It started innocently enough a few years ago, didn’t it? It wasn’t like you were actually breaking the law, being a criminal, being a Bad Person hurting people. No one was getting hurt – if there’s no victim, there’s no crime, right? Besides, everyone else was doing it! It was no worse than swiping that candy bar off the shelf at the store, right? You didn’t get caught then so you won’t get caught now.
At least that’s what you tell yourself. Or try to tell yourself. Maybe if you tell yourself enough times you’ll convince yourself and you can start looking in a mirror again.
But I know you’re stealing – and so do your friends, your coworkers, the girl you’re trying to impress. We all know.
What you’re stealing is time from yourself.
You grab a few minutes here, a web site there, pop an IM with a friend, check out a cool new and shiny thing online and you don’t even remember doing it 10 minutes later. When you do things that hurt yourself and you can’t remember doing them, you need help.
Email by email, web site by web site, bit by digital bit we’ve become an online nation of thieves – stealing from ourselves productivity and focus and hopes and dreams and our futures. So you want to build a real future for yourself, a real software company that you can be proud to say, “I built this. I did!”? Stealing is not going to get the job done my friend.
We call ourselves “digital nomads” or “web workers” or “microISVs” or “freelancers” or “startups” but any real nomad that was as easily distracted as we are would end up a pile of stinking bones in the desert before the next full moon. And if we had real bosses – sons of bitches who watched your every move at work – we’d be canned by the end of the week.
The real world does not reward stupidity. And trying to build something worthwhile for yourself while frittering away each business day in a haze of email, IMs, web sites that don’t directly relate to what you are doing is stupid and will get you nothing but tears and heartache.
Letting email/IM/twitter/browser run full bore during the periods of the day you are supposed to be creating something is exactly as stupid and criminal as driving a car while on your cell while texting while watching a dvd player. Someone is going to get hurt, and you’ll be to blame.
Don’t get me wrong – I love, really love, each and every part of the online world I’m lucky enough to be a part of. It’s all good! And I do exactly what I’ve described in this post and like a drunk who fights the bottle each time I know I shouldn’t do it. the point is, you have to admit it’s wrong, it’s hurting yourself, it’s something you have to make yourself stop doing.
If you laugh at this post, you’re still kidding yourself. And if you’re pissed, if it got under your skin, well, you know what they say: the things people say that you hate the most are the things you should listen to.
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Update 1: I guess I really hit a nerve with this post – good! That was my intention because the biggest obstacle to building a startup or microISV is confronting all those easy ways to get pulled off course, to lose focus and intention. And for developers, information is the sweetest candy in the shop.
I’ve tried to fix my various typoes rightfully pointed out by various commentators, and will be posting in the next day or two some of the ways I’ve found to beat that urge to steal time from myself.
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Update 2: 5 Strategies to stop stealing time from yourself.
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I don’t care to be lectured by your petty self rightousness.
Unsubscribed.
I guess I hit a nerve!
Guilty as charged. I have to admit I am also guilty of what you have described. I think the onus is on being able to temper the temptation to again check our email or check an online resource or visit a site for something in between the activities that we are currently doing. I know it is hard but the solution could be putting some structures in place so that the temptation is either minimised of eliminated e.g. to set the email client to only alert you when the email is tagged as critical or very high; to allocate a couple of blocks of time of 10-15 minutes to do some research (if needed) or to check the online news. Of course all of the structures in place will be useless if one is not determined to follow them. For those who do not really need the internet all the time then maybe to have no internet connection in the development machine and another one which has but is located some distance from where one sits. Just some ideas.
Indeed you did.
My Dad has this expression that he repeated to me over and over when I was younger and I was wasting my time playing games, watching dumb shows on TV, etc.
He called it the “brain-hours”, and said you only have a limited number of those in your life, and what you choose to spend them on determines your life.
Good post, I really do waste too much time doing shit I don’t need to. Also, I’d add IRC to the list. Biggest waste of time I can’t seem to quit. XD
Suscribed.
Well said.
Haha, I like what you did there
You’re right. We only get things done when we’re able to concentrate on them.
I’m stealing my time as I’m commenting this so you must be right …sadly.
I just stole myself 5 minutes while reading your post. Thank god I will forget about in 1 … 2 … what was I going to say?
your article is so true. thanks for the wake up call, it’s easy to slip into this problem.
nick
You may think of me as naive, however, I think I can compensate for a certain level of procrastination.
When I actually work, I work. I think about the problems and see if my logic works.
I am not able to multi task, but I can time slice.
