I’m cultivating an appreciation for the power of switching off certain distractions, and the impact that has on my workflow. Currently, I have three levels of what I’m calling “lockdown” — or, less dramatically, tuning out the noise so I can get things done:
- Using the BlockSite add-on in Firefox to tune out a few sites I visit way more frequently than needed. For me, this is Twitter and Google Reader. I compulsively click these throughout the day (Facebook used to be the same, when I still had an account), but without deriving much real benefit — they’re often more satisfying when left alone for a while. BlockSite has a low security threshold, meaning it won’t really prevent me from checking sites if I want to, but if I click them open without thinking in a bored moment, it throws up a roadblock that reminds me to focus on what I should be doing.
- Turning off my wireless connection and/or pulling my network cable to focus on a non-internet dependent task like writing or refining an existing design. This one is more “serious,” and I have to give my co-workers a heads-up that they’ll only be able to reach me by phone or yelling over whatever’s playing in my headphones (usually The Dodos at the moment, by the way). I run the risk of missing urgent emails from co-workers who aren’t in the know, so I typically only do this on my personal time or when I absolutely have to focus Or Else. The nice thing is, should something urgent come up, or should I need to flip the Internet back on to double-check research or ask a quick question of someone, it’s only a click/plugging-back-in away.
- Using Freedom to really lock off the Internet is something I haven’t tried yet, as it makes rebooting necessary before you can log back on. This app costs $10, but it seems like a great idea if total focus is required … who ever wants to go through the hassle of shutting all their programs down and waiting for their machine to restart? The only way I’d use this on a retreat, where I’m already positive that no one will have anything that needs to be taken care of instantly, because the delay would obviously be a real pain to my colleagues (even though my trusty computer is pretty quick on the rebooting draw). I’ll let you know if I get to the point of needing this; so far, the simple unplug & switch-off trick has been enough.
These are my techniques, real and theoretical, and they’ve worked well for me to this point. If you haven’t tried limiting your access to areas of the Internet during your workflow, I’d recommend it — try it once and see if you don’t get a big boost in your productivity. I know I did.