Getting NOTHING Done
The last several days I have set a schedule that requires me to dig right in to my work. It is only later in the morning as the family begins to stir that I take the time to check my emails or send out a few tweets. This morning I skipped the schedule since I don’t really plan on doing much today anyway. I was shocked at the amount of time I have spend doing nothing – and how easy it is to continue the pattern.
Tips for Wasting Time
1. Read your recent tweets – and be sure that you go back for at least four or five hours in case you missed something vital.
2. Look for a couple of quotes that you can tweet.
3. Retweet and respond to some of those that you are following.
4. Look at the profiles of those that are following you and those that are following some of the folks that you are following.
5. Check your emails and respond to all of those that have been forwarded to “make you smile.”
6. Read the titles of all the articles in your RSS feed and then follow through to read one or more from each feed.
7. Take the time to comment on the articles that you read through.
8. Check you email to see if any thing has popped up in the last few minutes that might need immediate response.
9. Check up on your tweets.
10. Visit one of the forums that you are active in and comment on at least one thread.
11. Repeat the process until your eyes begin to glaze over.
The last hour zipped right past and until I stopped to write this one article I had gotten nothing done. My work pile is taunting me, my own websites are calling out for posts and still I have the strong desire to tweet someone.
Social networking has made the internet even more interactive, but it has also placed more distractions in the path of the freelance writer. I will continue to use twitter and forums and to visit other blogs but I’m going to stick to my schedule from now on.