So I can work a bit, think a bit on it, browse/IM a bit. Then pick up where I left off.
If I didn’t think I was ahead of schedule,. I wouldn’t do it at all.
Nice text and I looove the comments. Hahaha
I saw the headline on Reddit and thought “Well I’m not stealing anything… except maybe time.”
Then I clicked and read… BUSTED!
> the things people say that you hate the most are the things you should listen to.
Your mom ***** **** in hell.
Disproven by counterexample. Just saying.
you’re grammar is teh sucks
I agree with Anonymous, you are lecturing to the masses about the shortcomings of the few. There are those of us who can balance both a digital and real life.
By your very logic, we have all wasted time reading your article since it was posted online, and has little value. That is the only point upon which I agree with you.
Yes we get it, like everything in life, browsing the web must be done with some moderation in mind. Your article is however, more than a little condescending. Especially since you pose no solutions and merely bad mouth the media you ironically use as a soapbox for, well gotta agree with the first guy here, “petty self righteousness”. Honestly man, do you think anyone, and i mean ANYONE is going to read this and not think your just a total douchebag?
Just saying even bad advice columns give some advice, or at least a sliver of insight. But this article might as well not even exist its so unenlightened. I’m actually convinced that this page is not so much about internet habits as it is a perfect example of a tired guilt ridden amputee porn addicted republican deviant, hell bent on “saving” the people from his own fate, whilst at the same time cramming in so much irony and hypocrisy it genuinely boggles the mind.
I have this same feeling most days. I’m not as productive as I want to be and have to fight constantly not to procrastinate. I was hoping that there weren’t others like myself out there, but I guess it explains a lot of the apathy I see.
Amen, brother. Thanks for writing about this — I’m glad to be seeing more folks thinking about and discussing this issue. It’s immensely important and clearly (judging by above) controversial, so a little backlash from the kiddies is to be expected, but you can’t really argue with the mounting evidence in favor of it.
If you haven’t yet heard of it, I highly recommend Maggie Jackson’s new book “Distracted.” Take a look. Cheers.
He does have a point. This is kind of ridiculous to point this out and then not offer any suggestion on how to stop.
You hit a nerve with me as well, only I don’t feel belittled to admit it. This obsession with productivity is poisonning our lives. It’s poisoning mine, it’s probably poisoning yours (though you seem to be denying it). Before there was the internet there were newspapers and coffee machines and two-hour lunches. And there have allways been productivity hounds, of the sort that have built a world of fast food joints, speed dating, assembly chains and mass production, and all the other stuff deemed “necessary”.
Grow up and grow out of it.
“And if your pissed, if it got under you’re skin [...]”
You should steal a few hours from yourself and learn to write proper, like wot I can.
What a boring, lame post. It’s ironic that I’m “stealing” my time to respond to your time stealing post! But I’m doing it anyway, now aren’t I?
Wow.
“And if your [sic] pissed, if it got under you’re [sic] skin,…”
Yo bob, you get the new batman torrent?
Meh. You just stole 2 minutes of my life.
I am neither laughing nor pissed.
Just wondering exactly what your point was.
Did it occur to you that if you are 100% productive 100% of the time you are no longer human?
Live a little dude.
Ironically, I read this at work avoiding my tasks.
“and criminal as driving a car while on your cell while texting while watching a dvd player”
not yet illegal in all states. Go to Alabama and text while watching a dvd to your heart’s content.
Did you hit a nerve or are you just pointing out the obvious – in your free time of non-stealing, you could have created or perhaps suggested ways in which you have improved your own life and helping ours instead of pointing out all the negatives of web addiction and wagging your finger.
Every day, I find myself doing exactly what you just described. Website to website- watching my work day disappear.
Thanks for the admonishment. I needed a spotlight like this to get me back on track.
Anonymous can’t read or was attempting sarcasm. Good article. It ‘s the sort of thing I know and I know and I know–it’s just a matter of doing. Last Sunday the priest was talking about daily opportunities for courage. He went another direction, but I immediately thought of the 100 times a day battle to get on task or stay on task. That may not say much for me, but if I can’t run I can at least work on crawling.
WORK OBEY OR YOU ARE NOT WORTHY
Neither laugh nor frown
Furrows this brow.
Sadly, my head nods at the truth laid out so clearly.
I would indeed have written
my real name
Had I not been reading this at work (what have I done today?).
thoroughly touched, this may be the last comment i ever write
Do you really think that this is thieve. I’ve worked in environments where IM is forbidden, and they tend to be less productive that the ones where you can do whatever you want as long as you get the things done. Ok, it requires more self control, but that’s the point: If you are doing less work by using IM/Twitter/WEB/Whatever at work, then you are wrong, no everyone that does, I’m pretty proud of what I’m able to do with my time sharing it with hobbies during the day.
