How to stop wasting time

[Sean447]

Ok, so I have a bit of a problem with wasting time, on the internet specifically. It seems like every time I turn my computer on I end up wasting hours and hours just browsing the internet. I tell myself to get off, but then I think of something else I want to look up, something else I need to read up on, etc etc. No matter what reason I turn my computer on, be it homework or just to play games, I always end up wasting time on the internet. I know I should be doing something more productive and interesting, but I just can't seem to get off. It's turned into a really bad habit that I can't break.

Too much valuable time is going down the shitter because of this. How can I stop?

[Gayathri]

One simple thing you could do is to simply remove the internet connectivity completely from your PC. This may seem too horrible to some, but no one really ever died just coz they couldn't access the net!

Go out and hang out with real people, spend time with your famiky, take up a hobby, join clubs or groups which interest you locally, take up a part-time job, read great books and otherwise spend your time effectively. Good luck!

[wakeshine]

We've developed a culture of instant accessibility. When I was younger, I would go to record stores and dream about the albums I would buy next. It might be months between when I first heard a song and when I bought the album. Or I might never buy it...I would go to a friend's house to listen to it.

If I wanted to learn about something, I would plan to check out a book next time I go the library.

Now I can listen to two million songs online for a low monthly fee. I can look up any information about anything I want.

There are tons of advantages to what the Internet offers: having everything right there when we need it. But it can be easy to lose that yearning, that drive for something outside our reach.

The Internet can turn into a tool that is giving you "just enough" of what you need, but without real satisfaction. It's like snacking all day long. The risk is forgetting the joys of a "real meal."

[Sean447]

Originally Posted by Gayathri

One simple thing you could do is to simply remove the internet connectivity completely from your PC. This may seem too horrible to some, but no one really ever died just coz they couldn't access the net!

Go out and hang out with real people, spend time with your famiky, take up a hobby, join clubs or groups which interest you locally, take up a part-time job, read great books and otherwise spend your time effectively. Good luck!

It's not that I don't have anything else I could be doing, it's more that I can't drag myself away from the computer once I get on it. I try to go out most weekends, I work part time, I exercise regularly, I practice driving to work towards getting my license, and I read books, although not as many as I'd like to. The main problem is I need to take up a hobby, because I never have anything to do when I'm at home, so I just turn the computer on. I'm trying to motivate myself to learn guitar, but I picked it up the other day realized I'd have to start from scratch, because I had forgotten the small amount I had already learned. So I just end up playing Guitar Hero instead, which is fun, but a complete waste of time as well. And there isn't a lot near me in the way of clubs or groups, because of my parents' stupid decision to buy a house so far out of town.

[Sean447]

Originally Posted by wakeshine

The Internet can turn into a tool that is giving you "just enough" of what you need, but without real satisfaction. It's like snacking all day long. The risk is forgetting the joys of a "real meal."

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Good analogy.

[silicon toad2000]

I found myself having that problem with a game on the computer, I just uninstalled it and the problem was solved for me.

Not so easy in your case as you still want to be able to use it but limit the time. I was thinking maybe putting your monitor on a timer switch. That way once the time you set is up your monitor switches off and you have to get up and crawl around under the table to switch it back on.
You can also set windows xp to shut down the computer at a certain time each day, you could schedule that at a time when you are usually wasting time.

[rak]

So your challenge is you just want to quit browsing too much time in internet? right?

Because as per your post you read books, practice driving, you have a part time job and you go out on weekends so your life is not centralized in internet.

i would like to share what i've done when i finally stop my smoking habit. like you i am not a type of guy who has nothing to do or addicted on nicotine on those time its just hard for me to drag my self away on smoking so what i did is i find a substitute to my bad habit. I think you already tried this you find another things to do to substitute on browsing internet and this is learning to play guitar but still you cant drag your self away on browsing the net same on my situation before that i tried to take candy or chocolate instead of cigars but still i am going back on smoking again so i find another substitute or alternative and i tried different fruits, candies and juice it still not effective until i finally found what i want to replaced on my bad habit and this is listening to music (to my nokia cellphone) or sleeping.

also like Gayathri advice you can just remove your internet connection to your computer, take the BOLD approach like what i did before i throw away all of my things that are connected on smoking like zippo lighter, fluid and my cigarett collection its really hard for me to do that and my concience is telling me that "are you nuts? you will just going waist money" well yeah its true i will waist money but this is for the investment of my great future i will choose to loose my money by throwing away the box of cigarett rather than paying therapy for the medication on lungs cancer.

The reason i think why you cant replace your internet browsing by other activities is because the activity that you choose is not that interesting to you. find more things that really make you interested and challenging if you still going back on browsing the net it means you must find again until you find what makes you interested. It will be a weird alternative or a very different idea like what i expirience imagine from chocolate, juice and candies i become satisfied on choosing to listening music or sleeping.

Hope this help.

[joethejoeguy]

theres a great program to monitor your internet and computer use. go to rescuetime.com. it will record how much time you've spent so that you can see where you need to improve, helps with setting goals, etc.

[veranadine]

Sean,

I completely feel for you. For years in college, when ones HAS to be online much of the time, I wasted away and got sucked into the net.

Once I started my own business the problem got progressively worse, until a dear friend saw my struggles and decided to help me sort it out.

