Today, I thought I had writer’s block. I was completely stuck and convinced nothing would get me out of it. This doesn’t usually happen. The writing usually just flows and then proofreading swiftly follows.
I then came upon the true source of the problem: the Internet. Or more specifically, the Internet browsers.
My first thought was “How can this be? My lovely Firefox browser, fully customizable with it’s Google Chrome theme and multiple tabs? That’s the problem?”
Wait a minute. The tabs. Why were there so many open?
I now understand that the very internet browser I put my faith in had bamboozled me into tab-mania! Not only that, but there were a whole host of other issues disguised as “enhancements” that caused my productivity to plummet.
Tabs
I think we can all agree that the root of the problem starts with the tabs. They encourage you to divide your time among multiple topics all in one instant.
I admit I liked the idea in the beginning. But when you’re trying to actually get something done, it really gets to be a hassle. Any random thought pops into my head (“Oh I haven’t read that yet!”) and then I just open a tab.
Solution: There are a number of remedies for this problem. For the PC users (not sure if it’s the same for Mac users) when using the internet, just press F11 to make the current page you’re on go to fullscreen. That way you won’t have any temptations to open a new tab.
If you must keep tabs open, keep no more than three active. There’s no need to 10 pages open at the same time.
Delete Browsing History
I’d like to say that this function is important, but I just don’t see the point of it. Unless you’re doing some questionable browsing or don’t own a computer hard drive cleaning program, you shouldn’t really have to use this.
Solution: Use it only when absolutely necessary (using public computers or if you leave computer out).
Faster load times
I love that browsers have gotten faster, but it’s made it far easier to waste time. The refresh button becomes a lot more tempting when you’re on sites like Twitter and Facebook. And since it takes no time what can happen?
Just because the new browsers are three times faster doesn’t mean you should waste more time to ‘even things out’. I literally used to spend hours (separated by small bursts of productivity) to just look and see what everybody’s doing.
Solution: Cut down on the time used for random surfing. I’ve cut back on both Twitter and Facebook recently, checking in every now and then just to see what’s going on.
I find it ironic that the very upgrades we find valuable in Internet browsers to increase productivity also have the capability to screw it up. The truth behind how productive you turn out to be depends on how you use these features.
As the Internet constantly evolves, remember that simplicity is still the key to getting things done. I think we tend to forget this sometimes, myself included.
———–
If you liked this post, please share it on Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, or Facebook. It’ll do the both of us a world of good. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter.
Want more thought-provoking articles like this? Subscribe for FREE email notifications.
Pingbacks to “3 Internet Browser “Enhancements” that Kill Productivity”
11 comments to “3 Internet Browser “Enhancements” that Kill Productivity”
“Simplicity is still the key to getting things done.”
Great post, John. I really needed to hear that this morning. It is so easy to get caught up in the interneti. It has so many shiny things to trip us up and help us waste time.
The thing I keep coming back to is that we are writers. The old adage that I hate to hear is that, “Writers write.”
I can spend a whole month blinging up my blog or I can sit down and write.
Thanks again, John. You have great insight. I look forward to reading much more from you.
God Bless,
Matt
Great post! I’ve never thought about these things but you’re so right!
Yeah I agree
The internet offer a various entertainment that would make you unproductive.
Just want to stumble a little bit, in the end I stumble many many sites. And an hour or two has been gone. The same goes to facebook and twitter, very addictive.
What I do to counter this is by using google chrome because there are not many button in there like firefox. And divide the time between productivity and research (stumble, facebook, etc)
Been reading your site for days now. Love it.
With regard to this article: I’ve just started turning off my computer or going in a room without one when I need to get work done. T
The reason: one e-mail, facebook check, turns into a 2 hour marathon of lost productivity.
@Matt No worries, man and thanks. It’s really touching to hear this. It’s easy to get obsessed with what is shiny and what is new, but what we need to look out for is simplicity and substance. Those are the true keys to a stable, happy life. I’m glad you’ve decided my writing is good. Hope to see you around more often
@Dani Thanks for your input, Dani!
@yuro 20% of your efforts account for 80% of your results. When you put this in web surfing terms – just a few clicks of the mouse account for most of your time wasted. Great thoughts.
@Nazim I’m elated to hear that you love my blog. I’ve put a lot of energy and effort into this blog.
Your time is precious. Treat it as such. Thanks for the comment!
I agree with you about the tabs. I don’t think I can give them up NOW, but I can control myself a little better. I close out the ones I absolutely don’t need to use or have open.
I have tended to shut down FB and Twitter updates because they do distract from productivity. I use tabs to mainly when I’m commenting on blog posts.
@Carla Good idea. Tabs have been killing me for a while but the four tab limit seems to be working just fine.
@Srinivas Nice, it seems you’ve got a hold of tabmania
True. I admit I’m a Firefox add-on afficionado. I not only open tabs but if I close one too fast I use the Ctrl+Shift+T keys to reopen! The one that distracts me the most is the Twitterfox popup at the bottom of the screen showing up-to-the minutes tweets from friends. I tried ignoring but finally had to uninstall. And I don’t even like Twitter!
When I want to review or respond to several links that I find on one page (e.g. recent visitors widget or BlogCatalog discussions or Google searches) I do open up to 6 or 7 tabs to avoid going back to the first page — please tell me this save time!
I like the tabs but they can definitely kill productivity. The bottom line is that we all have to take measures not to get distracted–it’s simply too easy. I’m doing it now
Tim´s last blog ..Best Web Browsers