Ask HN: How do you fight internet addiction?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9567822

by rayalez • 11 years ago

12 16 11 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I find myself obsessively rechecking HN/reddit and watching youtube, that's unhealthy. I have a lot of exciting goals and I am driven to accomplish them, and internet addiction stands in a way.

I am a freelance web developer, so I have to be online, and I have no boss to stop me from wasting my time.

Can you give me some advice that can help to manage/fix this problem? How do you solve it for yourself?

a3voices• 11 years ago

Don't try to fight it.

The way to be successful is just do at least 1 thing for your project each day, no matter how small. Just take one action at a minimum. Use all your willpower for that.

I am still incredibly addicted to the internet and yet I finished a side project in a couple months while also having a full time job.

The super successful never actually get over their addictions.

cpr• 11 years ago

You can use tools like SelfControl (Mac OS, for example) which help remove the temptation for N hours at a time.

Once you set the time, then you can just forget about the time wasters and focus on work.

At first, it can be a bit scary when you're faced with no distractions and to-do list. But it gets easier and then good habits start to form.

dylanjermiah• 11 years ago

This is what I've used, except modified in month slots. After one month my temptation was gone. Highly recommend it.

pandatigox• 11 years ago

I use a chrome extension, StayFocused, which lets you set the times and websites to block.

I find it more useful than other extensions because it's very strict, like not being able to edit settings during the block period

MichaelCrawford• 11 years ago

Start your workday by producing some useful work. Don't even check your email.

"Some" means anything at all, no matter how small provided it contributes in a meaningful way to your deliverable.

gamechangr• 11 years ago

I use egg timers for the beginning of the day. Sometimes I'm super specific and other times I settle for "I'll do 75 minutes of programming before looking at other things".

It really works.

Rifu• 11 years ago

Seconding this approach. I generally do a bastardized pomodoro[1] approach where I split productive/non-productive time 50/10 minutes. This has the added bonus of really making you focus on the task at hand knowing you will be interrupted in 50 minutes[2]. If you find it impossible to be away from the internet for 50 minutes at a time, you could always start small and work your way from there (eg 10/5, 15/5, etc).

[1] http://pomodorotechnique.com/

[2] Of course we all know a lot of things take more than 50 minutes so adjust appropriately.

lstrope• 11 years ago

What I have found that helps with this behavior is to listen to my content instead of read it. It is like a safety net to stop my mind from wandering.

The part of me that is prone to wander cannot - because the podcast I am listening to won't let my mind stray past the topic on point. In times where I need to focus on what I am reading it is very easy to let the podcast slip into the background.

If my focus gets interrupted the podcast is there like a safety net.

The key is to pick the appropriate podcast that is sufficiently dull enough.

I love hardcore history for this. Dull isn't the right word because it is interesting - you'd have to listen to it to understand though.

brudgers• 11 years ago

Using the switch that turns off the WiFi. Turning it on, loading a resource, and turning it off is possible. Spending the time to make resources available locally might pay off via reduced distractions. Working in places with no WiFi.

Replacing habits means not just changing behavior but also the triggers for it and the habits of mind that rationalize the conditions as necessary...e.g. "So I have to be online." Sure, occasionally, but not constantly.

sjs3822• 11 years ago

First, reframe your fight against internet addiction as a fight against impulsiveness.

Just being aware that impulsivity is your problem is a good step. Be mindful of that. If that doesn't work, create barriers to your impulsive behaviors, like others have mentioned in this thread.

aprdm• 11 years ago

What would you suggest for fighting against impulsiveness?

sjs3822• 11 years ago

For me, awareness that something is an impulsive behavior and willingness to change it is usually enough.

Practice identifying the impulses (bonus points for identifying their triggers, which often will seem unrelated).

Once you identify it, don't give in. Instead, indulge a good habit, no matter how simple it is (go get a glass of water, stand up and stretch, etc) and then get back to what you're supposed to be doing.

Initiating barriers is a great tactic, but one that I usually don't use. Barriers are effective not because they prevent you from doing something, but because they help you identify the behavior (you run into the barrier when you try it).

eswat• 11 years ago

I’m also a freelance web design/development and got easily distracted by all this stuff.

I just started adding the problematic websites to my hostfile and completely blocked them that way, even out of work hours. After a while I realized this websites weren’t as important for me to consume every freaking moment as my lizard brain made it out to be. I started removing the sites from my hostfile one by one but now don’t visit them that much.

keerthiko• 11 years ago

I experience this a lot. I am an Android dev and often have to do a wide range of complex stuff and need to constantly refer to online docs and stack overflow, so can't stay disconnected.

One of the best things for me is going to a cafe, but intentionally not taking my headphones. This strongly discourages me from watching videos, usually cafe internet is not good enough to load it. It's a soft but social barrier, taking the place of a boss. You won't want to disturb the other patrons with your youtube video audio.

(rather than the hostfile trick or anything else --- if you have an addiction you'll always work around most such self-placed barriers, I know I do)

ljk• 11 years ago

i have leechblock installed on firefox to block certain sites, and if you click your hn name on the top right corner you can turn on the "noprocrast" setting to limit your usage of hn

icc97• 11 years ago

You could try reading Leo Babuta's free 'Focus' book (http://zenhabits.net/focus-book/). It has all the elements mentioned in other comments here - e.g. Browser blockers and trying to split your time 50/10 etc. I certainly managed to wean myself off Twitter and Facebook from it.

I try allowing myself smaller 'pleasures' e.g. The XKCD and the Daily WTF RSS feeds in my email client. Kind of like nicotine patches.

Also if you're going to waste you're time it's best to make sure you waste it on sites that are genuinely useful. It's one of the great things of Hacker News that amongst all the time wasting you're acutally learning useful things.

So if you're going to time waste make sure its on specific topics that you're genuinely interested in. For one there isn't a bottomless pit of content (as opposed to Twitter) and what you are reading might actually be useful.

Ask HN: How do you fight internet addiction?

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