Summary: spelling and punctuation
[[Image:Add.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Resistance may be futile, but there's an app for that. Photo by Adam Bronkhorst/[http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_brownhorse/1805199522/ flickr]/CC]]
Between writing the title for this next how-to and beginning its first sentence, I?ve installed an upgrade for my laptop, glanced at Twitter, gaped in wonder at an Instagrammed photo of an enormous alligator posted on Facebook, e-mailed a former professor, Googled videos of distracted cats (for research?), then watched them on YouTube. I assume I?m not alone in my tendency toward diversion.
According to ?Information Overload,? a [http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/12/measuring-the-costs-of-info-overload.ars study] conducted by New York-based business research company Basex, techy distractions waste an estimated $650 billion of U.S. business? cash each year. As we adapt to our gizmo-driven lives, learning to say no to constant beeping and booping has become a skill increasingly difficult to master. Fight fire with fire by using the techy tools listed below, and heed the following advice to help curb your 21st-century interruptions.
''This is an article by John Flanagan, a Vermont-based writer, film fan, and intermittent bon vivant.''
==Distraction-Blocking Apps==
===Stay Focused===
An extension for Google Chrome, [http://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji#detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji/ StayFocused] has you set a limit for how much time you can afford to dawdle through the ether. Choose particular websites, or even parts of websites, to self-restrict your access. After you reach your allotted time, vamoose, back to work. A menu on the left offers a "Daily Reset Time" and shows what content you're currently blocking or allowing. With "The Nuclear Option," you can eliminate ? brace yourself ? the entire web. While turning off Wi-Fi or ripping out your Ethernet and FireWire cords works just as well, with the Nuclear Option you can't change your mind once initiating the sequence (unless you quit the app or restart your computer). Other anti-distraction Google Chrome extensions include [http://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cljcgchbnolheggdgaeclffeagnnmhno#detail/cljcgchbnolheggdgaeclffeagnnmhno/ Nanny For Google Chrome] and [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cgmnfnmlficgeijcalkgnnkigkefkbhd#detail/cgmnfnmlficgeijcalkgnnkigkefkbhd Pomodoro].
===LeechBlock===
[http://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock/ LeechBlock] is an extension for FireFox which, like StayFocused, imparts the same tough-love tactic on your time wasting tendencies via blocking entire sites or just parts of sites. "Block Sets" correspond different access settings to different projects, a unique LeechBlock feature. You'll have a password with which to adjust your options, and it's up to you whether settings can be changed during blackouts (though there are still ways out of this in case of emergency).
===RescueTime===
[http://rescuetime.com/ RescueTime.com] charts you how you spend your time by recording what websites are on the forefront of your screen. It stops recording when you leave your computer, but will ask you what you?ve been up to since you?ve been gone. (You can tell it to bug off if you want to.) The RescueTime website advises against "wholesale blocking of leisure surfing," so its FocusTime feature only blocks distracting websites via a stopwatch that you set. While the app makes recommendations for sites to block based upon your browsing habits, you can modify the list easily. RescueTime's "Automagical" time tracking database displays in-depth graphs that chart when and at which times you find yourself most distracted. With RescueTime Pro, business owners and managers can follow an entire corporation of sidetracked workers.
===KeepMeOut===
An online bookmarking device, [http://keepmeout.com/ KeepMeOut] blocks you from revisiting a site within a preset amount of time. You'll replace bookmarks for distracting sites with aliases that monitor your use frequency. Set how long an interval you'd like between visits, choose whether you want the restricted access to stay for the weekend, and monitor your average daily blocked/allowed hits.
'''Note''': Visiting the restricted site without going through KMO's alias is an easy way around its barricade. Recommended only for those with decent self-control.
==Modify Your Behavior==
===Evaluation Station===
Blacking out websites might only provide a temporary, and perhaps frustrating fix. Get to the root of the issue by changing your work habits and personal tendencies. First, add up how much time you spend distracted from a task at hand, then estimate how much money you're wasting. You may be shocked into working harder.
===Compartmentalize===
Form a routine where you set aside a specific part of the day in which you won?t access e-mail, answer phones, check the headlines, or patrol Facebook. Because we all need time for leisure browsing, do the opposite as well. Set off some tech-check time. After a few weeks you should notice more productivity and perhaps have more peace of mind!
===Take Five(s)===
Taking short breaks to restore energy and focus is essential. The aforementioned Pomodoro device times you as you work, leaving increments for essential recharging.
===Hocus Focus===
When reaching for your phone, remind yourself of the unexpected time you?ll probably waste on Words With Friends. Put it down, remind yourself of what you're doing, and do it. Via positive reinforcement, this will develop into habit.
===Express Yourself===
Guard yourself against known distractions such as chatty coworkers or roommates by posting auto-reply messages on your e-mail or voicemail. Indicate you?re working under a deadline so your work can take the blame for your unresponsiveness. Also, restrict your social media to alert you only of issues that you actually care about. Don?t let someone you barely knew in high school disturb you from writing the great American novel with a picture of her lunch.
