help thinking whether so and so had replied to my mail or where I could get certain info from the net. At times I felt quite frustrated! Now I know what it must feel like for a smoker to quit smoking!

Well, we're almost two weeks into the new year and I'm still using the computer as you would have gathered (otherwise you would not be able to see this article). It's going to take time and some measure of self-discipline to get used to my new routine but there is no hurry. I have one whole year to fulfil my resolution ... or break it in the next 24 hours.