3 Steps to Removing Online Distractions

It all starts with a single email message, you know the one. You start the days work with good intentions, a productive day blogging, hammering out that term paper with a looming deadline, or just getting through a pile of work in front of the computer. Before you get too far into your work though, you make the decision to check your email, and find yourself clicking on a link to a funny YouTube video a friend sent you. That one click snowballs into several more that have you surfing the internet four hours later not knowing where the time went. It happens to the best of us.

Our procrastination abilities seem to grow at the same rate as the world wide web. As impossible as it seems to avoid distractions that we come across while working on the computer, it is possible.

If you work on the computer a lot and know that you need to work to increase your productivity and stop the procrastination that has taken over your work time, here are a few things you can do to help:

Step 1 - Checking your email on a daily basis is one of the biggest time gobblers and the most common way of prolonging procrastination. Therefore, you need to change the way that you check your email in order to increase your productivity. I do not suggest stopping to check your email all together before or while you are working, because that can sometimes be suggesting the impossible. Instead, I recommend making use of multiple folders that your email provider should allow you to set up. With these folders you can divide your email up into levels of importance so that they can be read right away, tossed into the trash can, or placed in a folder to be read after you finish your work. I recommend tossing all the junk immediately, which cuts down on the volume right away. Next, add those emails that you want to read, but can wait till after you have completed your work to separate files which can be divided up into subjects like school, family, and fun. Finally, skim those emails which pertain to work or the work you are about to perform. These emails are the only ones that you should be looking at throughout your work time and will help you avoid distractions the most while using your computer.

Step 2 - Another easy way to avoid distractions is by providing your own music off the internet. Everyone listens to music while working, or even when they are just surfing the net, but sometimes we get distracted by our music and begin surfing for new music, music videos or music related news. If you provide a source of music off your computer, an iPod or good old radio work best, you increase the chance that you will avoid distractions.

Step 3 - Finally, keep your workspace clear of all other materials besides what you are working on at the moment. I see friends keep reading material around, advertisements, and other paraphernalia. This extra stuff can be an online and offline source of distraction.

If you follow these simple steps you will notice that your work gets done faster and with fewer distractions right away.