Ask YC: How do you avoid wasting too much time online?

I'm one of the founders of 8aweek. It was created because Zack and I deal with the same problem.

The default settings of 8aweek are definitely not strong enough for a major news junky. Mostly because the settings that news junkies need would probably piss of most users :). There are two modes to 8aweek, if you haven't tried already switch your settings to "block mode" and edit your preferences to limit the time and limit on the number of breaks in your day.

Currently we're only on FF and tend to focus more on our incentives and passive alerts than making the blocking more hardcore. If you immediately need something a little stronger I wrote a blog post last summer on the method I used before I had 8aweek (editing your hosts file).

http://thingsilearned.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/combating-int...

Another tip is to read a GTD book and try to only spend time infront of your computer when you have a clearly defined task to code out or read up on. Then walk away as soon as your done and re-define another task.

Also as always, send us some feedback on ways you think we could help you more, especially if you find another method that worked for you.

Stand up desk. My mind seems to act in a much more goal oriented manner when I'm standing than when I'm sitting and relaxing.

I really want to try this. I have a feeling it would be incredibly helpful.

I think you're approaching it from a wrong point of view. You don't have a browsing problem, you have an issue with getting things done or you have a procrastination problem. This is why I have little use for all the apps that tell me how much time I'm spending on diff sites / programs. That data is useful and interesting but it's not good for solving your procrastination issue since you already know you have a problem!

I found this essay interesting: http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/ It shows you how procrastination has some hidden benefits. Give it a read.

Now, how do I cope with info out there. Well, every morning I give myself a set of tasks that I want to accomplish that day (if you have a boss... he will do a part of that for you I guess). I almost always start with the hardest thing on the list or with something that's time sensitive (like call someone at 11am etc) and I break it up into smaller tasks as I go along. The rule is that I am not available for chat, email etc. until I'm done with the big task. I do not browse the web for anything that's not related to the task. Until that task is done, I do not touch email or the browser. Now, once I'm done with it or I'm stuck, I take a walk for few minutes or I jump into the second task on the list. Funny thing is, as you start doing something else, very quickly you start getting ideas about the old problem. If I get an idea about how to solve my previous task, I go back to it and then go back to the task I was doing before. If most of your tasks involve programming, get git and it will be a godsend to you since it lends itself perfectly to this model of working.

Once I'm done with a big task, I take 30-40 min off and I check my RSS feeds, I check HN, check email etc. I check email only 3 times a day. I find it extremely distracting if I check email more often. Email eats up too much of my time. If you're an email junkie, look into Merlin Mann's Inbox Zero concept:

http://www.43folders.com/izero http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=973149761529535925

Also, take a look at this hack: http://www.43folders.com/2005/10/11/procrastination-hack-102... It's a method to get you in the mode of working on something so you acclimate yourself to work.

In the end, it comes down to strong will. Just force yourself to do something!