Down to Brass Tacks

I have just one New Year's resolution this year: quit wasting so much time on the internet.

You know that saying about how when the going gets tough, the tough get going (or go shopping, or make lemonade, or whatever it is they do)? When I'm supposed to be working, my brain seems to interpret that phrase as, "When the going gets tough, the tough go online."

Regrettably, this doesn't get much writing done. And unfortunately, if I'm reading author blogs or scouring Goodreads for my next read, my brain is perfectly capable of justifying this as writing... or research... or market analysis.

Therein lies the problem. As long as I can justify it, it isn't going to stop. So what needs to happen is that internet use needs to become Uncomfortable and Awkward so that I will avoid it with the same fervor with which I avoid other Uncomfortable and Awkward things. Like exercise. And housework. And my in-laws.

To that end, I have unplugged my writing computer from the internet and set up the decrepit, ancient, snail-paced laptop in the other room. I have equipped it with a mushy, unresponsive keyboard, a mouse that is far too small for comfort, and an extremely uncomfortable chair.

Now if I want to go online, I have to sit on a horrible chair and use equipment I hate, and wait ten seconds between page loads... hardly worth the effort, right?

And what's even better? In order to get the writing computer back online, I have to crawl under the desk to plug the cable in. With my back the way it is right now, that is just not happening. (Well... it could happen, but then I would be stuck under the desk until someone took pity on me and rescued me, and I shudder to contemplate the logistics of that.)

Eventually, I'll be able to crawl under desks again, at which point I'll have to come up with a different way to outwit myself.

Or maybe I'll just have Husband Beast set a few mousetraps back there.