“…stupid and criminal as driving a car while on your cell while texting while watching a dvd player.”
Digressing… people do all kinds of things they shouldn’t when driving, besides stealing company time, and they have no remorse. Try riding a motorcycle to work every day and see how poorly people drive. Getting back to the topic. I think that you are correct. When you agree to work for someone, they are paying you for work… not social networking. The first post, above, is really indicative of an immature person. Wait until that person has their own company and employees aren’t working when they should, the indignant poster will realize the folly of their current mindset.
I liked your article. Bravo.
“I do exactly what I’ve described in this post”
“it’s something you have to make yourself stop doing”
Bitter sweet harmony? I personally think much of what you describe can be termed “research”. Unless your internet company is dealing with… shoes. In that case, it can be termed “sole less”.
The humour.
Niclas
I thought at first you were talking about pirating software
Although I used to do that too… But when I started creating software I realized it hurt a lot more people than I thought – even if it IS software from a big company.
Anyway, I whole heartedly agree with your post. Which is one reason I never signed up for twitter and dropped IM completely. I’ve even stripped my RSS feed reader of any site who’s news is irrelevant next week or even next month. It’s simply not worth the time. For instance if I spend on averaged one hour a day on news that will be irrelevant within the month I’ll have waisted 30 some-odd hours.
I’ve begin to realize what takes my time and shouldn’t. As a result I’ve started timing myself rigorously on my different projects and sometimes even tasks within a project (with slimtimer).
Ah, and don’t worry about Anonymous. Speaking the truth is better than a crowd of “friends” in all fields of life.
How can it be self rightous if the Bob admits to having to fight the same problem? We all have this problem to some degree.
The problem I have (and if I’m just fooling myself I’m sure you’ll let me know) is the “web sites that don’t directly relate to what you are doing” part. Finding that “directly relating” line. TMZ, even digg, obvious time wasters. If I’m doing a “Web 2.0″ project, what about Ajaxian?
I can spend two days offline toiling to work around a limitation in Dojo, get back online and see that yesterday a new version of Dojo was released that fixed the problem. Wasted time I could have spent on my product, but surfing and checking on new technology is no guaranteed payoff either. Have to find that balance. 90+% of programming.reddit.com (where I found a link to this) can be a time waster, but sometimes I find out a new library or algorithm that really helps out.
People came here from one of the “headline” sites, and don’t know what you do. What’s your “product”, and how much time do YOU spend a day in directly-related, guilt-free-this-is-helping-my-product surfing?
Maybe it’s about time to open “chatting anonymous” or “RSS anonymous”… Yes, admitting you have a problem is a step towards solving it. And, yes, people who work in big corporates do it all the time, too.
Bob, WWD lost you, but we won you back. It’s great to be reading your blog again. Excellent post.
Get a real life!
“if your pissed” ???
> “if your pissed” ???
Well, some people can’t take a little constructive criticism is all… I’m guessing he put that there for those that can’t.
See the pretty land mine! Let’s step on it!
The comments here mostly break into three groups:
1. “How dare you piss me off by being right, you tired guilt ridden amputee porn addicted republican deviant [love that!]!” If I was so wrong, why are you so mad?
2. “Learn to spell, dude. It helps.” Fair enough – I’ve been at it for 51 out of 51 years as a reporter, developer, author, blogger and more and I’m still getting the hang of it. Apologies – I’ve fixed “your” and a few others in this post.
3. “Okay, what suggestions can you offer?” A few hundred posts here [http://www.47hats.com/index.php/category/productivity/tips/] and at my old blog, http://ToDoOrElse.com on the subject, but check back at http://47hats.com in a day or two – I’ll be posting a fresh set of ways to stop stealing time from yourself.
Be seeing you!
It’s easy to fall into a trap over time and not be aware of it. I enjoy it when I come across something that makes me go…right, thanks for the reminder.
I guess every person has different styles and different ways of working.
I, for one, enjoy reminders.
So thanks for reminding me to stay focused!
“if it got under you’re skin” > “if it got under your skin”
Only stealing time here, calm yourselves.
You know, a smart person once told me that time is nothing more than a unit of measurement. What makes time important to us is the fact that we’re living during that time. Hence, instead of saying “wasting my time” say “wasting my life”. That can give you a better understanding on the magnitude of the problem.