5 Strategies To Web Work Without Distractions
July 6th, 2007 (4:38am) Leo Babauta 28 Comments
It’s perhaps the greatest challenge of all web workers: how to productively get work done on the web without getting distracted.
Because while the computer and the Internet are two of the greatest productivity tools ever invented, they are also the two biggest distractions ever invented (not counting reality TV). And the productivity and distractions come bundled in one package, canceling each other out.
The trick is to get the productivity without the distractions. You have to unbundle them.
How do you do that? First, and most importantly, identify the distractions. Know the stuff you really need to get your work done — the actual work, not the communicating about the work — and know the stuff you do that’s fun, or that just keeps you busy without actually getting the work done.
You know what those distractions are — email, IM, Twitter, Pownce, Google Reader or Bloglines … and if you’re a blogger, your blog stats, Technorati, Digg, delicious, Adsense, etc. But it’s useful to identify them on paper — write them down.
Now comes the difficult process of unbundling these distractions from the stuff you need to do your work. Here are 5 strategies for doing that (and you can combine strategies in different ways to find a strategy that works for you):
Strategy 1: Cloak
This is one of my favorites — you download a Greasemonkey script to block the time-wasting sites, allowing you to do your work without distractions. Depending on what script you download, it allows you to set different types of breaks, where you’re allowed to surf your time-wasting sites (or check your email, etc.). You can customize the length of your breaks, what sites are blocked, and when the breaks occur. There are several cloak scripts available:
- Invisibility Cloak - this is the original, by Lifehacker’s Gina Trapani. Blocks time-wasting sites until a certain time of day. Can be turned off on weekends.
- Kiwi Cloak - modified version of the Invisibility Cloak, allows you to surf your time-wasting sites for 10 minutes at the top of each hour. This setting can be changed to suit your needs.
- Super Kiwi Cloak - a modified version of Kiwi Cloak, with more customizability.
- Stealth Kiwi - a modified version of Super Kiwi Cloak, but instead of only allowing you to take a break at certain times in each hour, it allows you to take your break when you want to, and then blocks you for 50 minutes. This gives you more flexibility, in case you miss the top of the hour but still want to take your 10-minute break. I like this method best.
Strategy 2: No talking
Remember when you would go to the library to do homework, and end up chatting with friends? And then the stern librarian would scold you: “No talking!” If this was a good librarian, and she enforced that rule, that would actually be the most productive homework time for me.
If you’re allowed to talk to your friends, nothing gets done. If you have to shut up and do your work, you can get a lot done.
The web worker’s equivalent? Don’t do IM or Twitter or similar constantly-on communications services. And don’t do email either, except at set times of the day.
This isn’t an easy strategy to implement. The urge to stay connected and to talk and be available because it might be important is strong. But turn off your email and IM clients, and you’ll find that the world doesn’t fall apart. And when you check your email and respond at, let’s say, two set times of the day, things will still be OK.
The problem with always-on communications is that you’re always being interrupted. And you can’t get much done that way. Don’t be available, except at very limited times in the day, and you’ll get much more done.
Strategy 3: Unplug
If the above two strategies don’t work for you, it might be because your distractions are not just communication-related like email and IM, and it’s not a set number of websites — your distraction is also the web in general. You might start out trying to look something up, notice an interesting link and click on it, start reading all about “game theory” on Wikipedia, go to another site about a related topic, and five hours later, you’re still reading. You can’t ban yourself from certain sites because you’d have to ban the entire Internet.
If that’s the case, you need to unplug. Literally disconnect your Internet connection physically unplug your cable modem or DSL or wireless connection.
But you’re a web worker, you say! You have to be able to go online for research, or to find images, or to get a link. And you need to email stuff to people.
Sure, but those things can be done before and after your actual work on a task or project. Here’s an example method for doing that:
- If I need to do research before writing something, I can give myself a time limit of say 20 minutes, and do all the research on the topic, including links and images and downloading entire web pages for reference.
- Then I can unplug, and do the task or project without distraction.
- When I’m done, I can reconnect, and email the finished project (or draft, if that’s the case) to the boss or client. And repeat.
Strategy 4: Zen-like environment
The idea here is to minimize clutter and distracting things and have a minimal working environment that allows you to be calm and focus on the task at hand.
How do you do that? Several suggestions:
- Clear your desk: Remove all papers and knick-knacks and office tools from the top of your desk. You can sort through the papers later, but for now just put them somewhere out of sight. I would recommend later going through the papers, one at a time, and deciding what to do with them, so they don’t stay on your desk. Toss out the knick-knacks and other clutter. Find a drawer for the office tools and supplies. Have nothing on your desk but your computer, phone, inbox, and a picture of your cat.
- Clear your walls: Same deal here — take down all those papers and memos you tacked to the wall, the calendar of those cover models, pretty much everything but perhaps one or two really nice pieces of artwork if you have them.
