I’m realizing lately, yet again, how much being on the computer affects me. I don’t like it or who I become. I feel like a lab rat, being enticed with the promise of cheese (emails from friends! fun blogs!) and while eating the cheese I find 4 projects that need attending to, and get bitten by the “do it quickly, right away, before you forget!” bug and end up spending time working (or indulging in too much cheese!) rather than tending to the other things that need doing. Like dinner, or settling squabbles, or, yes, playing games with my kids.
How is this a tip? PLAN YOUR COMPUTER TIME! (or TV time, or whatever your distraction of choice is) Schedule it. Use a timer. Make a chart. Stick to it. I’m getting another timer for the desk, so I can stop swiping the kitchen one constantly. I like the clunky ticking ones that remind you that time is passing swiftly :). Set it. Use it. Walk away.
A corollary to this would be SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS! How long a job will take, whether your friends can expect instant responses, and how much you’ll accomplish in a day. Easier said than done.
/end of soapbox :)
The bottom line : Keep a timer on your desk, and underpromise just in case.