The internet is a seductive mistress; beautiful and empowering – always ready to pull you into its nasty web. The promises that internet makes but never delivers… Oh boy, we have all been there; we have fallen victims of its fallacies, what more could you complain about?

Even though it is a great invention, the internet has its flaws. I don’t know whether I should be stating down this ‘flaw’ factor as an affirmative statement or a question, but eventually, the web world does come with its setbacks. These are the kind of setbacks that are not exactly what you’d call “setbacks”; I mean what internet does to a person, it entirely puts the blame unto him.

Why People Fail at Getting Things Done on the Internet?

I am not going to touch base with anything that has to do with people getting things done, or why people are successful on the internet. How so? The fact that these people are the minority and the reason that it makes us the majority is exactly why I will talk about a common man’s failures – and his shortcomings.

Probably, your day on the internet starts with accessing your portable device, a home computer, an office Mac – so on and so forth. The first thing I do in the morning is that I turn on Wi-Fi on my cell and wait for any incoming email updates. If the updates are not there, I end up going to the Google Play Store to see new apps.

This is where I waste more than an hour of my time, doing nothing but surfing around here n’ there. Then if I am in the mood, I log on to YouTube and watch a few videos. You get the whole idea here, don’t you? On the contrary, there is a STRONG possibility that you don’t start your day like me. Maybe you get up in the morning, all drenched in high ambitions of ‘to-do’ tasks for the day.

You get ready; you sit in front of the computer or whatever, and start right away on the Ninja Report. Few minutes later, you see a link in the sidebar or something distracting and THAT’S the end of it! This is where the internet sucks you into a vortex of online guilty pleasures; time killing activities that are too good to quit etc. etc.

The End is Just the Beginning:

If internet had a voice, it would have to one of those “Tron” movie voices, or of the HAL 9000 computer, from 2001– A Space Odyssey film. HAL or the internet would greet you with a hello every morning. You would tell him that you’re logged on to search for some research material concerning a very important assignment.

“Sir, if I may add, would you like to see a viral video at YouTube?” – The internet would throw in its temptations. You’ll say, “Oh no, I am just here to work and that’s it – but I will see a teaser of that video you were talking about. What harm could a few minutes do?”

After you are done watching, the internet talks again. This time it says, “Sir, this article that I am about to show you is related to you work. It is about ROFLCOPTERS!!” Reluctantly, you give into the too hard to resist offer… again. The time goes on; your entire day winds up to an end – and everything is all set to repeat again for tomorrow.

At least this is how a typical internet scenario goes.

Now let’s talk about “most” people. These are the guys who’ll say; hey I certainly finish my work whenever I am on the internet. I am one of those stiff collar dweebs who like to do things in an organized manner. Well, Mr. Fancy Pants you can go and suck it! No one cares here. Before my cynicism is over, I’d like to tell you that the internet is like an illicit drug.

Even though, you know how it works, you are not able to control the addiction. Unless, you want to take drastic measures – the Wi-Fi free measures. Seriously, no internet during your work hours is going to do the trick. It’ll be tough. It will be like going into a withdrawal phase. Your mind will say NO, but your body will say YES. You’ll crave a few hours of online activity, but alas – there is no possibility of connecting!

Change of Plans – The Samaritan Approach to Internet

Great writers, and people, who make their entire livelihood on the internet, often follow a strict approach to working online. I knew this woman who would go to another room to write for 4 – 6 hours on a totally different computer. She figured out that it was in the best of her interest to gather research material and then shift it to another computer to start working.

Day in; day out, she’d follow this routine religiously. At least that’s the kind of schedule that worked for her. You have to find your way of doing things. If the internet distracts you, then you are better off with cutting down on your activities on the internet. I am talking about the ones where you waste your time 

• Avoid the “Just One more Thing” sort of distractions.
• Save your research material beforehand to a portable drive and take it to another computer if possible.
• Use the IFTTT application to diversify your work. “If This Then That” app traverses conventional modes of work to offer better alternatives for you to complete things in time.

So how do you work online? Is everyday like a battlefield for you whenever you are on the internet, trying to work and making across distractions without any pauses? Let us know through the comments below.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 28th, 2013 at 6:44 AM and is filed under Computers, How To. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.