How to not waste time online?

Do you spend a lot of time in front of your computer aimlessly starting at the screen instead of studying or working? Are you addicted to Facebook and spend too much time on it stalking people you don’t even know? Have you

watched some videos online, and lost track of time? If these questions sound familiar, then welcome to the group of “Web addicts”. But don’t worry you are not alone. There are millions others just like you, who face the same problem.
Research shows that taking short breaks on the Internet helps you remain more focused and efficient. However, for most of us a short break invariably turns into a long sabbatical from our work. Today we are going to discuss strategies and tools that will help you remain more focused on the Internet.
It is obviously impossible to completely stop visiting your favourite websites like Facebook, Twitter, sports portals, Youtube, gaming sites and others. However, wouldn’t it be fantastic if there was a way to restrict the amount of time per day you are allowed to spend on each of these websites?
The popular Google Chrome browser comes with a very useful extension known as “StayFocusd” which can be downloaded free of cost from the Chrome Web Store (http://bit.ly/ricj4s [1]). This tool once installed allows you to restrict the amount of time you spend on each website every day.
Once you exceed the daily allowed time of a specific website, then it will no longer allow you to access it until the next day! Using this tool it is also possible to completely block access to specific URLs so that you have better control over how much time you or your younger brother is spending on various websites. It also works for parents who are worried about their children accessing the wrong type of websites. Other popular browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer also have similar tools, extensions or add-ons available.
Another tool that keeps you focused online is a Google Chrome Extension called Title Time Tracker (http://bit.ly/nKAfvE [2]). It displays the amount of time you have spent on a specific website in the title bar of the page. This is fantastic at sending you on a guilt trip by reminding you how much time you are spending on various websites.
If the Internet is not the only place you tend to waste time and you are also prone to doing non-work related stuff on your computer, then I would recommend using Rescue Time. It is a very useful app that allows you to improve your efficiency by analysing all your activities on the computer. It tracks everything that you do on your computer, including the amount of time you spend on various websites, applications, working on documents, playing games, listening to music and just about everything else!
Hopefully now you would know how to get back the time that you are losing every day on the technological black hole called the Internet!
The writer is a 25-year-old
ethical hacking expert, a TV show host and the author of 14 best selling books. He can be contacted at ankit@
deccanmail.com