This is a guest post by Lindsey from Professionalintern.com.


There are tons of articles on the internet telling you how to waste time. In fact, there are even a few here. But what about those times you actually need to put your head down and get stuff done despite the tempting siren call of Angry Birds or Bored Panda? The solution isn’t simple, and it will require some added will power.



If you’re browsing at work with Chrome, check out the StayFocusd extension. It will allow you to block sites (this is where the will power comes in), and set how long you’re allowed to see them before they’re blocked. A cheery black and white screen comes up once you’ve overspent your time allowance that asks, “Shouldn’t you be working?” Why yes, you should be.

If you’re juggling multiple projects such as trying to get your online education while still keeping a full time job, it’s likely you will need to somehow partition your study and work time. If you’re on a Mac, make one desktop view under Lion’s Mission Control just for work and another one just for studying. Another should be for the rare occasion when you have some time to yourself and can just browse online. Windows users won’t be able to get that physical separation between tasks, but you can use StayFocusd to block certain sites during certain times to prevent you from doing homework at work.

Another good method of staying on task is using Pandora instead of Spotify. Spotify is great, but you’re much more likely to spend time sharing music with your friends, creating awesome playlists and finding what your friends are listening to than simply using it for background noise. Remember that music while you work should be passive enough that it helps you block out noise and focus your thoughts. Furiously digging through playlists to find the next great artist isn’t passive at all and will kill your productivity.

To avoid furiously checking your favorite blogs, use Google Reader. You can safely turn off the computer knowing that the posts you haven’t read aren’t going to get buried on the site and you’ll be able to read them later. In the same vein, bookmark things you run across that you want to read. Use your lunch hour to catch up on your reading. You shouldn’t attempt to study or work during lunch because you’re much more likely to get burnt out if you don’t have short breaks.

Another great yet simple idea is to simply unplug your Ethernet cord or turn off your wireless when you don’t actually need access to the internet. Turn your smartphone off and let a few calls go to voicemail if that’s what it takes to stay on task.

Focusing in the digital age isn’t impossible, though it certainly is difficult. Make the most of your time by using technology to defeat technology’s hold on you, and you’re certain to be able to make it through the work day actually working.