No Internet Access = Lots of Work Done!
A funny thing happened about 24 hours ago - my DSL account went offline. I was right in the middle of checking email and doing other odds and ends and my connection just died. Now this was at 2am (I like to work late at night - there’s fewer distractions) so there was no point in calling tech support to see what had gone wrong. It might have been routine downtime for a server or there might have been some technical glitch - I had no idea. All I knew was that all of a sudden I couldn’t get any work done. Now for a few moments there was almost blind panic. I had several things lined up to get done and now that wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t check email or various websites for information…. what was I going to do?
And then the penny dropped. What was I going to do? I was going to work offline instead! Yes actually get some work done without the internet. So I set about completing the transfer of some data between two websites and all the restructuring that went with that. Ok so I couldn’t upload the completed work but that would only take moments once my DSL connection came back online (which didn’t happen until after I woke up the next day).
Now here’s the thing…. I completed that work in half the time it would normally have taken me. Even though I thought I was relying on having internet access to complete that job that simply wasn’t the case. I handled all the down and dirty work of transferring that website data with no Internet access at all! That’s when it struck me just how much of a distraction an Internet connection can be. There are emails to read (always!), websites to check and maybe even some friends to catch up with on AIM, MSN, Yahoo or GoogleTalk. Yes the Internet is a fantastic tool but it’s also an incredible distraction; taking us away from the work we’re really meant to be doing right in front of us.
The lesson to be learned from this? Make the most of your time and minimize distractions at every possible opportunity. Maybe shut down your router or modem. Turn off your cellphone. Maybe for a few hours each day remove your primary distraction. Put it out of reach. Make the most of the hours that you have each day because you can never replace them.
If you’re finding yourself struggling with managing your time and getting constantly distracted you might want to check out this book on time management and making the most of your working day - you won’t regret it.