- Clear your computer: Take all the icons on your desktop, if you have them, and put them in a folder to sort through later. Don’t have anything on your desktop. Turn off any little programs running that might distract you, including IM or email notifications. Eliminate as much visual clutter as possible from your desktop. Put a serene, Zen-like desktop wallpaper. Only open one program at a time.
- Work full-screen: Only work on one task at a time. Stop multi-tasking. Only have the program open that you need to work on the task before you, and work in full-screen mode. The more minimal the program, the better. Close all other windows or tabs that aren’t needed for that task.
Strategy 5: Carrot-and-stick
Each of the above strategies, of course, still require self-discipline. Here’s a little method you could use in combination with any of the above, to help you maintain that self-discipline:
- Carrot: If you resist distractions for a set period of time (say, 30 minutes or an hour), you get a reward of checking email or reading your RSS feeds for 10-15 minutes. However, this is only if you’re good — if you’re bad, see the next step.
- Stick: If you give in to distractions, you must unplug your modem or router (or whatever connects you to the Internet) and give them to someone else to hold for a set amount of time — a time that would be at least twice as long as the above set period of time (i.e. if you planned to work for 45 minutes but failed, you have to give your modem, or modem cable or whatever, to your friend or spouse for 90 minutes).
How do you deal with distractions in the workplace? Let us know in the comments.
28 Comments Post your own comment
Elise says: July 6th, 2007 5:22am
I don’t think it’s realistic for most people to unplug. A lot of web worker jobs require constant internet access. Think about it, you’re connecting to sites to collaborate with remote coworkers, sending and receiving work-related IMs and email (which could effect what you’re working on at that very minute), and doing research. Unplugging only works for very few people, and its unrealistic for the vast majority of web workers.If you can remove the vast majority of other distractions, there is no reason you need to unplug.
I recall working on a remote team, where one of the team leads always had a million distractions that you could hear on conference calls. He worked from home so you heard the TV, the dog, the cat, and various other family members. To get rid of those distractions, you may need to work outside of your home. By doing that you’ve eliminated the temptation to put on the tv and radio, the temptation to do quick chores (what’s a load of laundry going to hurt), kids and other loved ones, and the creature comforts of home which sometimes get you too relaxed to work efficiently.
If you need quiet, go to your local library that offers wi-fi. I’m sure you’ll be able to get more work done there than at Starbucks or Panera. It also eliminates the urge to spend money on expensive drinks.
Leo says: July 6th, 2007 5:37am
@Elise: Well, it depends on what you need to do, but I think many times people only think they need to be connected. In reality, the actual work most people do rarely needs a connection — the reason it’s needed is because you think you need to communicate with people constantly, but in reality that slows you down.
Now, I’m not saying you need to disconnect — you should go with what works for you. But I am saying that you should closely evaluate whether you really need to be connected, or constantly communicating.
For example, I don’t use IM at all, and it doesn’t hurt me a bit. I do email more frequently than I need to, but I’ve been cutting back on that and I’ve found that I can even go a whole day without doing email and nothing falls apart. You may have different needs, but I think often there’s a difference between actual needs and perceived needs.
A Distraction Free Workspace « Life of a Pre-Med says: July 6th, 2007 7:19am
[...] 5 Strategies To Web Work Without Distractions at webworkerdaily.com Filed under: Uncategorized | [...]
Matthew Lowes says: July 6th, 2007 7:37am
It’s true that many people need continuous access to the internet, but if your work doesn’t require it, unplugging is a great way to eliminate distractions. There’s something to be said for good old fashioned mono-tasking.
carsten says: July 6th, 2007 8:01am
For me, using Linux’s multiple desktops works part of the time - put all the distractive windows (IMs) on screen 1, while having the other stuff (like terminals) open on screen 2. the almighty RSS reader would go on screen 3 and will not notify me about updates it caught. Same for new emails, no blinking here. Also it helps that my mail client (Sylpheed) would allow to open a new mail by right clicking on the tray icon, so I can start writing without seeing the content of my inbox.
It works some of the time, when I can control myself not to change to the other screen. ;-)
Mike says: July 6th, 2007 8:04am
My biggest distractions are reading these blogs all day. Techcrunch, Business 2.0 Blogs, WWD, GigaOM, etc.
And of course Digg.
GigaOM 5 Ways To Be More Web Productive « says: July 6th, 2007 8:45am
[...] Written by Om Malik Friday, July 6, 2007 at 8:44 AM PT | No comments Internet Anxiety Disorder, Attention Crisis, or more lately the Facebook Fatigue… it seems like the more we connect, the less we get done. Folks at Web Worker Daily have five handy tips to be more productive when online. [...]
David Mullings says: July 6th, 2007 12:09pm
I totally agree about ways to be productive. I have a Blackberry and the last thing I wanted was to be constantly bombarded by emails. Being “constantly connected” is not productive for me. If someone needs to get in touch with me urgently, they have my cell number, if they don’t, then it can’t be that important.
You don’t even need a computer to get work done, but we seem to have forgotten that as well. A pen and a pad can be even better sometimes - you get to see your ideas on paper, sometimes its just better to be able to cross out or draw lines to connect ideas and THEN input the final piece into the computer.
