Screen time gets a bad rap, but is there such a thing as good screen time? This week, I examined how I use my devices. It’s not all bad!

Welcome to the 66th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a decluttering challenge for the week. Along with screen time, this week’s Spark looks at different types of glass, Canada’s carbon emissions, osteoporosis risk, and decluttering the tub and shower area.

On my mind this week: Is there such a thing as good screen time?

Screen time gets a bad rap, and it’s mostly justified. Many of us spend way too many hours playing games and mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds. What we see, and who we follow, fuels much of our FOMO and discontent.

Earlier this week, when a notification on my iPad told me my screen time was up 29% over the previous week, I decided to take a close look at how I’m spending that screen time. Am I turning into a couch potato? Let’s take a look.

The good and the bad of screen time

I use my tablet for a lot of tasks—many of them productive. Most of my screen time is not mindless scrolling, but it all counts as screen time. Here are some of the things I consider good screen time:

• My daily YouTube workouts account for 30 to 60 minutes a day.
• I read books on my Kindle app.
• Course work and related reading adds another 30 to 60 minutes a day at the moment.
• I use my iPad for almost all of my blog creating, including writing, planning, image creation and editing, and social media promotion. And of course, I use the JetPack app to stay up to date with my blog reading.
• And let’s not forget email, banking, and staying up to date on news and weather.

So that’s all good, but let’s look at the dark side. Like most people, I do rack up my share of bad screen time.

• The usual culprit, social media scrolling, is something I don’t do a lot of. In fact, none of my social media accounts cracked the top 10 of my most used apps.  
• On the other hand, games are an issue. Being the “wordie” that I am, I faithfully do the NYT Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, and Mini crossword every day. And I do the daily NYT crossword a few times a week. The biggest time waster? That Phase 10 game! I definitely spend too much time on it.

Overall, my screen time is positive and productive. As for Phase 10, maybe it’s time to go cold turkey like I did with Candy Crush a few years ago.  

Have you ever analyzed your screen time? Do you consider your online activities good or bad? Drop me a comment below to let me know.

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Three highlights of the week

It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:

• Asparagus is in season and it’s so delicious! Earlier this week, I made homemade cream of asparagus soup with fresh asparagus from the farm. I enjoyed one bowl and froze the rest so I can savour it all winter.
• On Tuesday, I walked over 18,000 steps. I started the day with a 45-minute workout. In the evening, I went out for a long walk with a friend who I haven’t seen in person in five years.
• My daughter Colleen arrived home safely from Prince Edward Island on Friday night. It’s good to have her home, even if it’s only for a few days. I made a giant birthday cookie for her since she was away for her 21^st birthday.

Things I learned this week

Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:

All glass is not created equal

Have you ever wondered why kitchen glassware like casserole dishes and drinking glasses isn’t recyclable? This week I learned there are two types of glass:

• Soda-lime glass is the most common type of glass produced. Most glass containers are soda-lime glass. This type of glass is accepted in most recycling programs.
• Borosilicate glass is designed to be reheated and cooled repeatedly without breaking. Like those old glass Pyrex dishes, most European bakeware is still made from this type of glass.

Most glass cups, glasses, and bakeware are made from soda-lime glass. But they contain additives that make them non-recyclable.

And even recyclable glass containers can’t be recycled if the glass is broken.

(Source: Earth911)

Canada’s emissions headed in the right direction

Earlier this month, the Canadian government released its greenhouse gas emissions numbers for 2022. And there is some good news! Overall emissions are 7.1% lower than 2005 and 5.9% lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. And, despite what climate naysayers will have you believe, the recent decrease came during a time of economic growth.

We still have work to do, though. Oil sands emissions reached their highest level ever.

(Source: 440megatonnes.ca)

Osteoporosis risk

I’ve been reading, and writing, about osteoporosis this week as I work on the final project for my Plain Language in Health Literacy course. It’s a subject of interest to me because my dad had osteoporosis before his death.

I learned osteoporosis is largely asymptomatic until a fracture occurs. Fractures can lead to loss of independence, decreased quality of life, and even death.

Something else I found interesting is the importance of monitoring changes in our height as we age. A loss of 2 cm (3/4 inch) in height in a year, or 6 cm (2 ½ inches) since early adulthood is a warning sign of a spinal fracture.

(Source: Osteoporosis Canada)

This week’s decluttering challenge – Tub and shower cleanup

In 2024, I’ve been revisiting the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge I completed in 2021. This week’s challenge was the area around our bathtub and shower. My bathroom is generally clutter free, so I only got rid of 3 items this week. Find the details, along with my tips and learnings, in this week’s decluttering post.

If you’d like to join the challenge, visit this post to download your free checklists and jump right in with this week’s task.

I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.