How can I stay focus and stay off of non productive websites

[whochrisporter]

Thanks to all that helped me.

I'm on my second week of Lexapro, and I'm doing good. After I ran out of all my trial meds, I started to fall off again (bad timing for when I graduate in 4 days and I need a lot of stuff done).

I've also fell off of GTD too for some reason. I have this goal tracker as my homepage when I open firefox called http://www.joesgoals.com and you can click in a check on the date for if you did your goal (like review my GTD stuff). Whenever I first open firefox for the day, I check my past to see how well I'm doing (or not doing) and see a check on Tuesday and then the next check is like on Friday (except for on tues, wed, thurs, and fri).

Any good tips on getting back on the bandwagon?

I also agree with you guys on the ADD vs OCD thing. I still think I may have ADD, but as usually 80% of my physical friends and peers think I have too much on my plate and I push too hard while 70% of my internet friends think I may have a disorder.

I will try the second opinion, once I start fulltime at my job (yeah babe) and get on some type of health plan...lol.

Thanks again.

 

[gblunt99]

Anxiety vs. ADHD

Awful lot of talk about ADD/ADHD here. I know there is such a thing as ADD (it's fashionable in some circles to call it an "invented" disorder). When I was a social worker I witnessed change kids' lives for the better--kids who were so hyperactive they didn't have any friends, suddenly able to focus and behave in a reasonable manner. I'm all for the right medication in the right place.

I'm glad you got on Lexapro because your problem doesn't sound like you have any trouble sitting still. Doesn't sound like you have trouble focusing per se. But that you have trouble focusing on your WORK. That is far more likely to be a result of anxiety than ADD, and some of the antidepressants can really help with that.

Internet addiction, unfortunately, is very real. Our curiosity is a powerful drive--it's what enables us to master astonishing feats. But it works at a superficial level as well as a profound level, and the Internet really hooks into the superficial level. It's so bright and gaudy and changeable that it's all but irresistible--especially as it also promises to feed that more profound curiosity. But that's not how we usually use it.

Anyone given to procrastination is going to have a big problem with the Internet, because it provides virtually every distraction known to man right under your fingertips: games, newsbits, pictures, movies, consumer items, important information, useless information, porn, gambling--it's all there. IN the past you would have had to leave your desk or at least pick up a book to do any of those things, but not anymore. It's my belief that this will be an epidemic within a few years--because people your age have never known a world without the Web.

You have a particular difficulty in that your work INVOLVES the Web. I have a wireless card in the side of my laptop that I can remove if I want to get things done--I leave it at home and head to the library. Good for you for trying the time-limit software. SafeEyes is good for that too. And good for trying therapy too.

I use something similar to the timer someone mentioned. Just a simple desktop app called Chimoo Timer. I set it for 15 minutes, and in that time force myself to work as FAST as possible--Don't allow time for thought--and then see how much I get done. Work your way up to an hour at a go and you may find you do much better.

The trouble with cognitive approaches as opposed to behavioural is that you link right into all the negative thinking that probably lies behind your procrastination (including your fears ABOUT procrastination), so it may be better to try a PLUNGE RIGHT IN approach. No thinking allowed. I compare it to standing on the beach, wanting to swim, but afraid of the cold. I end up spending AGES in the shallows while other people just plunge right it. Plunging is by far the easier way. Check out www.stevepavlina.com. He has some great free articles on productivity: Self Discipline in 10 Days; and Triple Your PErsonal Productivity.

Good luck with this difficult problem,

GB

 

[PeterR]

Although I don't think I have ADD, I too have trouble focusing and getting the most out of a day. What has worked best for me in the past was to write out a detailed plan of the tasks I wanted to accomplish in, for instance, a four hour span, and then follow that plan to the dot.

For example:

9am-920: check and reply to emails
920-940: design layout for brochure
940-950: create list of to-do items to finish brochure and add as new GTD project
950-10: work on first draft of marketing plan for acb company
10-1010: break
1010-1030: etc etc

Here's another similar approach that I just came across: http://www.43folders.com/2005/10/11/procrastination-hack-1025

Any suggestions to improve this approach?

 

[JohnV474]

Timer

I have tried similar approaches. Eventually the alarm will interrupt the groove you were just settling into (and on the correct task, too!)

One tweak is to use a timer (15 minutes or so) and jot down what you are doing. You don't have to change what you are doing, just make a note. This will help you be conscious about what you are doing and whether you are multi-tasking or off-track from the original task.

Often, needing new tires yields "@Computer: R&D tires on web", which leads to , simultaneously reading about tire reviews, then car reviews, then best cars for the buck, then hypermiling, then, 28 web browser tabs later, we have used up our mental energy and need a sandwich.

 

[El_Stiff]

I have a similar problem - I'm a University lecturer and outside of teaching duties I have to create my own work (e.g. grant applications, designing experiments) and sometimes I just cannot. Be. Bothered!

I've found that GTD is very good for organising tasks, but not so much for keeping you ON task. I do what you mentioned in your OP - set a timer (usually half an hour), pick a project that I need to work on and do that for the time. If I have to stop for some reason (e.g. the phone rings) I pause the timer. Then after that half hour, I get ten minutes to do whatever I want. Any website surfing or messing about is allowed.

This REALLY helps, because if you find yourself drifting you just look at your timer and say "no, I'll do that in x minutes". It's much more specific than saying "I'll do it when I've finished", and so the impulse is easier to resist.

This sounds very like the pomodoro technique which I read about here last week, and I've actually adjusted to do 25 minutes work, 5 minutes rest. In the 5 minutes, I do NOTHING. Just sit and let my brain chill out! Unlike the technique specification though, if I'm still going after 25 minutes I carry on until I find myself drifting. It's 25 minutes "compulsory" work, and then after that you can stop whenever you like, and have your "rest".

It's surprising how much easier it is to get down on a project that you've been resisting if you say "this is just for 25 minutes" rather than "ugh I need to do this now and I don't know when I'll finish"

Include a longer lunch break or rest at some point too - you need to eat and fuel up otherwise you won't think properly!