blogosphere sabbath

recently, i've been involved in a debate with ben. thinking about what to say in this debate has took up several hours of my time, and i've been feeling rather tired. also recently, i went to a library to borrow some books to read. i haven't been reading not because i don't enjoy reading, but i just haven't been able to find the time to do so. then suddenly today i had this idea. i should take a blogosphere sabbath every week. so from today onwards, every saturday, i will not do any blogging, read any blogs or comment on any blogs. if possible don't even go online or switch on the computer.

i am quie surprised how much time it freed up. i now have time to do other things which i considered important, but have been neglecting, like exercising, practising my instrument, studying Japanese (i'm currently taking lessons) and reading. in fact, i'm so committed to trying to establish a habit of reading, that i'm going to have a "currently reading" thingy on my blog, if only to remind myself that i should try and set aside some time for reading.

i find it quite amazing how many hours i spend on blogging-related activites per day. and i don't even blog that much. i can't help but wonder if other individuals *ahem* *nedstark* *ahem* might be suffering from spending too much time in the blogosphere, and perhaps should take a blogging sabbath too. i believe reading and contributing to the blogosphere is a good thing, and to be encouraged, but i also believe moderation is important. there are many other things in our life that also need our attention, time and energy, such as responsibilities, friends and family.

but there is also another sense where i think moderation is good. if only to show that you've got self-control and self-discipline. let's say you are a WoW gamer (i'm not. bo lui mah.) and you've completely fulfilled all your responsibilities, and you've got great academic results, and your parents are perfectly fine with you spending 4 hours a day WoWing. you might still want to say, i want to set a day as WoW sabbath. maybe i won't play WoW every monday. why should you do so? just to prove to yourself that you CAN live a day without WoWing. that indeed you are in control of your WoWing, and it is not the case that WoW is in control of you. in the same way, i feel the blogging sabbath is good for me as it is proof that my blogging activities do not have control over me, and is also my attempt to prevent that from happening.

aiyah, or just go get a life lah.