Since most work these days is done on or around computers, it can be pretty easy to get distracted. Since you’re working from a computer, you also have access to things like social media, videos, shows, and movies from the same system.
This means that it’s very easy and tempting to drift away from your work and spend a lot more time on the internet. Successful people have found their own ways to get rid of these distractions in order to be more productive, and it helps them significantly.
These distractions are particularly dangerous to your success because they’re so easy to access. For example, let’s say you’re working on sending out emails through your web browser.
In the blink of an eye, you can open a new tab and pull up Facebook or Twitter, and before you know it, you could spend 30 minutes or more just scrolling through social media, wasting time that you could’ve been using to work.
It’s fine to use social media and the internet for fun, but you need to have a clear separation from work. There are different ways of going about separating your work and entertainment.
One might work much better than another for you, so try multiple solutions and go with whichever one works the best. If you’re not very happy with any solution you find, then you might have to devise your own plan to keep away from distractions online.
One solution is to use screen time restrictions that are typically meant for kids. Sometimes it’s built into your computer, but other times you might have to download a 3rd party application.
What this does is block out certain programs or websites after spending too much time on them, so you’ll be more focused and more keen on working. Another helpful solution is to go off of a rewards system in a way.
You can set yourself timers so that for every 30 minutes to an hour of work that you do, you can have 5-10 minutes of entertainment and distractions. This allows you to do work and enjoy yourself, while still getting things done in a reasonable amount of time.
Finally, you might want to have separate devices for work and for entertainment. Use a laptop or tablet for your entertainment, but keep a desktop that you strictly do work off of. Sometimes if you do both from the same device, you can have this sense of association where you’re used to playing around on the same thing that you use to work.
