How to NOT waste time on the internet
We’re all guilty of it. We waste our own time surfing the web looking at funny pictures and videos, or really nothing that interests us. It doesn’t hurt to do this once and awhile, but don’t let it become a habit. Here are some ways to prevent your internet use from becoming too wasteful.
Have a clear goal
For each site you visit, have a reason why you want to be there. Have a clear goal of what you would like to accomplish. Three well-known time wasters, Digg, YouTube, and Facebook, can easily turn productive when you have a goal planned. For Digg, may be you want to read one useful article or find one new website. Perhaps on Youtube you want to find a video on a topic that interests you, or maybe you want to make a new contact on Facebook. If you don’t have a clear goal before visiting a site, then avoid it. That is a positive sign of a time waster.
Don’t stray away
If you don’t want to spend too much time doing nothing and getting nowhere on the web, then you must prevent yourself from straying off and losing focus. If you’re watching a video don’t click on any of the related videos. If you watch one video, click on a related video, then that video will have 25 more related videos, if you click on another one, 25 more, and so on. These links will never end and consume even more of your valuable time. Focus on that one video or article now and come back to the related videos or links some other time.
Skip the IMs
Don’t sign into an instant message service if you really don’t have anything to say. Many people sign in just to see what’s going on. Similar to websites, if you want to save time, have a clear goal of what you want to accomplish. Don’t just strike up a pointless conversation because you could be wasting someone else’s time as well.
Time yourself
This might be the oldest trick in the book. Get yourself an egg timer and set it so that every time you go to a site you can give yourself about 5 to 10 minutes. You’ll stay on track and be kept motivated by hearing the ticking of the timer.
Take a day off
Just step away from the internet for a day. A full twenty-four hours. It’s simple but difficult for most. When your twenty-four hours is up and you’re back online, you’ll be much more ambitious to get a lot done.
Avoid arguments
The internet has brought people together and has given individuals the opportunity to express their true views. Many times people can be very tough or downright nasty on forums and social media sites. Take other people’s opinions into account and move on. Don’t waste your time with an argument. A disagreement online usually takes longer because of the time in between a rebuttal post. This is very true for forums.
Don’t stress the small things
On the internet we try to be as perfect as possible because we feel “everyone” is watching. People spend hours trying to get their social profiles just right and evenly rank their friends. Don’t worry about it. You’re never going to be perfect, no one will.
Recognize waste
There’s going to be days when you feel like wasting time surfing the web and then you’ll have other days when you don’t feel like it’s a waste at all. There’s plenty of ways you can turn your wasteful surfing into something productive. Recognize your waste and be turn it around.
13 Responses to “How to NOT waste time on the internet”
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Hey, this is a great list. Unfortunately, I’ve spent far too much time just surfing mindless sites!
Thanks Ron,
Glad you like it.
-Andrew
I think that this was a great article,it actually made me look over the time that I spend on the internet and I even wrote an essay on how we should manage our time on the internet.
Thank you very much for your posting.
No problem Violett. Glad you enjoyed it.
-Andrew
[...] read more | digg story [...]
[...] read more | digg story [...]
I’m wasting my time right now just writing this, but thanks, this hopefully will work on me. =)
Nah, you’re not wasting your time writing this comment. I read them all and happy to as well.
-Andrew
I’m thinking about getting a facebook account and I’d like to ask your opinion. Do you think that it’s a waste of time? Almost all of my friends use facebook instead of email and I feel kinda out of the loop, if you know what I mean. I just want to use it moderately to keep up with friends
Thanks for your time,
Mike
Facebook can be very useful to stay in touch with friends and make new ones. One thing I would stay clear of is the apps! There’s so many games and applications that can suck you in.
Be warned, that facebook will be addicting for awhile, but it’s novelty usually wears off and you’ll find yourself checking it less.
Hope I helped,
Andrew
Thanks for your quick answer! It’ll probably be about like my blog. I checked it every five minutes at first and now I might check it once or twice a day. Now I just need to convince my parents that I can be responsible enough to use facebook wisely…
Thanks again for you help!
Mike
No problem Mike!
-Andrew
Thank you for making good point.
Three inventions that I despise:
.Internet
.Cell phone (esp.Text option)
.Cigarette
We can live a normal life w/o these. We are enslaved by internet, cell phone, and cigarette.