My workplace has initiated a challenge, should we choose to accept (spoiler alert: I did), to pick one evening a week where we turn off all electronics—phones, TVs, tablets, computers, and any other form of electronic communication or entertainment. It’s probably some nationwide thing, though regardless, I’m committed for the next five weeks. Because I’m also committed to blogging every single day this year, I’ll have to post before 6 PM, which is my self-imposed cutoff time for shutting down. It should be relatively easy, but when Hubby and I work on puzzles in the evening, we often listen to radio plays. I think that counts as a violation of the contract. The hardest part will be turning my phone off and not allowing myself to check email regularly throughout the evening. It will also keep me from doomscrolling—a bad habit I’ve taken to lately.

Ever since I stopped working at a job that required a Metro commute, my time for reading has been seriously reduced; the stack of reading materials growing by skyscraper proportions (thankfully most of these “materials” are only just scraps of paper with the book title scribbled on it). I’ll use my exile from electronica to chip away at the stack. Hubby built this Little Free Library last summer. I see it every time I glance out my window while working from home. It’s now going to serve as a visual cue for me to step up my reading game. I invite you to join the challenge.