When it comes to getting things done I personally believe every one of us use the time we have. Meaning, if you have two hours to finish a project it will take two hours. If you on the other hand have four hours, it will take four hours and you will get about the same things done.
Because of this it is important to always have a todo-list so you know what you should be doing. Another important thing is to get rid of all distractions, which can be a bit tricky if you do not know what is distracting you.
How to find your distractions
We are only human and it is difficult to think back and remember what we did during the day and for how long. When it comes to computers on the other hand, we can use them to track every second of our time.
Personally I am a huge fan of RescueTime, which is a software for both Windows and Mac. When using it you can see exactly how much time you spend on every website, document, software, etc.
How to get rid of you distractions
This is where RescueTime truly comes in handy. In RescueTime you rate every website and software on a scale from –2 to +2 depending on how productive they are. Later on when you want to focus one hundred percent you can simply click on a button in RescueTime and it will automatically block every website with a rating of –2 and instead send you here.
Unfortunately this only applies on you, when in front of your computer. Therefore I recommend you to also follow these tips:
- Communicate that you should not be disturbed while working.
- Create an office area, with closed door.
- Switch off your phone.
- Cut yourself from the online world (write offline, publish online).
- Check your mail, RSS and stats, just twice a day.
Why we use distractions
Personally I believe we use distractions just because we do not know what we should do, or we are bored doing it. This is why you should try to find your true passion and also always know what to do when you are done.
Discussion: What are your biggest time waster?
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Hey Stefan, I tried rescue time last year and I was impressed. I stopped because I used it at work but I want to try it again. Thanks for this post
It’s truly a fantastic software. I have tried a few different during the years but never found one as good as this.
Wow! This definitely caught my attention. Have signed up and ready to rock! (Or prepared to get disappointed by my performance) ^^ Hopefully I’ll stick around long enough but not turning it off for good.
Excited to know what will I find out.
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
I’m glad you found it useful Ching. I’m sure you will be shocked when you find out how much time you spend on different things.
Do you know what my biggest distraction is Stefan? My blogs. They take me away from all the other stuff in my life, but in a good way. They are my salvation, in that without them I would be a empty husk.
Don’t get me wrong. My blogs are not the most important thing in my life. That belongs to my family. But family and business life bring a lot of pressure with it, and my blogs are the release valve.
I would personally never place my blogs under distractions. Maybe others blogs, since I spend a lot of time reading them, but never my own blogs.
Maybe it depends on what you are writing about and what your purpose with the blog are.
I suppose it’s all a matter of perception. The fact that everyone’s perception of their blog, life, distractions or whatever differ is what makes us human. Certainly makes life more interesting.
Oh I absolutely waste a ton of time. Most of my online time is not writing for my blog or even promoting it but rather just entertaining my brain. It’s so easy to sit for hours looking at everything rather than DO what is on the list. Great post Stefan.
This is a huge problem for most of us. Back in the days when you had to pay for every minute online this wasn’t a problem, but now we seem to spend a lot of time visiting things we will forget about within a few hours.
I haven’t tried this yet I am going to have to check it out and see whats up, thanks bro for the new tip!
Stefan I am guilty of this 100 percent. There are always a distraction whether I’m at work or at home. I will definitely try these tips. Thank you for sharing this out.
Creating an office area is what I really need now, I am blogging from my hotel room wishing to move to my new place soon! wish me good luck!
And thanks for the useful post!
Hi Stefan,
I am agree with the points you have mentioned like Switch of the phone.
It’s general distraction.
While recording the tutorial I have faced many problems but now I am habitual to blog from my own office.It gives the freedom to concentrate and peace while working.
I do my best to concentrate on one or two things at a time, not more. Sometimes I can only do one thing, but it depends on what needs to be done.
I will try RecueTime and see if it works for me, curious to see the results.
Well I don’t want to get distracted by seeing the result by this software.lol. It looks interesting. I’ll definitely have a look at it
This explains why people tend to work more effectively when the deadline is approaching lol
When I was a student, I found my home was the distraction (computer, internet, my bed, etc). You just have to run away from it
Rescue Time is an awesome app I must try. Always dunno who steals my time and deadlines are always behind me these days.