The Web is replacing the TV as the #1 time-thief in our lives. And, unlike the TV, the Web does not respect the boundaries of work. Thus the time you spend on the web "working" is inherently intertwined with the time you spend "playing." As you can tell from our How To: Traverse Corporate Firewalls wiki entry, this cause for excessive amounts of stress for everyone and particularly affects those who charge by the hour (and thus actually lose money to procrastination, in addition to less free time).
Here are a few tools that you can use to help the watchful eye of your employer relax a little, and maybe focus on someone else for a change.
MeeTimer
MeeTimer is a Firefox extension that uses a two-pronged attack to curb your misplaced time online. First it makes you aware of your time expenditures, explicitly showing you which activities and sites are taking up most of your time. Second, it actively deters you from using a site, in case your willpower is not up to the task.
A core design principle is to 'advise' you, rather than 'force' you. This is because there are plenty of times where you legitimately need to bend the rules - e.g. to check some new resource for work - and thus you waste time (not to mention become frustrated) fighting against tools that try to block the Web. MeeTimer does not fight, it guides.
Super Kiwi Cloak
A GTD (Getting Things Done) tool that helps you focus by blocking access to certain websites during work hours, yet allows hourly breaks.
Helps you focus on GTD by blocking access to all "Included Pages" during work hours. Because a script is so easy to get past, this script also allows you to browse freely during a defined period each hour. The goal is to stay on task, by giving you less incentive to break your rules.
By default, the script is set to block access from 9am to 5pm, to allow you to access sites during a ten-minute window at the top of each hour (from 5-till to 5-after), and to only run on weekdays. These settings can all be changed within the script.
You can block a page by adding it to "Included Pages" or whitelist it by adding it to "Excluded Pages" through the "Manage User Scripts" menu. You can also block all pages (except whitelisted ones) by adding * to the "Included Pages".
Super Kiwi Cloak is a modification of the original Kiwi Cloak script by Jeremy Freese and Lucy Pigpuppet (which was, in turn, based on Lifehacker Gina Trapani's Invisibility Cloak). It has been edited so that it will function across hours, or even across days.
Stealth Kiwi
A completely rewritten version of GTD tool Super Kiwi Cloak that doesn't penalize you for missing the top of the hour. Now, you can take a surfing break whenever you want, and then block webpages and stay focused for the next hour.
This is an updated version of Super Kiwi Cloak that allows you greater flexibility and will help you stay even more on task.
Stealth Kiwi is a GTD tool that blocks access to all "Included pages" during work hours. Because a script is so easy to get around, SK relaxes its guard every hour. By giving yourself a future break time, you have less incentive to break your rules, and more chances to Get Things Done.
Responding to popular demand, I've reworked Stealth Kiwi so that you can take a break any time after the hour has passed, instead of just during a scheduled period. You will have 10 minutes from whenever you start the break to play, after which SK will block you until an hour has passed. This way, you can focus on work instead of the clock, taking breaks when you really need them, not just when the internet comes back.
By default, the script is set to block access from 9am to 5pm on weekdays. It is set to allow a ten-minute window of surfing, after which it blocks the internet from bring used for 50 minutes (for a total cycle time of one hour). These settings can all be changed within the script. Once you begin using the blocked pages, the cycle begins anew, giving you a break period and then blocking for the rest of the hour.
You can specify a page to be blocked by adding it to "Included Pages" or whitelist it by adding it to "Excluded Pages" through the "Manage User Scripts" menu. This script is set to block all pages by default, but you can remove this by removing * from the "Included Pages".
Invisibility Cloak
Greasemonkey users can download a script created by Lifehacker Gina Trapani called Invisibility Cloak and set it to blank out specific sites, like Gawker. The script also displays a message prodding you to get back to business.
Time To Go Script
Inspired the Invisibility Cloak, Time To Go acts more as a gentle tap on the shoulder, rather than a backhanded, pimp-slap to the face that reminds you to get back to work. It allows you to visit an addictive site for, say, one minute only. Once the time is up, the screen turns blank, and you get back to work. The list of features includes:
* Big count-down counter - In the last 10 seconds, a big, BIG count-down counter will appear to tell you it’s about time to go.
* If you really, really need a bit more time to stay, click the counter to “recharge” it for 10 more seconds.
* The counter can be set to keep counting across different pages of the same site. Thus you won’t be able to surf indefinitely by keep navigating different pages of the site (you know that’s cheating, dude).
* Option panel - Apart from about:blank, you can set it to redirect to any other page. How about: your boss’s portrait with an angry face that you’ve uploaded to Flickr!
* Open the option panel by selecting Greasemonkey menu > User Script Commands > Time to Go::Options, where you can change a few settings.
(You may also use the hotkey Alt-G.)
Greasemonkey basic - You have to enable your time-wasting website to use my script first. Otherwise, the counter and option panel won’t show up. To do that, right click on the Greasemonkey status bar icon , select Manage User Scripts, click on Time to Go, and then Add the site to Included Pages by entering something like http://www.yoursite.com/* .
The Procrastinator's Clock
The Procrastinator's Clock (for Windows/Mac/web) is guaranteed to be up to 15 minutes fast. However, it also speeds up and slows down in an unpredictable manner so you can’t be sure how fast it really is. Furthermore, the clock is guaranteed to not be slow, assuming your computer clock is sync’d with NTP; many computers running Windows and Mac OS X with persistent Internet connections already are. So what will motivate you to be on time if you use this clock? FEAR, UNCERTAINTY and DOUBT! Use of this clock shows that, although your friends have created a separate timetable just to accommodate your legacy of tardiness, you really care about being on time. By assuming that the clock might actually be telling the correct time, you'll hopefully assume that that afternoon meeting is sooner than you thought and get back to work. Hopefully.
No comments:
Post a Comment