Picture this: you sit down at your computer. And the first thing you do is check your email, your Twitter, your Facebook, your website statistics, your favorite news site, your favorite sports site, and finally, your bank account. Phew. Then you repeat this cycle because by the time it ends, it’s been an hour since you checked your email!
Find out some of the things which ‘distract’ me
The just check this mentality
I want to know what’s going on. I don’t want to miss anything. The problem I have is that I’m so focused on not missing anything that I am missing out on other important things – like actually producing something of value for people to use. I’ve found an over-use of checking social networking and stat tracking websites to be a time sink for me.
My goal is to ONLY once a day check social networking sites and stat tracking websites. It’s so easy to just click all these sites and see what is going on. It’s like taking a TV remote and going channel surfing. Before you know it, an hour has passed and all you did was click around and randomly read things. Is social networking the new channel surfing? Hopefully not :)
Some time sinks to watch out for
- GMAIL – or any other email website
- Twitter, Facebook – or any other social networking website
- Adsense – or any money tracking website
- Analytics – or any other stat tracking website
- ESPN – or any sports website
- CNN – or any news website
- Feedburner – or any newsletter/email list website
So be careful! By the time you reach the end of this list, you’ll feel a need to start from the top of it again, creating an endless cycle of destruction :)
My solution – don’t visit any of these sites except for ONE TIME a day, which you designate. Or even try it once a week, but to start with, once a day is reasonable.
My Friends: What other sites eat up your time? What social networking websites take up your time the most? What have you found to work for you in cutting down your ‘surfing’ time?
14 Responses to Bamboozled By Online Distractions
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It’s A Pleasure To Meet You
I'm Jeremy N. Johnson. I'm one man looking to make a difference. What can you expect here? A look at my research, results, and journaling as I strive to advance at a public Internet company and work on side businesses in writing, game development, and niche websites. If you have a philosophy of success, let's connect. GFree Updates
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I actually try, barely, to limit my computer time.. or at least get away from it for 2-3 hours a day. More (6-5 hours/day) on the weekends. It’s hard to do more than that because everything I do is on the computer.
Out of all of them, Facebook and Google Reader are the biggest ones for me. I would add forums, too.. those are huge distractions if you are an active participant.
That one time a day thing is quite a challenge I have to say!
.-= Valerie M´s last blog ..Dealing with loneliness: How to get yourself out of that funk =-.
I hear you about Facebook. It’s so easy to just click around on profiles there and sift through status updates. I haven’t had too much of a problem with forums, but can definitely see their appeal. I’m getting closer to once a day – have not achieved it yet though :)
Lol…hey, have you been watching me!?…you’ve just described here my actions every morning. The truth is, I absolutely love!!! my computer time, particularly anything to do with my website, therefore, it’s tough for me to stick to a time limit. The fact is though, that I have to. I’m a mom of two kids and there are simply MANY other things that need doing in the course of a day…I also try to fit in a work-out or run on most days, therefore keeping to a schedule and time limit for my computer tasks is very important.
Just wanted to add Jeremy – your daughter is absolutely beautiful! Loved your video featuring her and all you had to say on the subject of children being wonderful teachers for us..(I had plans to respond to that particular post..that darned time constraint thing again, no doubt!).
Faye http://www.wisdom-of-Spirit.com – Personal Spiritual Growth
.-= Faye´s last blog ..Apr 20, Expand Your Consciousness – Activate The Observer Within =-.
Hi Faye! Thanks for the compliment – Ellie sure is a bundle of joy. I’m learning more from her each day. Children really are great teachers.
I love my computer time as well. I’m happy to hear that you fit in a workout or run – that most certainly helps!
Hi Jeremy,
I keep all my URL’s in an Excel spreadsheet. For example: I follow 16 blogs each day. I have (but don’t use) 15 Affiliate accounts. I also have the social networks listed by URL. Each day I open the spreadsheet and click down the row. http://www.scottbarrononline.com/stay-organized-with-my-spreadsheet.html
I also have it broken down by what I need to look at daily. It keeps me on schedule.
