Freedom: This site offers a shareware download for your Mac or PC called...Freedom. Freedom blocks you from the Internet for any time period you choose, up to eight hours. You can't get back online unless you do a total reboot of your system, and let's face it, that's a pain in the butt when you're in the middle of working and also it feels a bit shameful to go that far just to see if anyone mentioned you on Twitter in the last 20 minutes. It's especially great for writers. Set the deal for a couple of hours and get to work. (This works best if you don't have your iPhone or BlackBerry a few inches away. Maybe you need to put it out in the car, or bury it in a dresser drawer. Not that I know anything about that.)
43 Folders: Time, Attention, and Creative Work: My friend Mike turned me on to this site, which is run by a guy named Merlin Mann. As if having a cool name like Merlin Mann weren't enough, he's also pretty smart about brains and the things we do to avoid using them. Start here. I think my favorite page on the site is First, Care.
This post from Seth Godin's blog. To the point.
The Artist's Way Basic Tools. Okay, a lot of Julia Cameron's classic book on creativity is a little woo-woo for me, but the Basic Tools---morning pages and the artist date---are really great for grounding your inner life when things have gotten a little noisy. And as much as I love and depend on the Internet, there comes a tipping point every day when I've gotten what I need and want from it and the rest is noise.
I'm always looking for more sites about how not to look at sites all day, so if you've got more links in that category, leave them in the comments!
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8 comments:
These seem a little extreme to me. All you need is self control. Yeah, the internet is great, but your life isn't on the web. Get yer booty off the computer and live your actual life, you know, the one with your family and friends (that aren't online). Self control, Sara. Self control.
Sara, you crack me up. And I totally know where you're coming from. MUST DISCONNECT MORE OFTEN!
Hehe, Melissa - your "draw with flowers" link didn't help!
LOVE Seth Godin!
And Freedom is tempting, but I'm afraid I'd just end up rebooting!
I applaud any effort to exert self control. Many years ago I was addicted to television, but progressively I became bored with it and I practically never watch it on my own any more. This has freed me up to enjoy life, more challenging than any TV show and web surfing. Please visit my blog! Thanks
When you spend so much of your time in front of a computer screen, trying to create, it only takes a click to free your mind from "is it lead or led"?
When I really find myself sinking down into a 'net spiral, I pull out "A Writer's Book of Days" and read a page, or I pull out a notebook and write the "old fashioned" way. Somehow that frees my mind from the 'box' of my screen.
h. R.
h.R. - I do write by hand a lot - and find it so soothing.
Thanks for these, Sara. I definitely need them to help with keeping on track. I've been considering trying Freedom. Currently I just go to my mom's house to write some days. She doesn't have the internet!
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