Internet Time and Money Drain

It is amazing how much time can be spent surfing the internet. I just go in to check my gmail account and then 1 or 2 hours will go by in the blink of an eye. I realized I must be very careful with it, especially since my free time is impacted. If I do not go in with a plan, I get sucked into endless links of things to explore. I am now going to approach it like going to the grocery store. There are candy aisles, things good for you, things bad for you, things you need, things you don’t need, and it is all carefully placed and subtlety marketed. Most people realize (or not) that you have to go in with a list and stick with it. Otherwise your time and your money will be gone. It is the same or more so with the internet. The internet is really still very new and cool to anyone who is not under 20. It is hypnotic in a way. It morphs and grows everyday so all the possible hyperlinks to visit will be harder and harder to resist. You need to go in with a plan and stick with it. This became even more clear to me when I use the internet at work during my half hour lunch break. It is over in a split second and I usually have to extend my lunch break to finish. I compare this to if I go for a walk or read a book at lunch time. It seems like I actually did something.

Here is a possible solution. I keep a paper list of sites that I think of during the day that would be good to explore later. I seem to really like lists. Checking off a box and crossing off an item on a list feels great. It supposedly sends a “feel good” chemicals to your brain. The object then becomes completing the list according to my plan rather than mindlessly surfing and being pulled into what someone else wants you to see. Try it out and see if it frees up some more of your time to do something more useful. If you just view the internet as entertainment and don’t want to structure your time on it that is fine. Just understand if you have less free time and money where it might be going.