1
Block your guilty-pleasure
websites at work
There are numerous browser exten-
sions and applications designed to
combat the temptation of distraction
by the plethora of clickable delights on
the web. The basic principle of these
tools is to block your access to cer-
tain pre-specified websites or sub-
domains, with many of them offer-
ing more personalized configuration
options. Check out any of these free
tools – StayFocusd, LeechBlock, Self-
Control, Strict Workflow – to find the
right one for your operating system or
browser.
In addition to blocking select websites
for a specified time (say, your working
hours), you can set a daily allowance
for a website, for example allowing
yourself to spend 30 minutes on your
social media platform of choice, after
which the website will be blocked for
the rest of the day. This option is use-
ful for websites that you use for work
but have a tendency to get distracted
on – for example, to avoid those Wiki-
pedia ‘research’ binges.
Some tools allow you to set up differ-
ent groups of websites to be blocked
at different times of the day and for
different durations, so that you can
curate your web access for different
needs across the day.
The tools also vary in the degree of au-
tonomy that they allow the user. If you
present with a serious case of pro-
crastination, you might choose to lock
yourself out of the app or extension
for the duration of your working hours
to prevent yourself from disabling it.
Some of them are even resistant to
deleting the app!
Alternatively, if you would prefer a
less lock-them-up-and-throw-away-
the-key-type of solution, you might
consider a browser extension like De-
layed Gratification which simply adds
a 15-second loading screen to time-
consuming webpages. This is usually
enough to catch the involuntary out-
of-habit visits and give you plenty of
time to reconsider.
2
Log your
work
Time-tracking applications are great
for identifying problems in your work
habits and measuring whether cer-
tain productivity techniques are actu-
ally delivering on their promise. If your
work is primarily computer-based, an
app that automatically monitors your
browsing behaviour and time spent on
different applications should suffice.
If a significant amount of your work
is off the computer, you might prefer
a mobile app that allows you to log
what you are doing manually. Check
out Toggl and RescueTime for some
popular and free options (with paid
upgrades).
Other apps, such as Time Planner and
My Minutes, combine scheduling and
time-tracking, so that you can plan a
task, be reminded of it and log it once
it is completed.
nique (which derives its name from the
tomato-shaped kitchen timer used by
its inventor Francesco Cirillo) helps one
focus on the process of working in the
here and now, rather than worry about
the distant goal. It is the slow chipping
away at work that will eventually lead
to achieving the goal. Work is broken
down into 25-minute intervals, inter-
spersed with 5-minute breaks. During
those 25 minutes, one should work
on a task without any distraction, nor
any concern for what is getting ‘done’.
Even for someone struggling with
poor work habits, deciding to simply
work on an analysis for 25 minutes is
mentally manageable and will eventu-
ally bring that analysis to completion.
3
Getting
Started
Even with distractions kept to a mini-
mum (not the least with the above-
mentioned tools), it is hard to over-
come the inertia of inactivity. This is
especially true if the tasks at hand
have no clear short-term deadlines,
yet high long-term impact, as tends
to be the case in science. Two main
techniques that have helped me deal
with the challenge of getting started
are planning out my day and the Po-
modoro technique.
Breaking a larger project into bite-
sized pieces in the form of to-do lists
is not novel advice. However, the key
is finding a format that works for
you. Some people organize their lists
based on importance or urgency, oth-
ers chronologically (e.g. dividing the
tasks between ‘morning’, ‘afternoon’
and ‘evening’). Some people prefer
manual lists over digital ones. If mak-
ing it look nice helps you stick with it,
go ahead! The internet is filled with
beautiful planner templates. And if
you get bored with your existing sys-
tem, switch!
In addition to explicitly breaking your
work into manageable tasks, a useful
approach to getting started with work
is to shift your focus from the goal of
the task to the process of working on
the task. The enormity of a task and
the potential challenges to complet-
ing it can have a paralyzing effect, in
particular when combined with per-
fectionist tendencies.
The oddly-named Pomodoro Tech-
Just as technology provides us with an
endless supply of food for procrasti-
nation, it is also a wonderful source of
tools and resources for comba ting our
bad work habits. There is no shame in
admitting that you need certain tricks
to keep yourself on your chosen path
– it is the latter that you should judge
yourself on. So do your research and
find the apps and methods that work
for you. And try to avoid the all-too-
common trap of procrastinating by
reading about procrastination!
Photos are open source from unsplash.com
Johanna Salu graduated from
the Neural and Behavioural
Sciences master’s program at
the Graduate Training Centre of
Neuroscience in 2016
July 2018 | NEUROMAG |
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