Keris Stainton's first column on giving something up each month...
At the beginning of the year I decided to set myself a challenge. Each month I would give up something important to me for the duration of that month. I got (stole?) the idea from Mary Carlogagno’s book Give It Up! My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less.
April was designated newspaper-free. I work from home and my husband usually brings home two newspapers (one national, one local) each evening. I’ve got into the habit of reading them - or at least scanning them - with a cup of tea at the end of the day.
I don’t believe you actually need to know a lot of the stuff purporting to be news so I didn’t think giving up newspapers would be a problem. I knew I’d miss the weekend supplements, but that was my only concern. In actual fact, I became a bit of a news junkie, guiltily sneaking looks at other people’s papers, scanning the headlines as I slid the papers in the recycling bag, casually strolling past the newspaper in the local shop, while my eyes worked furiously to take in as much as possible.
Occasionally I caved. I couldn’t resist flicking through a copy of The Mirror my husband brought home the day before the Grand National. It had Cheryl Tweedy on the front and I thought perhaps she'd been up to something fabulous (in fact I think she'd worn a particularly short skirt that day or something).
Though I'd believed lounging about with the weekend supplements would be the one thing I’d miss, it was actually a strange relief not to have to bother with them. Usually I spend Saturday and Sunday, plus the first few days of the following week (or the whole of the following week if I’ve been particularly busy) trying to plough my way through the papers and feeling like I’m fighting a losing battle. Putting them straight into the recycling bag once my husband had finished with them was strangely satisfying (though I couldn’t resist flicking to Charlie Brooker’s review of The Apprentice in The Guardian Guide).
In Give It Up!, Carlomagno replaced her morning newspaper routine, with a morning poem. I didn’t actually read the Carlomagno chapter until halfway through the month and it wasn’t really relevant to me anyway since I don’t read my papers in the morning, but it seemed like a much more positive use of your time. The time I saved by not reading the papers I spent reading fiction and I actually don't think I'll bother going back to reading a daily paper now the month's over.
Keris co-edits Shiny Media’s fabulous women’s fiction blog, Trashionista and contributes to TV Scoop and The Bag Lady. She's already dreading November (Giving up... chocolate).
