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Strategize Organize LLC
Newsletter Volume 5, Issue 9

Controlling Your Distractions on the Internet and Social Media 

Background


In October I talked about several ways that a Timer can help and introduced the I AM DEFT mnemonic. http://www.strategizeorganize.com/newsletter-october/ Timers can help us stay focused by letting us know how long we are working on something. A different challenge that many of us have is when spend more time than we’d hoped to on distracting activities. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other websites can be really interesting but they can also create distraction. Some have even called the internet an interruption machine. See Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making us Stupid” in The Atlantic.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/

In this newsletter I am going to talk about several online timer and blocking tools that can help limit time on the internet and social media sites.
 
Online Timer

Rescue Time

• Logging Time - If you want to know everything that you are doing online RescueTime can be a good option. https://www.rescuetime.com RescueTime is a productivity tool available for both PC and Mac. It tracks the time you spend doing different things. The best thing about RescueTime is that there is no data entry. By installing it on your computer it automatically keeps track of how much time different programs are used and, on the web, how much time your spend at different websites. There are free and paid packages; one of the benefits of the paid packages are options for blocking different websites for set amounts of time. 

Blocking Tools

Freedom and Anti-Social

• Blocking Software - A more inexpensive blocking software package is Freedom ($10) and its’ companion program Anti-Social ($15). http://80pct.com/products  Both of these work by allowing you to lock out the internet or parts of the internet for periods of time. Freedom is the hammer of distraction control tools. Once activated, the only way to turn it off is by restarting your computer. Anti-Social (available only on the Mac) allows you to select individual websites to block, allowing you access to the “productive” part of the internet.
 
WasteNoTime

• Controlling Time - The browser extension WasteNoTime works in a slightly different way. http://www.bumblebeesystems.com/wastenotime/ You choose how long you can spend on individual websites per day. You can divide the day between working and personal time. Once you have used your time for that day, you can’t use that website anymore; you are automatically bounced to a page you choose. For example, if you allow yourself 30 minutes of facebook a day and choose my website as your bounce page, at 27 minutes of facebook time you’ll be given a 3 minute warning and then at 30 minutes you be bounced to strategizeorganize.com. WasteNoTime works on your computer browser  (Safari or Chrome) and is therefore more easy to defeat than Freedom. But WasteNoTime is free and allows you to set a goal and stick to it.
 
Final Reflections

If you spend more time on the internet than you’d like, or if you’d like to know how much time you spend on the internet, one of these tools might be for you. I would be interested in hearing about any frustrations or successes that people experience with these tools. Now might be a great time to start in with one of these tools as the weather is nice outside!

Good Luck,
Susan


You can find my website at http://www.strategizeorganize.com
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Copyright (C) 2008 Susan Hunsberger, Certified Organizer Coach All rights reserved.
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