Online Distractions
Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Digg, Mixx, Creative Blogs, Technical Blogs, Marketing Blogs…I think there might be a few more out there 
There is SO much on the web to do that it can become 45 minutes to a couple of hours on the internet instead of being productive. So what’s the argument? Well, as an entrepreneur I know how distracting this can be because I like reading about the new social media platforms and marketing tools used for our businesses. BUT I know that spending more than an hour on these blogs (although beneficial) is not productive towards the day to day operations of my company. Now, I’m not saying that the benefits of these blogs and social networks are “bad” but should be portioned out so that it is productive and not distracting. I’m trying to get better at this by setting aside time slots in the day – week – weekend, where I allow myself to become submersed in all this fun stuff!!
The Harvard Business school did some research on how we can be more productive while working.
When we search for anything online, we typically have to sift through pages of information, some relevant but most not. And often, we’ll start out by searching for one thing and then bump into something even more intriguing and veer off in that direction. We often repeat this pattern many times. Before you know it, the search for “tickets to Hawaii” that you started at 8 pm has morphed into a search of “great battleships of the Pacific” by 10 pm…then “movies by Stanley Kubrick” at 11…and so on ad nauseam. Meanwhile, your wife is angry because you promised to help your son with his homework hours ago and everything else you had planned that evening didn’t get done, such as responding to your sister’s text, friending your old college buddy on Facebook, and responding to someone who flamed you in their forum. You may ask yourself, well…how did I get here?
- Sleep well: A well-rested brain is less likely to be distracted.
- Eat well: Good nutrition is important to brain functionality.
- Minimize stress and anger: it tends to ramp up production of brain chemicals such as norepinephrine and cortisol, which can lead to problems.
- Watch out for time wasters: It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole while reading blogs (except this one of course) or online forums. Stay focused by setting time limits for online activity.
- Work smarter, not longer: If you’re working too hard or long hours without a break, your brain will seek out diversions at some point — whether you want it to or not. Schedule breaks in advance; you’re better off putting in six productive hours than of 10 hours of mindless search engine trolling or social networking.
