random thoughts: unlocking a habit

My laptop fell about 2 feet to the floor the other evening, and received the tiniest of dings in the corner -- so tiny, in fact, that at first I didn't understand why exactly one-half of my computer screen looked decidedly cloudy.  For a moment, actually I worried that perhaps my right eye was seeing decidedly cloudily (have I mentioned that I'm a little apprehensive about an upcoming birthday?), until Marcus pointed out the dent.  

It was a relief to learn that I wasn't actually losing my eyesight, or my mind.

Since I have some travel coming up in the next couple of weeks, and I do, after all, process photographs on the thing when I'm on the road, I concluded it was important to me to actually be able to see the photographs when I Photoshop them.  And so, I've turned my laptop in to a local repair company, hoping they'll be able to fix it.​

But here's what's interesting:  in my laptop's absence, I've learned how tied to the thing I've become.  During the day, I work on my large desktop computer in my office (and indeed, all of my digital files are kept there), but at night, after dinner, I had gotten into the habit of bringing my laptop into the family room with me, while I hung out with Marcus and Alex.  The same is true on weekends.  This wouldn't be so bad if all I was just doing crossword puzzles on the thing, I suppose, but more often than not, I'd find myself answering emails and generally getting work done.​

This is not good, people.​

I mean, it's true that I love what I do for a living, but it can't be healthy to work literally 14- and 15-hour days, can it?  Even if I don't feel stressed or burnt-out (and I'm not saying I don't, mind you), ​it has to be better for me to step away from the computer and just do something else for a couple of hours, right?  And I know from experience that setting up the expectation that I answer emails no matter the hour or day is a critical and frustrating mistake.

The upside is, happily, that I haven't missed the laptop.  Instead of working or mindlessly surfing the web at nights this week, I've been journaling, or reading, or otherwise occupying myself in a non-digital way.  As a result, I find myself much calmer than usual by the time I go to bed at night,​ and I greet my work day far more eagerly in the morning that I had been doing.

Interesting, right?  I wonder if I'll be able to keep this good habit up after I get my laptop back.​

Anyway, it's been a good lesson for me to shake up my routine a bit, and unlock myself from what was clearly a bad habit, even if it wasn't intentional.  And I'm wondering what other bad habits I've been shackled to, from which I could clearly use some freedom.​

How about you?  Have you ever un-habited a bad habit, and had it stick?  How did you make it happen?​  Are there any bad habits you were surprised to discover that you had?  Are there any good habits that you made happen recently?

Song:  ​Mariachi by Ani DiFranco