How to manage your social media time and other distractions

We spend hours starring at our mobile and computer screens and yet there are days where are we look up and realise we achieved no real work.

Its so easy to get distracted these days. You set out to work, do a bit of research online and before you know it you are engrossed in YouTube videos and hours go by. Even when we make a conscious effort to focus, we are programmed to instantly react to a flashing light on our mobile phone indicating a new Instant Message and the 1 Unread Facebook Notification is too tempting.

I blame this myth of Multi Tasking.

We think we are being productive as we jump from one app to another, however we are not. Our minds need to refocus on what we are doing, recall the context of the task and then act on it. When you reply to a simple WhatsApp question asking about plans for the evening, the brain has to focus on the question, recall if you have made previous plans, check your diary, decided if you want to go out, decide where to go to, look in diary at the next day to see how full it is etc. etc. etc. This is just answering a simple question – not to mention what happens when you want to quickly reply to a serious work-related question.

So how can we keep focused ?

To keep focused, we need to understand what is distracting us. In order to do that, we need an accurate account of how long we spend not just online but using each application.

This is where RescueTime.

This is a tool that keeps an eye on all activities on your computer and mobile phone. The application reports all your activities to an online dashboard and where you can assign what is work verses what is a distraction. This tool is not about how much data you are using, but about the time you spend using each app where the aim is to expose what you really get up to on your devices.

RescueTime  gives you fascinating insights into how many hours you spend working verses playing games verses social media etc. Importantly, RescueTime tells you which applications are causing you to wonder. The fact that is takes into account your mobile devices too really completes the picture.

Setting a Goal and Keeping Focused

Its no good saying you would like to be more productive. It’s too vague. What you can do in RescueTime is set goals so that you have something to work towards. The application will alert you as you are working towards your goals to make sure you are meeting them.

If you are not disciplined enough, you can even set the application to keep you focused by blocking access to specific distracting apps for a set period of time.

How to get the app:

Head over to RescueTime and check out the app and see how it can help you. There is a premium version too that gives you a bunch of extra tools but that comes with a price.

*headline image from Shutterstock.com