Hard Rules
I have been thinking a lot about this blog post and in many ways I have to agree what the author is saying. The internet can be a distracting place and making rules for yourself can help you stay focused and help maintain your energy levels. Here are some of mine:
- Check Sports Illustrated only twice a day - around 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM
- No reddit at work
- Hacker News once a day in the evening
- LinkedIn at most once a week
- Check and respond to personal email only from noon - 1 PM while at work
- No computer after 11 PM
For me, each of these were challenging to implement and I had to use browser extensions such as Leechblock or StayFocusd. Now, with these hard rules in place I don’t have to debate whether I should go to a certain site or feel guilty while on that site. Instead, I can put that energy either into work or simply getting off the computer faster - both of which are well worth the initial challenges of hard rules.