Computer Time and Family Life: Crystal Paine Pt 2

This interview with Crystal Paine is broken up into several articles, due to the amount of wonderful information we gathered.  Don’t miss the next articles in this series: Balancing Computer Time and Family Life.
If you missed part 1, Balancing Computer Time and Family Life: Crystal Paine Interview, go read it first.
In our never-ending quest to streamline computer use and productivity to have more family time, we sought out power mommy blogger Crystal Paine.  This young mom of  3 children runs 3 successful blogs while spending extremely limited time online.  And when we say successful blogs, we mean by mainstream standards: Money Saving Mom gets over 1 million page views a month!
We had to know Crystal’s secrets to productivity and were delighted that she offered to share her expertise with us and our readers.  Below are two more questions we asked Crystal about limiting computer time to increase productivity, and her responses.
Danelle asked: Is your computer time more productive because you have less time to spend on online distractions?
Crystal Paine said: “Absolutely! When I don’t have time to waste, I’m not only much more efficient, but I find I’m much more selective in what online commitments I’ll make. If I had all day to blog and answer emails, I probably could pretty much blog and answer emails all day–because there’s always more work to be done online!
“By limiting my online time, though, I have to pick and choose which things are the most important and productive. For instance, I’ve found that social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) can be a great way to interact on a more personal level with friends, but it can also be a huge time-sucker. Because of this, I try to stay off of social networking sites unless I’ve finished my more pressing online responsibilities and have extra time online still.”
Danelle:  When it comes to computer time or work time, we know guilt can be a major factor for many people.  Some feel guilty that they have to spend time working outside the home instead of being home with their families.  Yet others who work from home don’t escape the guilt either.  Being at home with your family but having to spend time on the computer instead of doing activities together can take its toll on your morale.
Work at home moms (WAHMs) and mommy bloggers especially can feel strong guilt in this department.  The common mindset is the more time you work the more money you’ll make, and they often feel compelled to spend more time on the computer to make a successful business or blog.  While there are many tips and strategies to help us strike a balance between family time and work time, the right amount of time dedication to each activity will vary greatly from person to person.  I asked Crystal about this dilemma to get her perspective.
Danelle asked: Do you have any helpful hints or words of encouragement for our readers?
Crystal Paine said: “If there is one thing I could encourage every mommy blogger or work-at-home mom out there to remember, it is this: anyone can be a pretty good blogger or pretty good business owner, but there is only person who is mommy to your children and wife to your husband. Don’t let all the good things out there take precedence over the best things. You only have one life to live–make it count!”
Sage advice for all parents and spouses to consider, to be sure!  Stay tuned for the conclusion of our interview with Crystal Paine (part 3).  Part 3 of Computer Time and Family Life addresses how to get started setting up a computer time schedule, and which online activities to cut out to gain more time.