To the majority of Internet users and social
media fanatics, I am sure that you are all more than familiar with the infamous
word “procrastination.” Merriam Webster defines procrastination as, “to put off
doing something intentionally or habitually.” There are many reasons we
procrastinate. With the increase in technology in today’s society the
opportunity to procrastinate arises more often than planned. The endless array
of information floating around the Internet makes it extremely easy for us to
become overwhelmed with distractions, and find ourselves wasting
valuable time that we cannot regain. Through this blog post, I will provide you
with valuable tips and applications to keep you staying productive during your
time online.
Perhaps you’re are on the Internet for use
such as sending and receiving emails, networking with business officials,
typing a paper, or using software for a work related/school related project. That
is completely understandable. However, the real problem occurs when you get off
task and find yourself wasting time on social media sites such Facebook, Twitter,
Pinterest, Instagram, or YouTube, to name only few
examples. You might have a favorite game you play online in your spare time
that leads to playing at times when there is something more important to tend
to. It’s even easy to get lost in reading online news articles that provide
multiple links to information pertaining to the article.
Academic students are at the top
of the list of those who fall victims of this procrastination issue, given that most
of our out of class assignments require computer and Internet usage. In the
book Counseling the Procrastinator in
Academic Settings, Researchers
have estimated that in academic settings in North America, over 70% of students
exhibit this behavior (Schouwenburg, Lay, Ferrari, and Pychyl 2004). As
a current college student, I can say from experience that social media,
particularly Facebook, has shaved off an hour or so of my studying time. I
could not count the numerous times that I have been in the library and seen
half of the students on Facebook. Three out of four college students admit to
regular procrastination according to OnlineCollege.net. A study at Ohio State
University compared the grades of severe, moderate, and low procrastinators in
a study skills class. The worst procrastinators got an average grade of 2.9
while those who procrastinated very little earned an average of 3.6
(OnlineCollege). Although most studies tend to surround college students and how
procrastination affects their ability to complete school related assignments
and maintain a decent GPA, they are not the only age group affected from online
procrastination.
This online procrastination has
become so prevalent in our society that it is now being referred to as “cyberslacking”
by many scholars and researchers. The definition of cyberslacking is the use of
Internet technology during work hours for personal purposes (Vitak, Crouse
LaRose, 2011). Although there are few
studies done on cyberslacking behaviors, one study found that 80% of
information workers reported using a computer for personal email or messaging
while on the job (Garrett & Danziger, 2008). Most people tend to spend
their time searching on Google, checking personal email, monitoring social
media, visiting new sites, and shopping online. A study done by Salary.com
found that 64% if employees visit non-work related websites everyday at work
with Facebook being the number one site that kept employees most off task
(Salary.com). According to the web information company called Alexa, Facebook
is the most visited website in the world (Alexa.com). As of now, the top 3 most
visited sites in the U.S. are Google, Facebook, and YouTube.
One reason many people procrastinate begins
with their lack of time management skills. They believe they can easily
complete something in a short amount of time when it’s closer to the deadline.
Unfortunately, a study by the U.S. Department of Labor has shown that people
are generally bad at estimating how long a task will take to complete. Respondents
in the study completed by Salary.com said the number one reason for slacking at
work was that they don’t feel their job is very challenging. Other reasons
include: they work too many hours, the company doesn’t
give an incentive to work harder, they are unsatisfied with their career, and
they are just bored.
Given the endless amount of
Internet procrastination sites, its only fair to have a few sites that are
available help avoid procrastination. Below I have listed seven applications to
help you stay productive while active online. They all function in different ways,
but share the same goal in defeating online procrastination.
1. LeechBlock- This is an add-on specifically for
FireFox that allows you to block certain websites of your choice. It currently
has an estimated 57,000 users.
2. TinyFilter- This is an
extension from Google chrome that functions by a “detect-and-block” method
based off of pre-determined filter rules by the user. It’s not only helpful in
blocking sites, but it also helps censoring the Internet for children.
3. Nanny for Google Chrome – Allows users
a time limit on the usage of particular websites and the ability to choose
specific times in which websites are completely unavailable for use.
