Chip Martens — Thoughts

Eliminating Digital Distraction

Technology is a blessing and a curse. Though I make a living sitting in front of a computer screen, that same machine is also the source of a lot of wasted time. If you’re a Mac OS user like myself, I think I found a pretty good solution to practice self control.

Self Control Method

I personally have my settings setup to block me from distracting websites during weekday office hours, but allow me some browsing time over my lunch break. Occasionally when I really feel the need to take a break from computers, I’ll add all the websites I tend to waste time on and block myself for a week, or a month. I’ve even done a few stints where I’ve blocked myself for 3-months.

SelfControl.app is such a great option, because once you set it, there’s no way to deactivate the block. I’m sure if you’re tech-savvy you could figure it out, however for me this has been first app that’s help me kick time-wasting internet habits.