Apr
Theoretically I should be one of the most productive workers online. I am awake 22 hours a day and I consider myself organized and self-motivated.
and yet .. I can’t help feeling like I waste far too much time getting distracted online. I often find myself opening up a ‘fun’ website when I want to take a quick break and suddenly I notice hours having gone by without me accomplishing anything!
After recognizing that I’ve loaded Facebook up 6 times in the last 20 minutes I’ve set up a solution to keep me free of these distractions
Today I’ve installed a Firefox Plugin called LeechBlock (free) which will prevent me accessing those distracting websites either for a specified period of time (i.e. no more than 10 minutes per hour) or between certain times on certain days.
So far I’ve just set up one rule an I’ve stuck a post-it on the computer screen to remind me to keep aware of online distractions (which I may block using more rules later). I’d consider setting rules allowing me only 30 minutes of Facebook use in a 24-hour period but, don’t think it’s really necessary just now.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As of now, I’ll no longer be able to access these sites (below) during my working hours (10pm – 8am) Monday – Friday.
runnersworld.com, youtube.com, facebook.com, google.com/reader, couchsurfing.org, diysuperman.com (yes THIS site!),
… and also any sites that contain the keywords: diet paleo or thai
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Of course LeechBlock isn’t infallible – It doesn’t work on my iPhone, It only works on Firefox and there are a million ways of working around the restrictions.
I’m using LeechBlock as a REMINDER that – at some time in the past (right now in fact) I’ve made a definite decision and taken action to stop me visiting the sites. I’m sure that will be sufficient for me to keep away and to focus more on my work.
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