4. SelfControl- This is a download
for Mac users that spend entirely too much time digging through email. This
program blocks access to incoming and/or outgoing mail servers and websites for
a predetermined time period. This app should help you stay focused, however
there is not way around the block once it is initiated.
5.
Stay Focused- This is an
extension from Google chrome that aims to boost productivity by allowing you to
block specific pages, paths, subdomains, entire websites, and in-page content
such as videos or images. The only way around this block is to answer a series
of challenging questions generated by none other then the app itself.
6.
KeepMeOut- This program is
available to all users, but is targeted for those who have a little bit more
self-control than the rest of the Internet procrastinators. You create a
bookmark specifying how long you want to avoid a website and then place it in
the bookmark bar. Every time you visit a page that is in the bookmark bar the
browser sends a warning.
7. Focus Booster- is an app
that is accessible to Windows or Mac users, which suggests that focusing for
25-minute intervals with 5 minute breaks in between is a successful way to stay
on track. While it does not actually block any websites in particular, it does
monitor how you spend your time online.
In addition to the
seven websites provided, I think its only fair to share a few tips in avoiding
procrastination in general. Remember to break a large project down into smaller
tasks, choose the time of day in which you are most productive (early bird vs.
night owl), limit your social media fix, don’t forget to take a break (no
longer than 15 minutes), and set aside separate time to surf the Internet and
participate in social networking sites. Even if you personally don’t have a
problem with procrastinating online, the chances are that you have a friend or
family member that does. Feel free to share this blog information with those around
you to get the word out. If you are an individual that frequently battles
procrastination, don’t be too hard on yourself. A recent study from the
University of Carleton found that if you forgive yourself for procrastinating,
chances are you will procrastinate less the next time you go to complete an assignment
(Guardian.co.uk).
Vitak, J., Crouse, J., & LaRose, R. (2011). Personal
Internet use at work: Understanding cyberslacking. Computers in Human
Behavior, 27(5), 1751-1759. Retrieved June 15, 1991, from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article
Garret, K., & Danziger, J. (2008). On Cyberslacking:
Workplace Status and Personal Internet Use at Work. CyberPsychology &
Behavior, 11(3), 287-292. Retrieved June 15, 2013, from
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.108
Gouveia, A. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.salary.com/wasting-time-at-work-2012/
Knezevik, M.
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2012/may/09/students-procrastinating-exams
14 Fascinating Studies Done On Procrastination. (2012,
January 18). Online Colleges. Retrieved June 15, 2013, from www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/01/18/14-fascinating-studies-procrastination/
Response to the Internet and Procrastination
ReplyDeleteThe internet is so helpful and efficient in so many ways. More and more are we having to go online to make an order, schedule an appointment, or check bills. It is becoming a regular action to go to the internet for daily use. Once we get on the internet though is where the problem occurs. Like Ashley touched on the subject in her blog, procrastination is growing among college students. It is very easy, as a college student, to go to do homework on your computer and find yourself looking at something else. I want to elaborate on the two of the different websites that were mentioned above to encourage students and anyone who is having trouble with procrastination on the internet.
Leechblock is one of the websites created to help people with their procrastination issues. It allows you to control when you can access certain websites or parts of websites, such as forums. (hubpages.com). A great feature is that you can control when you are allowed to visit a website (hubpages.com). A website blocker like this can be beneficial to students when they need to study or to the working individual. You can block a website from 9am-5pm every weekday so you won’t spend time playing games at work and you won’t be going needlessly to Facebook and Twitter (hubpages.com). For a student, a website could be blocked for the duration of the time that he or she is in the library. James Anderson, the developer of LeechBlock, also helped give features to help create another website blocker called Nanny for Google Chrome (chrome.google.com).
