Identify the problem, find the solution = increase effectiveness

[reuben]

Hello everyone,

Let me just say that i think its great Steve has created this forum, ive been looking for something similar online but never found any forum that would be good enough.


I would like to use this post as my own way of overcoming my problem. I guess i could say my bad habit, if not an addiction.

Ive recently realized how much time i spend online, i wont get into the exact number of hours per week, but its a lot.

I started to think about my problem. I started to write down pros and cons of spending so much time online (needles to say there were only a few pros and many times more cons). And ive decided that i have to do something about it.

I discovered that this time spent mainly chatting with friends who i see every day at the university anyway, takes away most of my productive time (i mean the more productive hours of the day, that i could spend on studying, working or other more healthy relaxation).

I dont spend so much time browsing websites, but i spend lots of hours beeing stuck on msn, icq etc.

In the past when i did not use and abuse these programmes i was a very effective person. I was very well organized, i always had time to do the things that i planned for. Even if those things were tough to accomplish, like getting up at 5:45 am on saturdays to take the bus to the swimingpool and workout in the morning (mind you its not so easy to do during the cold scandinavian winters )

Being organized made me feel very good about myself.

Nowadays i still somehow get everything done, and get through with projects that have to be done, but mediocer results are not what i strive for. Plus the long hours spent in front of the monitor wear me down physically and sometimes emotionally.

I know that if i channel my will to work and will for accomplishment and effectivness i can get "back on track".

I just have to find a way to greatly cut down on the time spent chatting.
It will be impossible to totally eliminate these timewasters from my life, because they are simply a part of our university reality.


So far i found out that if i plan my daily activities, and absolutley all the tasks that i need to acomplish during the day i manage not to waste too much time on msn, icq as i simply dont have much time left for this. Im just to tired after a whole day of work to sit and chat.

On my monitor ive placed a huge yellow post-it note reminding me not to log on to anything that i dont want to use. i know it might sound a bit silly but its been working the past few days.

I also try to give myself 2 or 3 times during the day/evening when i log online and say a few words to a friend or two. I was thinking of doing the 30 days with no internet like described by Steve, but i simply can get along without the net, because i need it for the university and for work.


My question to the readers is this: if you have or had (or are willing to help) such a problem of excessive chatting how did you or would you fight it???


ps. sorry for all the language mistakes made in this post, english is not my first language.

[reuben]

lots of people interested huh

[gberardi]

Well, it seems you've already identified the problem: using those chat tools is so informal and easy that it is harder NOT to use them.

I think what you did is good. You set yourself specific times when you can use them, and for the explicit purpose of talking to some friends. I think having a purpose is good. You don't want to just sign on and see what happens. You want to chat, and you know exactly how long you'll allow yourself to chat. If there is an interesting conversation going on, you can always continue it later. If it wasn't important, then it doesn't matter if it doesn't continue.

The post-it note? I like it, but you may find that you need to change it up. I have a note on top of my monitor reminding me that I want to be doing the best thing I can right now...which I only notice when it falls off. It's been there for so long that I ignore it. Changing it up with new notes every so often might be more effective at getting my attention.

I always have my away message up. If someone wants to leave me a message, they can. I can get back to them. Once I get rid of the away message, I find an hour has gone by without much productive work. So I try to make sure that if I sign on, it is for a purpose. I want to talk to this or that friend because I see that he/she is online. I'll do so for 20 minutes. Afterwards, I'll say goodbye and go about my business.

The Internet might be necessary for work, but using IM to keep up with friends isn't. You don't need to cut it out of your life completely, but you should strive to using it for a good reason and for a limited time.

[thef0x]

Delete MSN ICQ AIM

Bam!