I have a total of 54 bookmarks set in Google Chrome. Mostly because I’m bad at remembering addresses. Only 4 are entertainment. The rest relate to my websites or finances in some way.
I also filter all my email and RSS feeds through Outlook. And yes, you’re one of the RSS feeds I follow! I will admit, I hate using Twitter and Facebook. I’m “supposed” to put my updates in there, but I get too distracted…
My biggest struggle regarding the computer is business versus pleasure. I love YouTube. However, I might also be skimming emails or doing key word research at the same time. So it’s hard not to cross those boundaries. I also know that once I turn on my computer, my “physical” day is over. The next 10 – 15 hours will be spent here.
.-= Scott Barron´s last blog ..My First Guest Post: Please Read! =-.
Hi Scott! Wow, you certainly are very organized. I’m impressed with where you are now from where you first started. You are taking some major massive action. Much applause for you. I’m going to go checkout your spreadsheet now.
Hi Jeremy,
I am sincerely in awe of those who seem to have everything dialed in — providing valuable content on their site, social networking, commenting on other sites, keeping up with clients, etc. Being online is one area where I wish I had more time as I read vs. skim articles and I do like to keep up with friends and learn new things.
A schedule is definitely in order to balance contribution, creation, education, and socializing. My issue is, the more I discover, the more I learn there is to know. Lol! There’s a quote in there, but it escapes me at the moment :) Time to step away from the screen ;)
.-= Kim´s last blog ..Self-Discovery: Step Outside Yourself for a New Perspective =-.
I agree with you there Kim, those who seem to be dialed in. I think I’m currently dialing a lot – not sure if it is ‘in’ in some cases :)
Isn’t it funny the more we discover the more we realize there is to know. That can be both frightening and intriguing at the same time. I think stepping away from the screen is a big help as well.
I can readily identify with you here Jeremy. Everyday when I began to sit down and work it literally takes me telling myself to get focused. You can do it. Get off this site, go here where you’re more productive. It’s like self-discipline for me.
Sometimes when I get the urge to check my email, or my twitter I have to remind myself of the big picture and how important it is that I stay focused on the important work. It also does NOT help that I get my email and twitter sent over to my phone…lol, because that’s even more tempting! Great article my friend, thanks for sharing!!
I think we face the same battle Jarrod – I really have to smack myself in the head several times to say, “Hey, you’ve got things to do, quit surfing!” Maybe I should do a video of that :)
Thanks for stopping by!
I find that I’m most efficient between the hours of midnight and 6AM. My distractions are limited during those hours since most of the population is asleep. My phone doesn’t ring, no one is texting, very few emails arrive, internet traffic is low, and my neighborhood is quiet. (No UPS/Fed Ex trucks, garbage collectors, lawn care, construction or cars driving by.) It’s easier to concentrate.
Now that it’s spring in Ohio, my neighborhood is bustling with people mowing their yards along with building or repairing things on their property. I never realized how distracting this can be when I’m trying to concentrate.
It also helps that my dogs are diurnal and sleep at night, even if I don’t.
.-= Scott Barron´s last blog ..My First Guest Post: Please Read! =-.
midnight to 6AM – interesting time Scott. But you are right about it being quiet during those hours. I find myself catching my second wind around midnight sometimes too.
hello jeremy,
how are you?
i agree with the principle of wasting precious time on unneccessary things or events in this case social media.
unfortunately my experience in the social media world is really lacking and needs to be brought up to scratch(i’m really terrible with twitter, facebook… and i need help), so i cant comment so much about it, but i will always have posts like yours at the back of my mind because a lot of people highlight this trend.
I also agree with kims principle on the issue of having a schedule allocating various time slots for certain activities.
enjoy the rest of the day
.-= ayo´s last blog ..40 Benefits Of Happiness =-.
Hey Ayo! Having a schedule is one of the main things I am finding I need to do in order to have a future that is unlike the past I want to change. Thanks for stopping by!
.-= Jeremy Johnson´s last blog ..Shout Outs To Awesome People (April 2010) =-.