by Lucius Trae

Created on: July 17, 2010

Distractions are everywhere when working online. For many people, distractions can either reduce the amount of work completed or even eliminate it completely. Your favorite websites are available at the click of a button, and when you decide to "just check something for a few minutes," this can turn into hours. And if an article calls for research, there can be more opportunities to become off track. For instance, sites like Wikipedia provide excellent information and/or sources, in many cases. However, there is an abundance of links and if you're inquisitive, you will click them. The presence of a word or term you are unfamiliar with may simply irritate you into finding out more.

Online distractions are sometimes beneficial. For instance, if you get distracted when reading useful information, it's not the end of the world. You can consider doing things like setting aside a portion of your day as "learning time" to account for when you'll get off track. After all, being distracted and feeling guilty about it is the worst option. At least if you accept that some distractions will occur, you can allow them to happen without feeling guilty.

However, distractions have a tendency to overwhelm people because with the Internet, there is no shortage of information. To focus on your task at hand, you can use a variety of techniques. If you have an additional computer, using one for work-related activities is a possibility. If that's not realistic, you can try using multiple Internet browsers. Use one for leisure and the other for work. For example, many people have a toolbar containing their favorite sites. Subconsciously, this is a distraction that's present whenever a page is open. By using a browser for only work-related activities, this problem can be minimized.

Another technique is to explore programs to help you maximize your time. Many are available for free, and they are often simply timers used to inform you when you've worked on something long enough. Some people find these programs useful while others end up wasting more time fiddling with organizers than actually working.

Alternatively, there are programs available to monitor your time spent on various websites. This also works for directories and sub-domains; so if your distracted by a forum, you can monitor it independently of other websites. The monitoring allows you to set restrictions on what sites can be accessed. You can restrict them completely, at certain times, after certain time periods, etc. One such program is an add-on for Firefox called Leechblock. It's quite helpful, but not everyone will have their problems solved by it. You can get around it. And short of setting up some sort of shock-collar that activities when you view certain sites, it's rather difficult to guarantee that your distractions will disappear. However, many programs will provide enough of an inconvenience to prevent you from disabling their restrictions. When you see how much time you waste, it may also serve to motivate you to work harder.

These are some techniques for dealing with online distractions. There are others, and you may discover some for yourself. Outside the Internet, however, things like proper hygiene, nutrition, sleep, etc, can all make it easier to focus when working. Consequently, productivity will increase. Keeping to a schedule and documenting your day to day accomplishments can also serve to motivate you and give you recognition for what you've accomplished. There are many ways to avoid online distractions, and it's the destination rather than the journey that's important.

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