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Original poster

Mumsnet - help or hindrance?

67 replies

mears · 15/05/2003 12:59

Morning everyone,

I have spent ages surfing away this morning when I should be doing more important things.

Having read all about everyone's different cleaning habits I was prompted to strip the beds (the sun is shining), and have dove 3 beds out of 5 so far.
Bloss has encouraged me to do a bit of housework so that I stay 80% on top of it instead of snowed under. So I have cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floors ( just with a mop, didn't take long) and I have hoovered downstairs.

That is all I am going to do today but what a difference it has made to my mood. A half cleaned place is better than an untidy tip but I just can't face 'proper cleaning ' jobs.

But here I am again wasting time to tell you all what I have done this morning. I am once again addicted but can't go cold turkey and stop all together.

How do others manage to keep themselves under control regarding logging on to good old mumsnet.

OP posts:
meanmum · 15/05/2003 13:03

You have just summed up how I feel. I haven't yet managed to reduce the addiction at all. I have a serious issue sitting on my desk which has been here for at least 3 weeks now and the longer I leave it the bigger the fine we will have to pay yet I continue to read mumsnet.

That sounds just terrible doesn't it. I've found what I have to do at home is either not take my computer home from work or else just force myself not to dial in. At one stage I wasn't even speaking with dh because I was on mumsnet and ds was having to amuse himself when I picked him up from the childminder because I was dialled in.

So, I force myself off at times but generally weaken and get back on when I definitely shouldn't be.

Mum2Toby · 15/05/2003 13:06

Losing my job will probably stop me looking at Mumsnet as much!

meanmum · 15/05/2003 13:07

Good point M2T - changing my job will make me stop as I'll be too busy. Praying my second interview next week will go well and I get to change.

edgarcat · 15/05/2003 13:07

Message withdrawn

Tissy · 15/05/2003 13:09

I sit at my desk with a pile of paperwork in front of me. I have trained my self to deal with at least one item per thread read, i.e. I cannot click on "active conversations " until I have moved one job from desk to floor (equivalent of out tray). Is it any wonder that the NHS is in the state it's in? In my own defence, there is a large part of the week when I am away from my office, and I haven't yet had the nerve to log on in more communal areas of the hospital!!

Original poster
mears · 15/05/2003 13:18

Lots of people around at this time - GO AND GET ON WITH SOMETHING USEFUL O)

OP posts:
Original poster
mears · 15/05/2003 13:18

oops

OP posts:
WideWebWitch · 15/05/2003 13:23

When I was working in an office last year I didn't log on all day, I was too worried about someone finding the site and my name and knowing too much about me, so I'd log on after I got home and then again after we'd had supper and ds was in bed. When I was working at home - up until a month ago - I would look in my lunch half hour and managed to stick to that (in working hours) since I felt guilty if I was here more often. I would still come here after ds went to bed or if dp took him out after school though. Now I'm not working and I'm at home, well, I'm here far too much tbh. But I didn't want to clean the house or do the research I should be doing anyway today. So, I think it's much more under control when I'm working since I just won't allow myself the distraction. I am a fast reader and typist though so I reckon I cover quite a lot quite quickly.

Tissy · 15/05/2003 13:26

yes, Miss!

Girly · 15/05/2003 13:30

Wow Mears thats an awful lot of housework! You must be exhausted

meanmum · 15/05/2003 13:55

Tissy - I think you've discovered the answer to achieving something whilst logging onto mumsnet. I'm adopting your philosophy of not opening a thread until I have done one thing. That may mean I actually get some work done. Don't know if I'll be able to cope with that.

Does it count if I just leave the thread open and refresh it? That's cheating I know but I'm hoping you say I don't have to do one piece of work for each refresh too as that may mean I just become too efficient at work.

Original poster
mears · 15/05/2003 13:56

Just having one last peek. I am not going to have another look until just before dh gets home at 6pm. He thinks I am seriously addicted. I am not - am I?

OP posts:
Original poster
mears · 15/05/2003 13:57

More housework than I have done in a very long time Girly

OP posts:
Original poster
mears · 15/05/2003 13:57

Bye for now

OP posts:
meanmum · 15/05/2003 14:07

You are addicted but so am I. I haven't stuck to Tissy's idea just yet. Keep reading threads. Started with good intentions though as actually opened the spreadsheet I need to look at and then quickly checked mumsnet.

Had the thought that maybe I could alter Tissy's plan of attack and instead just do one action in relation to each item that needs to be accomplished and slowly wean myself off so that I do one whole job before looking at mumsnet.

XAusted · 15/05/2003 14:10

Very helpful to have a bit of adult "company" for me just now as h is away a lot. However, using the computer a lot really makes my back ache so I really will have to cut down! Also, have promised ds that we'll take car to carwash so musn't hang around here.

Original poster
mears · 15/05/2003 14:11

Look - I am still blinkin well here. I have no control

OP posts:
meanmum · 15/05/2003 14:14

I'm here too. Help, get us out of here.

Tissy · 15/05/2003 14:27

me too, but I have been away,had lunch and sorted a few things out, so I'm now back in my office for a rest!

meanmum · 15/05/2003 14:28

How do you have such control Tissy. I'm failing miserably even with the good intentions I had based on your comments.

Tissy · 15/05/2003 14:46

I have very little control, sadly

If I don't do the work, no-one else will bail me out, and I just end up with a huge depressing pile on my desk, and angry "clients" on the phone!

I am also a bit worried that one day the IT dept will do an audit of all the sites visited during work hours- I'm sure they'd be able to tell how much time I spend on here... I have visions of being sacked, or worse my computer being confiscated!!

Tinker · 15/05/2003 15:42

Tissy - can't you just leave lots of windows open on lots on internet sites - the rest being legitimate work ones? I am paranoid about being checked up on in work but think if I leave things on in the background no-one could honestly accuse you of just looking at mumsnet ALL day. Could they?

Tissy · 15/05/2003 15:54

Now there's an idea. Will someone tech-y please tell me whether that would really fool them?

Off to find a really serious website to keep open on my desktop....

Tinker · 15/05/2003 15:59

I have Streetmap open and RAC routeplanner because I always need those. Oh, and just the Google homepage should suffice. Plus usually about 4 different Excel spreadsheets to click onto should anyone creep up, a couple of Word documents and the co intranet site.

wiltshirelass · 15/05/2003 16:18

i hate to tell you this everyone, but your IT dept (if you work for a company of any size at all) CERTAINLY knows exactly which sites you visit, and for how long, every day. It even knows how many pages you look at and for how long. My last place of work used to post all of this on the intranet, so you could go and see who the highest internet users were, and what sites they looked at.
If it is any consolation, the top 25 users were almost exclusively men looking at football and cricket sites - especially cricket - they open a window and watch 5 day tests....!