I am a Grade A Procrastinator and the internet had become my enabler.

Here are the changes that I gradually put into place that helped me:

1. I took a ten-day No PC Fast, emailed everyone to say I'd be on a PC vacation, and just plain unplugged it. No work, no games, no internet.

2. When I returned from this Fast, I implemented a micro-tasking approach. I would write down what work I had to do on the PC and then break it into micro-tasks, write how long they should each take and then set an egg timer. Once the time was up, ten minutes would be set for "research" (ie. goofing off online.) The when the timer went off, on to the next work task with the timer etc... *There is a great, easy to use, task management software for this called My Life Organized.*

3. I eventually adopted a system where I allow myself two hours of free online time, between 6:30-8:30pm. Whenever something occurs to me during the day that I would just like to check really quickly online, I just write it on a notepad and save it to be done in those two hours. I only go online now to post for my blog and do marketing for the same.

I don't know if any of these will help you but, once I got used to them they began to help me immensely.

Now I even get out and walk each day, go to town, visit people. It's an amazing world out there!

Blessings,

[sarahlorrain]

Originally Posted by veranadine

Sean,

I completely feel for you. For years in college, when ones HAS to be online much of the time, I wasted away and got sucked into the net.

Once I started my own business the problem got progressively worse, until a dear friend saw my struggles and decided to help me sort it out.

I am a Grade A Procrastinator and the internet had become my enabler.

Here are the changes that I gradually put into place that helped me:

1. I took a ten-day No PC Fast, emailed everyone to say I'd be on a PC vacation, and just plain unplugged it. No work, no games, no internet.

2. When I returned from this Fast, I implemented a micro-tasking approach. I would write down what work I had to do on the PC and then break it into micro-tasks, write how long they should each take and then set an egg timer. Once the time was up, ten minutes would be set for "research" (ie. goofing off online.) The when the timer went off, on to the next work task with the timer etc... *There is a great, easy to use, task management software for this called My Life Organized.*

3. I eventually adopted a system where I allow myself two hours of free online time, between 6:30-8:30pm. Whenever something occurs to me during the day that I would just like to check really quickly online, I just write it on a notepad and save it to be done in those two hours. I only go online now to post for my blog and do marketing for the same.

I don't know if any of these will help you but, once I got used to them they began to help me immensely.

Now I even get out and walk each day, go to town, visit people. It's an amazing world out there!

Blessings,

That sounds like a great idea. I work at home on the computer, so I'm here anyway, and it's easy to goof off and do something other than what I should be doing. It costs me a lot of money.

[Ninja]

Ooh... I know this one... I really like the just-enough analogy someone posted earlier. I'm a student and currently buried under tons of assignments. I currently need to do two things to survive this semester:

A) do my assignments and make sure they don't suck too much

B) do something fun to keep the balance. Humans need more than just sleep to stay mentally sane: they need to do fun stuf too.

Right now, I'm doing neither. I've honed my procrastination skills to the max and I'm like a pendulum stuck in mid-swing: I'm not doing my assignments (right) but I'm not having fun either (left). I'm just sorta in the middle, goofing around on the internet. Yeah, it's amusing at times, but not as fun as painting, writing or playing my favorite videogames. And it's not getting the work done either, making me feel guilty. If I don't use the free hours I have to do my homework, then at least I should use them for something really fun to recharge my batteries. Now I'm still stuck on square one, with my energy slowly seeping away.

Sadly, I can't get off the internet. I need it for the assignments...

You're not alone

[bholistic]

Hello Sean....

I KNOW how you feel. It's amazing how the internet can just suck you in for hours - isn't it?

You've already received some great suggestions. I have another one to add....

Like you, I would look up one thing and then find another and then another to read about. What I started doing was practicing being focused on that first thing I was looking up. If I needed to, I would write it down on a notepad I keep with me so I can re-direct my brain to where I want it to be.

When other things pop in my head (the "oh - look, that looks interesting too! <click>, and that! <click> oh, oh and look at that !! <click>")........instead of clicking through the maze, I write down what it is that looked interesting so I can come back to it later. Or, I'll bookmark the site to refer to later or send myself an e-mail with the link to that other site and a brief blurb of why I want to look at it. Then I re-direct myself back to my original purpose.

It's much better to dive into one thing at a time anyway.

I wish you the best of luck.

Beth

[Sean447]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll post back when I've tried a few of these methods. Although I have been studying a lot more over the last week or so instead of going on the internet so much.

Also, I used to waste time nearly every day on myspace / msn. Now I only check my myspace about once a week, and I only go on msn two or three times a week (or when I need to get in contact with people), So I'm definitely improving.

[bholistic]

Sean....

I'm glad to hear that you are doing better.

I look forward to reading about your progress.

Beth

[lasti]

1.Set some goals. If you don't know what you want to do instead of wasting time, you will always end up wasting time.
2.Begin a "journal": Write anything down you do and how long you do it. Now you have to control yourself: What are you doing? If you find yourself wasting time, ask to yourself: Do I really have to do this? Is it worth the time? If not, stop it and do something that is worth the time.

Good luck

[Sean447]

Yeah, I'm starting on learning the guitar soon, I have another thread up about it. I've set a goal to practice 30 min a day, and once I get better at it I'll want to practice more and more, which will stop my time wasting.