Time Management: Stop Surfing the Internet
We all need an escape from work, especially on a Monday after a long holiday. Today is one of those days where I find myself surfing news articles, photos, and various other side links from those main sites. Like most of us, I have this habit every time I need a break from the work place. It’s by far the most convenient and accessible form of distraction in an office environment. However, recently I started to wonder how often I’m actually doing this. How much time am I spending looking at junk articles or content that will never have any impact on my life? Sadly and to my surprise, my bad habit was a lot worse than I actually thought it would be. I needed to rethink my time management.
Understand the Value
After doing some calculations, on average I was discovered that I was spending about two hours each week reading random internet garbage. The simplest breakdown put my estimate at roughly 20 minutes per day. Multiply that by 7 days per week and you get almost 2 hours of time easily. Sadly I was even surfing a little longer on Saturday and Sundays. I chose the word garbage specifically, because these were the articles that will never add any value to my life. They didn’t make me smarter, didn’t make me laugh, or even add a smile to my face. These were the articles that simple exist for the sake of filling up blank space on a website. They are the political nonsense posts, the news clip from a crime 10 States away, and the contradictory health advise bulletin which is opposite to what was advised last week. No matter which way you dice them, they are all internet junk. This was the worst case example of poor time management.
Better Time Management
At first I thought…”well one hour per week isn’t so bad, I see who people do a lot more at work”. But before justifying my actions any further, I immediately realized I could be doing something a lot more valuable. Honestly what if I took that one hour a week and researched some financial idea or dedicated that time to a new hobby. Or what if I even just did something simple like go for a walk outside of my office. No matter which alternative I picked, they were all a lot better than reading internet news that didn’t even interest me. So today I’m officially starting to say no to mindless internet surfing. From here on I’m going to dedicate my time to good time management and see what it produces. Hell I don’t even know what it is yet, I just know it has to be better than what I’m currently doing. For those of you caught in the same trap whether at work or home, I encourage you to join me! Start exploring other alternatives for free time or other interests you may have. You never know what it will lead too.
