Ebiz Snap

Riptide Warning

Ever been to the coast and seen the warning flags cautioning surfers of the rip tides. A rip tide iis a strong channel of water flowing away from the shoreline.

If you work on a computer – and if you’re connected to the Internet while doing so – then you know how big of a distraction being online can be riptides pulling you away from you work.

It’s even worse if what you’re currently working on actually requires you to be online and surfing (like research).

You check your email. You read blogs. You join discussions on forums. You click here and there, reading whatever catches your eye. And before you know it, you’ve wasted an entire hour while accomplishing absolutely nothing.

You’ve already discovered a few ways to avoid these distractions, including:

⇒ Setting a time limit on your activities. This includes setting both a time limit on your tasks as well as your online leisure activities. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that watching endless YouTube videos is a form of research.

⇒ Setting a timer where you give 100% effort for 20 minutes at time (and you don’t allow yourself to do anything else).

Beyond that, you need to eliminate the remaining distractions as much as you can.

⇒ Shut down all unnecessary windows on your computer, including your email and extra browser windows.

Tip: Instead of closing windows, you’ll use a software to just show your active workspace, and thus hide distractive windows/applications. Check ScreenMask or DropCloth for Windows, BackDrop for Mas OS X.

⇒ Whenever possible, disconnect yourself from the Internet so that you’re not tempted to surf around aimlessly or check your email endlessly getting pull out by the riptide.

Tags: Time Management

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