Monday, September 23, 2013

To Internet or Not To Internet - THAT is the Question!

After realizing that the Internet service I had gotten for a really good price wasn't going to meet my needs and debating back and forth on which Internet service to sign up for, something dawned on me:
INTERNET IS NOT A NECESSITY TO LIFE!!!
I know that might come as a shocker to some, but it is true. I stopped and thought about how much time I spend sitting on my ass when I could be doing something - exercising, writing, reading, praying... the list goes on and on and on.
So, as of today I do not have Internet at home. I have an awesome coffee shop where I can get wi-fi when I need it. I also have my "smart" phone so I won't be completely off the grid. Spending money on Internet when there is so much more I can and should be doing is just not wise for me right now and I am trying to live more wisely.

solid rock
Solid Rock Coffee House, located in Huxley, Iowa
This whole process got me to thinking about how complicated we sometimes (often times) make life. I have friends who are missionaries in third world countries where running water is a luxury, where having food at every meal is not taken for granted, where kids are running around in bare feet because they have no shoes. And we think we HAVE to have Internet available to us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I know not having Internet available to me at home is not anywhere CLOSE to the same thing as what people in other countries have to deal with.
But, for me, at this moment in time in my life, it has become necessary to say I don't need to spend the money on having wi-fi available to me anytime I want. I will have to be more conscious of using the time I do have online better - not just cruising around online for fun. I will have to be more intentional of how I use my time that I have been wasting online. I will rearrange my schedule so I can come to the coffee shop to do what I want to do after work and then I can go home to exercise and get things done at home. 
This is not the end of the world as we know it. I will survive!
Signing off,
Sherri

6 comments:

  1. Love this! I have thought of canceling my internet too but I write early in the mornings and late at night when no coffee shops are open. We complain about so many thing and have become a spoiled society. We need to have reality checks a bit more often. Enjoy your time connecting by disconnecting!

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    1. THanks Camilla. I still have my phone so I'm not completely disconnected! I'm planning on doing more writing actually. I'll have more time as I won't be cruising the Internet. I can then post later on my blog, but I'm also working on (or supposed to be working on) my book. So, NOT having Internet at home will probably make me MORE productive!

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  2. I love that you're simplifying! We didn't have internet at home for years, but now I need it for school. The online communities are fun, but sometimes just having that time to do other things is really nice.
    I admire you for doing this!

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    1. I almost had a disaster there. I was trying to reply and accidentally hit delete. Thankfully it asks to confirm before deleting. That's one disadvantage of using just my phone.. #allthesmallicons :-) ... but overall it will be better I am sure. :-)

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  3. Sherri, after you wrote this post, you said that you got internet again. Why did you end up getting it back, when you had so many great reasons of not needing it when you wrote this post?

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    1. Melanie,

      I did have many good reasons... and I stand by what I said here... Internet is NOT a necessity in life and I think we (I) get spoiled with so many conveniences that we think are necessities. That being said, after going 2 weeks without it I realized it would be better for me to have it. I looked at my budget and figured out some things to cut so I could make it work.

      I'm working on my other blog www.nottoobrokenforGod.com and working on writing a book. After communicating with others who have been successful at this I have learned how important social media and social networking is in order to be successful at building readership and hopefully publishing a book down the road.

      So, I am back online at home because I didn't have enough time to get what I needed to get done at the coffee shop... Sunday can be a very productive day for me having Internet at home. I am still going to work on being more disciplined... possibly working out a schedule and having one day a month where I am "off-line"... I'm still working out details.

      Great question and thanks for reading! :-)

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