Lifehacking

I love to lifehack. I read blogs like Lifehacker and Ask Metafilter to learn about all the ways I can live my life a little more efficiently. I find it particularly interesting to think about how I can use my time at work more profitably. Academics have (relatively) a lot of free time, and a lot of long-term projects that we need to complete, and which may not have firm deadlines. My starting technique was a to-do list, and I've used several different to-do list apps in an effort to better visualize my priorities. Then I moved on to staying focused while working, which is why I now use the Pomodoro technique. This structures my time so that I work for 25 sustained minutes, and "break" for 5. The break can be as simple as checking email or talking to a colleague about a project, or even making a cup of tea. The short bursts of sustained work help you reduce distractions and interruptions, and I manage to do a lot of writing and editing this way. 

But the most meaningful change occurred when I installed Internet-blocking software on my computer. (I use SelfControl.) I recognize that I often fritter away time on news sites or blogs, and I used to turn off my wifi connection. But that doesn't work as well when you need to do research or check email. The Internet-blocking application is much more sophisticated - if I activate it, I can't change my mind during the chosen time (which for me, is the eight hours of my workday). Turning off the computer won't disable it, although I'm sure if I knew more about programming I could figure out a shortcut. Most importantly, I don't block all Internet, just the places I waste time. Goodbye facebook and slate and New York Times. Hello productivity at work. This appeals to my German sense of efficiency, but also to the cognitive scientist in me: we have only a limited amount of self control each day, and so when I minimize the choices I have to make to stay focused, I save some willpower for other decisions in my day.