Limiting online usage

[kingfu]

Read in one of Tims blog posts about a application called rescuetime, which tracks your online usage, what sites you visit etc with the aim of showing you how productive you are being. I highly recommend it.

First day i used it I found out to my horror that i spent 6 hours online! I had no idea I was spending this much time online. I'm now cutting this down to 3 hours a day with the help of this app and hopefully even more as I become more efficient/time conscious.

Out of interest, do others on here limit their online usage? If so how have you found it? How long do you limit yourself too?

[Crickwat]

I used to spend hours on the net browsing and chatting. I then decided to limit my online usage. I tried using an online timer which would signal me after exactly 2 hours after which I would have to go back to my work. This has helped me limit the time spent on the net. I keep myself occupied with other activities like reading books or listening to music and spend more time outdoors. :)

[froldt]

I am surprised how much time I can waste online.
I check a few different sites every day, and if I check them once a day, that's more than I actually need. If I have time to fill, I will check them all in repetition, filling my day.

To stop this, I have three tricks. I have a laptop, so the second two might not work for everyone.
My wife and I opted not to get an internet connection at home. This saves money and also limits my available access.
Since I have to go to the library/somewhere public to access the internet, I try to time it near to close, so that I am forced to work within a time-limit. I can check everything that I want to in 30 minutes or less, 45 minutes to an hour is more comfortable of a pace.
[8]If time is short, or there is more content to check through than usual, I open each page that I want to read in a separate tab. Then I can read through them at my leisure later on.

[padma]

I see no need in setting arbitrary timelines or limits. If you need to use the net, have it and use it wisely. If you don't then log off. I spent a week without my laptop on vacation and it was beautiful, but I also realized how useful it can be when used based on need and not based on laziness. Although, tell me what the difference between browsing for a few wasted hours or watching TV for a few might be?

[EsotericRule]

Interesting points of view from all. I use a modified version of the E, where 1 is Valid, 2 is a Time Waster and 3 a Time Consumer.

I cut out the news need and the tv need (really just 'conditioning' anyway), paired down the Time Consumers to things I can verify inside of 30 mins (like the meeting rule) and make sure the Valids make me $.

As some have offered, if you have spent oodles of time, but gotten oodles out of it...its a valid investment of time.

[DaveCraige.com]

i like rescuetimer (http://www.rescuetime.com). it really helps put things in perspective

[BlindSquirrel]

I have to say, RescueTime is very helpful. 90% of my work and business is done via my computer. RescueTime lets me categorize the different tasks and then gives me reports and shows me how productive I'm being. It also compares my work day to the "average" RescueTime user. I am very competitive and love being graded. That's the part of RescueTime I like the most. :)

If you want to kick some butt and be more productive, then you should give it a try.

[Mr RC]

Leechblock in conjunction with Rescuetimer.

It ended up being interval training for the internet.

[adam.sn]

I used Leechblock for a while and really should get back into it. I'm really starting to drill down into the 80/20 rule and liking the results so far.

I think i signed up for RescueTime... but it's not installed or something like that.

Cheers
- Adam

[gasull]

There's a Greasemonkey script called Invisibility Cloak that you can configure so it blocks time-wasting websites depending on the time of the day. It allows to skip these rules for the weekend, in case you want to have unlimited access to time-wasting websites on weekends.