He said it was affecting his attention span and causing him to constantly check emails, even when in conversation with a group of friends.

I absolutely have had the same desire, although I am not addicted to my iPhone, I do have the constant distant thought that I am always connected, always being tracked. I’m also way too stingy to through away my very expensive communication device.

What I would miss most is my bar code reader which scans barcodes and then searches the Internet for the same product and compares pricing. It’s amazing the price differential these days and makes buying on the Internet a more likely thing.

There is of course the slow movement, who I’m sure would give a free hug to anyone throwing their smartphone in the bin. But I see such an act more as an art form, or a form of expression. Something to highlight the absurdity of smartphones and social media.

After all, we did get to the Moon and back without one.

I know that I am more successful at a task when I focus. Concentrating like a laser beam on the task in hand increases the chances of completing the task. Probably more than any one thing.

If we want to improve our ability to complete tasks we must improve our focus.

What is it that causes a lack of focus?
Rarely is it the initial motivation. In fact the initial driving force behind your goal can sometimes blast through any lack focus if it is strong enough. But mostly, after a short period we get distracted, something else catches our eye, we feel we need to check out email, you know the drill.

For me the basis of distraction is the thought that there is still more possibilties for options out that. Even though I have decided on one task I have an irrational feeling to gather as much information as humanly possible. Coupled with the seemingly infinate knowledge base that is the Internet makes it an eternal distraction. I have to learn that when I gain enough knowledge to complete the task the research should be over.

What can you do to stop being distracted by infinate information fatigue?

I have to plug out. I take a piece of paper and a pen and sit away with from the computer and the Internet. I sometimes take the time to go to a Coffee bar and get a capuccino. Fermentation of current research needs to take place for the ideas to reach fruition.

I used to get distracted a lot from the computer games, if I could only get paid for playing Civilisation or Age of Empires. I solved that problem by simply de-installing them and hiding the CDs. Drastic action, but it has worked.

Be ruthless with your bookmarks.
Regularly go through your bookmarks and get rid of all high time suckage websites.

Place a time limit on your research time.
When developing an information project like a blog post or an ebook research can be never ending. Think how profitable the task is and create specific time slots to gather information.

Create your workspace
To work without disturbance gives you no chance to use it as an excuse not to work. Have you notice that after 15 mins of hard work you actually get into a mode of focused work that feels like you are a super hero and can achieve anything. This feeling is a result of the power of focus and it’s important to run whilst in this mode. Make sure when working on an important project you give the required quiet time you need.

Focus is the biggest problem facing knowledge workers today.
Distraction is the evil cousin of focus and should be negated

Here is what distracts me

• Browsing the internet.
• Reading E-books
• Check website stats
• Reading email
• Interacting on social network sites

When I research a blog post I find it difficult to stop collecting information. I find the more information I find the more information I have to find. Usually the first information is enough, but for some reason my brain is sending out the signal to search for more. This could be because I have not properly valued the initial information. If I took time away from the computer screen to mull the information I would be able to acess it more thoroughly.

And there is the rub. The computer and the internet have become the destination rather than a mere tool. It is such a huge and magnificent beast that most of us have not worked out how to tame it yet. At present I would say that this problem represents one of the biggest reasons why more people are not successful.

The saying is, “man who chases two rabbits catches none”.

So then you have to chose which rabbit to chase. If both rabbits go at the same speed and look the same, how do you chose. Which is what time management is all about, choosing which rabbit to chase.

You have to chose one, and chase it till you catch it. Everything else should be secondary to your choice.

When you work for yourself, like I do no one is looking over your shoulder and the beach is 15 mins away it needs a clarity and focus that you don’t need if you work for someone else. Which is why when a freelancer does get down to the work it tends to be more intense than a staffer.

You have to stare it in the face, not for one second back down. Lock your eyeballs and do not break the gaze, because you know as soon as you do it’s time to grab the boogie board and hit the surf.

Not that I surf, or have the boogie board, I am more likely to hit a coffee shop with a book and notebook, but it’s all the same effect. Work doesn’t get done.

You have to practice that hard stare, or at least I do. It feels much more natural and comfortable to follow that slow moving river into the sun. One hand trailing in the water and everything is right with the world.

But it’s not, work to be done, choices to be made.

Cutting down on the choices to be made sounds like a good thing.
Just like knowing exactly what I have to do when I sit down at the computer int he morning.

Thinking about time management and writing about time management – which is why I’m writing this – is to me the best way to get me to improve my time management, which has been deemed awful in the extreme.

It’s nice to be blogging here again, I think I will keep it up and make it more personal.

I know that I am more successful at a task when I focus. Concentrating like a laser beam on the task in hand increases the chances of completing the task. Probably more than any one thing.

If we want to improve our ability to complete tasks we must improve our focus.

What is it that causes a lack of focus?
Rarely is it the initial motivation. In fact the initial driving force behind your goal can sometimes blast through any lack focus if it is strong enough. But mostly, after a short period we get distracted, something else catches our eye, we feel we need to check out email, you know the drill.

For me the basis of distraction is the thought that there is still more possibilities for options out that. Even though I have decided on one task I have an irrational feeling to gather as much information as humanly possible. Coupled with the seeminglyinfinite knowledge base that is the Internet makes it an eternal distraction. I have to learn that when I gain enough knowledge to complete the task the research should be over.

What can you do to stop being distracted by infinite information fatigue?

I have to plug out. I take a piece of paper and a pen and sit away with from the computer and the Internet. I sometimes take the time to go to a Coffee bar and get acappuccino. Fermentation of current research needs to take place for the ideas to reach fruition.

I used to get distracted a lot from the computer games, if I could only get paid for playing Civilisation or Age of Empires. I solved that problem by simply de-installing them and hiding the CDs. Drastic action, but it has worked.

Be ruthless with your bookmarks.
Regularly go through your bookmarks and get rid of all high time suckage websites.

Place a time limit on your research time.
When developing an information project like a blog post or an ebook research can be never ending. Think how profitable the task is and create specific time slots to gather information.

Create your workspace
To work without disturbance gives you no chance to use it as an excuse not to work. Have you notice that after 15 mins of hard work you actually get into a mode of focused work that feels like you are a super hero and can achieve anything. This feeling is a result of the power of focus and it’s important to run whilst in this mode. Make sure when working on an important project you give the required quiet time you need.

Focus is the biggest problem facing knowledge workers today.
Distraction is the evil cousin of focus and should be negated

Here is what distracts me

• Browsing the internet.
• Reading E-books
• Check website stats
• Reading email
• Interacting on social network sites

When I research a blog post I find it difficult to stop collecting information. I find the more information I find the more information I have to find. Usually the first information is enough, but for some reason my brain is sending out the signal to search for more. This could be because I have not properly valued the initial information. If I took time away from the computer screen to mull the information I would be able to access it more thoroughly.

And there is the rub. The computer and the Internet have become the destination rather than a mere tool. It is such a huge and magnificent beast that most of us have not worked out how to tame it yet. At present I would say that this problem represents one of the biggest reasons why more people are not successful.