I should preface this post by explaining that I am utterly, dangerously addicted to Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. I keep a bookmark for each site in my browser’s toolbar, icons for the corresponding apps in my dock, and apps and bookmarks on my iPhone. Whenever I lose focus on my work for a moment, I click through them repeatedly, too often to give my friends a chance to post anything new before I check again. Look, this is how sick I am: I have a Twitter desktop client open, and I still have the Twitter webpage loaded in several different tabs.
You’ve heard this a million times: the first step is admitting you have a problem. A couple of days ago, I realized that I had some difficult deadlines coming up before the end of the month, and decided I couldn’t afford to devote so much time to social networking. I closed Tweetie and took it out of my dock. I deleted my Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr bookmarks. I moved my Twitter and Tumblr iPhone apps to the very last page on my phone. I made a couple of quick announcements so that nobody would take it personally, and I dropped social networking for a week.
It’s been two days so far, and I’ve noticed a definite uptick in my productivity. Without the social bookmarks and apps there to click when I don’t have a plan, I find myself clicking on the dashboards of the blogs I write for, and getting work done instead. In fact, I turned in twice as many words yesterday as I normally do. Was Twitter a bigger drain on my work than I had realized?
I think so, but I also don’t think it’s as bad as it seems. A general lack of focus can manifest itself in a lot of ways, and social sites just happen to be some of the closes distractions at at hand when you work on the web. Getting rid of the option to check them unconsciously was a good step. Much like turning off alerts and badges for incoming email, removing bookmarks and social apps means you have to make a conscious effort to check those sites. Checking 3 or 4 or even 10 times a day might not hurt your productivity, but checking hundreds of times certainly will.
I don’t think the cold-turkey approach to dealing with these sites — which, after all, connect you with friends and work contacts — is the best one, but I’ll try to stick with it until the full week is up. I’ll report back when it’s over to let you know how it went.
Meanwhile, let us know about your experiences with social networking sites and productivity in the comments.
Jay is a freelance writer based in Seattle, WA. He blogs about software for Download Squad and contributes interviews to Geek Monthly magazine, among others. You can usually find him on Twitter, but not this week!
Photo Credit — left-hand
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