Stop Drinking from the Fire Hose
Years ago people talked about information overload, information anxiety, etc. At the time I thought “Pfft, can’t get enough of that information!”. Now, I think they had a point. Darn I hate it when I am wrong.
Watch this video from the productivity guru Tim Ferris …
(found via Remarkablogger)
I have spoken about pulling back from time leaching activities, but my recent enforced absence from the internetstubes made me truly realize how much time wasting I actually do in a day.
My facebook is full of non-friends, I browse flickr ostensibly looking for CC licensed images but really just wiling away the hours. Twitter is 90% friendly banter, self-promotion and banality.
Knowing there was a charge associated with this displacement activity brought how wasteful it was into sharp focus. It was like the bad old days of dialup where each minute was slow and pricey!
Withdrawing from suckling at the web-teat has given me a new perspective of what I do and do not need to access on a daily basis. I recommend it to anyone.
Here is a challenge for you, try going one day only accessing the internet when you absolutely have to. For every minute online you spend, put a dollar in a tin and give the total to charity at the end of the day.
My guess is like me you will spend more time working and less time on less productive tasks 
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Posted on October 11, 2007 by Chris Garrett
Filed Under Productivity
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istockphoto.com has images for $1! Not worth searching about for free images when you can get images quickly that are nearly free? That’s where I get most of my blog images from.
That really would be a challenge! Every day I make the resolution… but when you put it in such an amusing and convincing way, it’s good incentive to really buckle down and make a concerted effort.
The only problem is, I could easily convince myself that it was really important to goof off so that all that money could go to a worthy cause…
[…] al vuelo en Codswallop: My facebook is full of non-friends, I browse flickr ostensibly looking for CC licensed images but […]
@Jack - Ssshh, I *really have* to look on flickr
@Jen - Heh, altruism would probably spoil the tactic, think more scrooge-like
I don’t know if you’ll get any takers on the challenge but I’m glad you wrote on the information overload. I think it just comes down to people’s personality or state in life. If they are bored or very shy, mindless surfing and social networks are great. I personally have chosen to not join any social networks (haven’t figured out how delete my profiles), not to touch the computer from 5 pm friday till 5 pm sunday, and limit my feeds to no more than 15 (the majority are friend’s blogs). Maybe this is dangerous as a blogger, but I’ve figured out there’s just no substitute to face to face conversation.
Good going Claudia
I have attempted to curtail my weekend internet usage but still find myself checking emails and the odd website or 10 
[…] the world, and if you’re like most people I’ve been in touch with lately (and tons of others), there are some channels that you subscribe to wholeheartedly, and others that may have once been […]