Nanny for Google Chrome is another site that was created to help lower procrastination. You can consider Chrome Nanny as the unofficial LeechBlock lite for chrome (chrome.google.com). It has most of the important functionalities in LeechBlock and also adds some more (chrome.google.com). Chrome Nanny allows you to block URLs at certain times in a day or limit to certain number of minutes or both, so you can block Facebook from 9AM-5PM or to a maximum of 60 minutes a day or both (chrome.google.com). You can also group URLs to be blocked into blocked sets (google.chrome.com). Unlike LeechBlock, you can have as many block sets as you want (google.chrome.com). You are able to block anything or any website that you might think would be distracting. You can use regular expressions to specify the site you want to block. (google.chrome.com). I think the majority of people would be surprised with how much time they spend on social media websites. If you just want to find how much time you spend on some site, Chrome Nanny can do it too (google.chrome.com). By realizing how much time is occupied by different sites that you aren’t supposed to be on can help you to not spend as much time.
Overall, I think Ashley’s blog was very relevant to our society today, especially the younger generation. It was helpful to see how procrastination can be handled because it is an issue that most of us struggle with. From tracking how much time we spend on a website and blocking the ones for certain hours that we know will distract us from the work we are hoping to accomplish, we will learn to defeat procrastination and only allow so much time for websites that usually distract us.
Works Cited
Is Your Firefox Add-On Leechblock Not Working? http://simeonvisser.hubpages.com/hub/Firefox-LeechBlock-Not-Working
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tinyfilter/nlfgnnlnfbpcammlnibfkplpnbbbdeli?hl=en
Response to the Internet and Procrastination
ReplyDeleteThe internet is a wonderful tool for people to use to seek out information. You can literally type in just about anything in a search browser and something will pull up on the topic or even related to that topic you are researching. We even have access to meet new people and seek out different information that is going on in our friend’s lives through social media sites like Facebook. The internet has revolutionized the way we seek out information and gather data. It would almost be entirely impossible to gather information at a fast rate without using the internet. Naturally our lives are lived at a fast pace, moving from one project to the next, trying to meet deadlines, and keeping up with our social media statuses. Juggling everything that the internet has to offer one can spend a lot of time sitting in front of a computer. The problem is when we start to waste time and not get done the task we planned on doing that day.
Ashley mentioned above in her blog that procrastination arises more often than planned. I would like to continue on giving advice on how to avoid procrastination and focus on helpful ways to manage your time without wasting hours of your day. According to another blog I found by Tony Schwartz, he mentions that one of the biggest misconceptions dealing with time management that eventually leads to procrastination is people believing they can complete something in a short amount of time. He talks about the importance of taking breaks.(Schwartz, 2012) Taking breaks in between your work allows you to split up your work into intervals and makes it easier to recognize how much you are getting done. When we see ourselves slacking and not being as productive as we would like we can ask ourselves two very helpful questions:
1. Did I get done what I intended to get done since my last break and if not, why not?
2. What do I want to accomplish between now and my next break, and what do I have to say “no” to in order to make that possible?
After asking yourself these questions we can go a step further and sort through what is really causing the delay in making progress on important task online. When we stop and examine how we are spending time online it makes it easier to identify the “timewasters”. There is nothing wrong with spending a few minutes making small talk with a stranger on Facebook, or surfing the web to relax, as long as your internet fun isn’t eating up time that you’d planned to spend on productive activities. Rescue Time is a great source you can use to track your internet usage and see exactly how you spend your time online. To learn more about how to set up Rescue Time there is a very easy step by step website you can go to learn more! (www.rescuetime.com). Sort through what you are doing that is productive online and what takes up time that doesn’t benefit you. Once you have identified the “timewasters”, you can start to make small changes to minimize them or eliminate them completely. Set a time, or intervals like we discussed before to make a list of things to get done that are productive and use the fun stuff like Facebook and surfing the web as a reward after completely the top three most important things on your list.(Lynn 2011)
The first couple of days are going to be embarrassing of how much time you waste on the internet that is not productive, but unless you are willing to take a closer look at how you’re spending your time, you will never get to the point where you can look back on the day and feel like every moment was well spent.
Works Cited
Schwartz, Tony. (2012). “No is the New “Yes”: Four Practices to Reprioritize Your Life. HBR Blog Network. Posted January 17, 2012.
Lynn. (2011). Clearing Virtual Clutter, Part 3- Productivity vs. the Internet.