Time Wasters

I’m going to be honest here, one of the things about our orientation time that has been a real challenge for me has been the lack of internet and television.

We are not big TV watchers and we don’t really have shows that we “have” to watch regularly, but I still like having one around. Especially during hurricanes, earthquakes, and unrest in my soon to be host country. You know, just being able to access world news is sometimes good. We’ve also missed having it for the purpose of watching a family movie on the weekend. And then, there’s those days when nearly everyone in your family has a fever because they’ve just been injected with a variety of vaccines that most Americans will never even think of getting, times like that, call for a comfy couch and a day of the Hallmark Channel.

The internet is here, we just have to walk to another building to get it. But with having 2 big storms and an earthquake while we’ve been here, there have been issues and we’ve had 3 weekends with no internet. They turn it off during our class time, so that we can’t sneak in an e-mail or facebook check. That’s probably a good thing, because I confess that I might get distracted sometimes. I knew that I used the internet a lot, but I didn’t realize how much until I came here. Now, I find myself hiking across campus anytime I need to do banking, e-mailing, online purchasing, blogging, or research on just about anything.

Some days, it’s been maddening. I now keep a “when I get to the computer” list going all of the time. But, in some sick and demented way, I feel like I’ve been given a gift. Because I’ve realized something that I already knew but refused to acknowledge... those screens waste a lot of time. And I’ve found that the reality is, I can actually do what I need to do on the computer each day in just a small, disciplined amount of time. If I am intentional about what I click and how long I spend just reading and browsing the millions of things available to me online, I can accomplish much more in less time.

Suddenly, I have found time to do things that I’ve been wanting to do, but I hadn’t bothered to make time for. In the evenings when I would normally collapse in front of the TV or computer, I have done tons of reading, I’ve memorized scripture, and I’ve made time to fellowship with other people. Through all of this, I have become acutely aware of what time wasters these things can be and how important it is to use these tools wisely.

Now, don’t get me wrong...when this training is over and we head to beach for a few days, I will be glad to turn on the TV. And, I’ll confess, I made sure that I booked a house with wi-fi. But, I hope that I will be able to use the lessons I’ve learned about these time wasters for many years to come and that I will be a little more balanced in my use of time.