Here are some of the things I do:
(1) I just don’t open the browser unless I need to (and I love the “hide” feature on my Mac so the program can be open and I don’t see it in a bar).
(2) I do work somewhere that has no internet (I have worked at the beach many times!). If you can’t connect, you just get so much more done.
Yohay says: July 6th, 2007 12:19pm
Nice strategies.
The problem is that I DO want to stay connected, and I’ll feel bad if I’m disconnected…
Neil Vineberg says: July 6th, 2007 2:35pm
Distraction is a state of mind influenced by internals and externals. Suggestion for finding that inner balance: meditate. Meditate for a few minutes before you start the day; settle and find the balance. OK…I know it sounds way out. I’m way out.
Create Compelling Content » Blog Archive » Weekend on the Links #3 says: July 6th, 2007 5:54pm
[...] but not least, Web Worker Daily has Five Strategies to do Web Work Without Distractions - something very helpful to all bloggers, as the net is chockful of fun, [...]
Marshall Kikpatrick says: July 6th, 2007 6:12pm
don’t think i could disagree more. i find all these tools, including twitter and IM, invaluable for work throughout the day. they help me take advantage of things coming up in real time, augment my brain with others’ and who on earth today wants to write regularly without being online? all this backlash is pure insanity! ;)
Alan Poon’s Blog 網絡集錦 « says: July 6th, 2007 8:56pm
[...] Worker Daily - 5 Strategies To Web Work Without Distractions http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/07/06/5-strategies-to-do-web-work-without-distractions/ Strategy 1: Cloak Strategy 2: No talking Strategy 3: Unplug Strategy 4: Zen-like environment [...]
Today Is Not Over Yet » Blog Archive » ...to read something says: July 6th, 2007 10:55pm
[...] 5 Strategies To Web Work Without Distractions [...]
bluebeard2 says: July 7th, 2007 12:32pm
Hi, great article. About a year ago I read a book called ‘The Now Habit’ by Neil Fiore, Ph.D. which pretty much concurs with the points you’ve made.
One idea of Niel’s that I found particularly helpful was to work in half hour blocks and then take 15 minutes to stretch my legs or catch up on some reading. Short work periods and rewards work well for me.
I’ve recently signed up to a couple of social networks (MySpace, MyBlogLog etc.) as an experiment related to my web work and boy are they distracting! I appreciate your advice for unbundling work and web.
ofer shani says: July 8th, 2007 2:33am
i found another good description to what we are all going through
http://continuouspartialattention.jot.com/WikiHome
Stirrdup Trackback says: July 8th, 2007 6:41am
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Dimitris says: July 8th, 2007 4:49pm
I find it downright immature to have to give your equipment to someone else in order to get some work done - you should be able to achieve whatever levels of productivity on your own or at least by collaborating. Not by adopting a nanny of that sort. My 2p.
Dot Community Blog » Blog Archive » 5 Strategies To Web Work Without Distractions says: July 9th, 2007 2:50pm
[...] (more…) [...]
Colin says: July 9th, 2007 11:05pm
Strategies that I really need…
Too many time wasting sites out there. My problem also is that i have Xbox360 next to my PC. I say to myself that I play a game for 30mins to clear my head.. doesn’t work. Have to get rid of it…
5 Strategies To Web Work Without Distractions « Hyper Passionate Entrepreneurs says: July 10th, 2007 1:04pm
[...] Read more here [...]
jenn says: July 12th, 2007 11:10am
userscripts.org appears to be out of commission, which made me sad since stealth kiwi sounded like a perfect solution for me. but i found something similar under firefox extensions called LeechBlock; it lets you specify times, days, and sites as well as giving you the option to create groups with different blocking restrictions.
Shine says: July 13th, 2007 9:26am
Excellent. So true that I’m always tempted to check statistics, read other blocks, connect on Mybloglog etc. that it takes longer than it should to complete a post, or other work. Thanks for very practical tips.
Jody Sachse » Blog Archive » Distractions, Dreaded Projects, Signal-to-Noise, Water … Oh My! says: July 13th, 2007 1:20pm
[...] Web Worker Daily: 5 Strategies to Do Web Work Without Distractions [...]
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Ben says: September 25th, 2008 4:20am
Thanks for distracting me from working for another 20 mins or so….
Knatchwa says: October 20th, 2008 12:54am
Great information and awesome insight, it truly is par for the course but it is great to know youc an find a sort of handicap. Or way to do all you can to insure you are getting the most done.
I must agree also that working over multiple desktops or using the fullscreen option can do wonders.
On the pad and pen that works wonderful particularly when you are out and about and as an avid cyclist I am always looking for ways to take things mobile for a great ride and pen and paper is portable.
All other points were good, though I must agree not to sure about the giving the equipment to someone else to hold, though it does make sense.
Regardless thanks for sharing the insight.
Reine de Saba says: December 17th, 2008 2:57pm
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. I’m addicted to my distractions to the point of despair and almost complete lack of productivity. Thank You!!