How to Stop Wasting Time Online

When you work online or are trying to complete various online tasks such as research or reviewing media as part of a class, the sheer number of distractions can become your worst enemy. All it takes is one fun game or one interesting article to take you well away from the task at hand. When you find yourself still playing thirty minutes later, you are often frustrated by your lack of focus and wonder how to stop wasting time online.

Set Priorities

Most of us already set priorities for what we are doing in our head, but actually scratching down a list of things to do on a notepad beside you or on your computer’s notepad can serve as a nice reminder about what needs to come first, second and so on.

Leave Yourself Time to Play

If you work all the time and have no downtime on the computer or off it, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. It’s impossible to work constantly without some distractions, in fact, following your own interests and discovering new ones is very healthy for the mind. The trick is to leave enough padding in your schedule to accommodate a diversion or two – this isn’t wasting time, it’s research of another caliber.

Open a New Window

The trick, however, is to not let that new research take you away from the project you started on. If you spy an interesting looking game or article, fell free to open it up for a glance – in a new tab or window. Keep it out of sight for now, but rest assured it is there waiting for you.

Reward Work

When you finish a nice chunk of your prioritized to-do list, reward yourself by clicking over to one of those opened tabs and read the article or play a few rounds of the game to clear your head before starting in on the next project. Keep an eye on the clock and when it’s been a reasonable ten minutes or so, pull back up the work screen and get back to it. When all work is finished for the day, you can take your time going back through and reading or playing to your heart’s content.

Easy Step By Step

• Prioritize what you need to do online each time you sit down to work.
• Allow some flexibility in your work schedule to accommodate a flight of fancy.
• When something catches your eye, open it in a new window.
• Reward yourself by viewing or playing in the windows or tabs you opened after you reach the end or another good stopping point.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions

If you find you can’t contain yourself to a certain amount of time for your “reward,” you can always set an online timer for 10-15 minutes to keep yourself on track.

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