[[Category:Apps]]
[[Category:Focusing]]
[[Category:Mental Health]]
[[Category:Jobs]]
Between writing the title for this next how-to and beginning its first sentence, I?ve installed an upgrade for my laptop, glanced at Twitter, gaped in wonder at an Instagrammed photo of an enormous alligator posted on Facebook, e-mailed a former professor, Googled videos of distracted cats (for research?), then watched them on YouTube. I assume I?m not alone in my tendency toward diversion.
According to ?Information Overload,? a [http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/12/measuring-the-costs-of-info-overload.ars study] conducted by New York-based business research company Basex, techy distractions waste an estimated $650 billion of U.S. business? cash each year. As we adapt to our gizmo-driven lives, learning to say no to constant beeping and booping has become a skill increasingly difficult to master. Fight fire with fire by using the techy tools listed below, and heed the following advice to help curb your 21st-century interruptions.
''This is an article by John Flanagan, a Vermont-based writer, film fan, and intermittent bon vivant.''
==Distraction-Blocking Apps==
===Stay Focused===
An extension for Google Chrome, [http://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji#detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji/ StayFocused] has you set a limit for how much time you can afford to dawdle through the ether. Choose particular websites, or even parts of websites, to self-restrict your access. After you reach your allotted time, vamoose, back to work. A menu on the left offers a "Daily Reset Time" and shows what content you're currently blocking or allowing. With "The Nuclear Option," you can eliminate ? brace yourself ? the entire web. While turning off Wi-Fi or ripping out your Ethernet and FireWire cords works just as well, with the Nuclear Option you can't change your mind once initiating the sequence (unless you quit the app or restart your computer). Other anti-distraction Google Chrome extensions include [http://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cljcgchbnolheggdgaeclffeagnnmhno#detail/cljcgchbnolheggdgaeclffeagnnmhno/ Nanny For Google Chrome] and [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cgmnfnmlficgeijcalkgnnkigkefkbhd#detail/cgmnfnmlficgeijcalkgnnkigkefkbhd Pomodoro].
===LeechBlock===
[http://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock/ LeechBlock] is an extension for FireFox which, like StayFocused, imparts the same tough-love tactic on your time wasting tendencies via blocking entire sites or just parts of sites. "Block Sets" correspond different access settings to different projects, a unique LeechBlock feature. You'll have a password with which to adjust your options, and it's up to you whether settings can be changed during blackouts (though there are still ways out of this in case of emergency).
===RescueTime===
[http://rescuetime.com/ RescueTime.com] charts you how you spend your time by recording what websites are on the forefront of your screen. It stops recording when you leave your computer, but will ask you what you?ve been up to since you?ve been gone. (You can tell it to bug off if you want to.) The RescueTime website advises against "wholesale blocking of leisure surfing," so its FocusTime feature only blocks distracting websites via a stopwatch that you set. While the app makes recommendations for sites to block based upon your browsing habits, you can modify the list easily. RescueTime's "Automagical" time tracking database displays in-depth graphs that chart when and at which times you find yourself most distracted. With RescueTime Pro, business owners and managers can follow an entire corporation of sidetracked workers.
===KeepMeOut===
An online bookmarking device, [http://keepmeout.com/ KeepMeOut] blocks you from revisiting a site within a preset amount of time. You'll replace bookmarks for distracting sites with aliases that monitor your use frequency. Set how long an interval you'd like between visits, choose whether you want the restricted access to stay for the weekend, and monitor your average daily blocked/allowed hits.
'''Note''': Visiting the restricted site without going through KMO's alias is an easy way around its barricade. Recommended only for those with decent self-control.
==Modify Your Behavior==
===Evaluation Station===
Blacking out websites might only provide a temporary, and perhaps frustrating fix. Get to the root of the issue by changing your work habits and personal tendencies. First, add up how much time you spend distracted from a task at hand, then estimate how much money you're wasting. You may be shocked into working harder.
===Compartmentalize===
Form a routine where you set aside a specific part of the day in which you won?t access e-mail, answer phones, check the headlines, or patrol Facebook. Because we all need time for leisure browsing, do the opposite as well. Set off some tech-check time. After a few weeks you should notice more productivity and perhaps have more peace of mind!
===Take Five(s)===
Taking short breaks to restore energy and focus is essential. The aforementioned Pomodoro device times you as you work, leaving increments for essential recharging.
===Hocus Focus===
When reaching for your phone, remind yourself of the unexpected time you?ll probably waste on Words With Friends. Put it down, remind yourself of what you're doing, and do it. Via positive reinforcement, this will develop into habit.
===Express Yourself===
Guard yourself against known distractions such as chatty coworkers or roommates by posting auto-reply messages on your e-mail or voicemail. Indicate you?re working under a deadline so your work can take the blame for your unresponsiveness. Also, restrict your social media to alert you only of issues that you actually care about. Don?t let someone you barely knew in high school disturb you from writing the great American novel with a picture of her lunch.
[[Category:Apps]]
[[Category:Focusing]]
[[Category:Mental Health]]
[[Category:Jobs]]
Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/howtowiki/~3/jpNsiz0ScsQ/Avoid_Techy_Distractions_on_the_Job
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