My workflow looks similar to yours, so I thought I should mention a few things I’ve found useful in case they are of help to you or to others interested in this sort of stuff.
Instead of disabling my Facebook wall, I curate it aggressively. Although I have almost 2000 “friends” on that social network, I only follow a select few individuals. My impression is that the benefit of getting exposure to informative posts outweighs the costs of increased distraction.
I found it useful to track my time continuously, so that the end of one activity coincides with the beginning of the next. On Toggl, I implement this approach by “double-clicking” the start/button, which has the effect of simultaneously stopping and restarting the timer. Recently, I created an AutoHotKey script to do this with a single shortcut key, which works even when the focus is not on my browser (and when the browser is not focused on the Toggl tab). I’m happy to share this script if anyone wants it.
For those who use the pomodoro technique (I do), I recommend the Chrome app Strict Workflow.
I use OpenDNS to block access to sites that I want to visit less often, or not at all. Sites in the first category include Facebook, Twitter, various blogs, and (yes) LessWrong. My policy is to allow myself to visit such sites when I’m not at home (OpenDNS is configured to work only on my home router). I think this method strikes a good balance between flexibility and rigidity, and has the added advantage of forcing me to leave my place at least once per day (which I believe slightly increases my mood and makes me less lethargic).
On Gmail, I have several filters that categorize most of the incoming email into various folders, skipping the inbox. The messages that are not straightforwardly deleted typically go to either the ‘daily’ or the ‘weekly’ folders. These are folders that I only check once per day or once per week respectively (prompted by a reminder).
Thanks for posting this update.
My workflow looks similar to yours, so I thought I should mention a few things I’ve found useful in case they are of help to you or to others interested in this sort of stuff.
Instead of disabling my Facebook wall, I curate it aggressively. Although I have almost 2000 “friends” on that social network, I only follow a select few individuals. My impression is that the benefit of getting exposure to informative posts outweighs the costs of increased distraction.
I found it useful to track my time continuously, so that the end of one activity coincides with the beginning of the next. On Toggl, I implement this approach by “double-clicking” the start/button, which has the effect of simultaneously stopping and restarting the timer. Recently, I created an AutoHotKey script to do this with a single shortcut key, which works even when the focus is not on my browser (and when the browser is not focused on the Toggl tab). I’m happy to share this script if anyone wants it.
For those who use the pomodoro technique (I do), I recommend the Chrome app Strict Workflow.
I use OpenDNS to block access to sites that I want to visit less often, or not at all. Sites in the first category include Facebook, Twitter, various blogs, and (yes) LessWrong. My policy is to allow myself to visit such sites when I’m not at home (OpenDNS is configured to work only on my home router). I think this method strikes a good balance between flexibility and rigidity, and has the added advantage of forcing me to leave my place at least once per day (which I believe slightly increases my mood and makes me less lethargic).
On Gmail, I have several filters that categorize most of the incoming email into various folders, skipping the inbox. The messages that are not straightforwardly deleted typically go to either the ‘daily’ or the ‘weekly’ folders. These are folders that I only check once per day or once per week respectively (prompted by a reminder).
See also Peter Hurford’s How I am productive for more tips and ideas.