Hi everyone,

I took a long break from the Internet in general over the holiday season, and it led me to decide a few things.

One: I get a lot more — a LOT more — done when I'm not multitasking on the 'net.
Two: I feel a lot healthier, both physically and emotionally, when I'm away from my computer and active most of the time.
Three: I have far too many commitments in my life.
Four: I still love my far-away friends that I see only on the Internet.

This is not a New Year's resolution, but a lifestyle change. I have decided to limit myself to one hour of "recreational" Internet per day. That includes, but is not limited to: my RSS feeds, Skype, Gaia, Facebook, Livejournal, Dreamwidth, and other sites I read regularly. I will be enforcing this with a timer — thank you, smartphone — because it is far too easy to want to look at "just one more thing". (Around our house, we like to say this sort of thing is like popcorn. You always want one more piece and eventually you eat the whole bowl and regret it later.)

This limitation does not include blogging or research (the 'net is super-useful for both art help and food help), but as soon as either of those slides over into distraction, the timer starts.

What this means for you: you'll probably see a lot less of me in the future. Doesn't mean I won't be around, doesn't mean I don't love you, and doesn't mean I'm giving up any of my usual haunts or my roleplays. I'm just putting a significant limiter on how much of my time that's allowed to chew up.

I hope you will support me in this endeavor, and I encourage you too to take a look at your time and see if you need a break from the 'net. There's a big world out there. Don't just watch it from the screen, go out and grab your piece of it!