Back away from the Internet connection!

When I'm writing, I am easily distracted. I'll be working a section and think, "Oh, I need info on Regency fireplaces to write this." So I'll stop in the middle of a sentence, do some research, and then check my email, check FB, check Blogger, read the news. And then thirty minutes are gone. Or sixty.

Many times I've wished there was some way to put a lock or a timer on my Internet connection, so that I couldn't access it at random. But alas, the only solution was to disconnect completely. Not an option, of course, because we must have Internet access sometimes. So I relied on my self control. Yeah, that didn't work to well.

In November we bought a new computer. We decided to get a desktop, since working on my laptop was giving me neck problems. We didn't want anything fancy, just something to run Word and the Internet. We found a great Black Friday deal: nice big screen, keyboard, mouse. You know, the basics.

When it arrived, we plugged it in, fired it up, marveled at the speed. And then we clicked on Explorer button. Nothing. Multiple clicks. Nothing. And then we realized: no modem.

Wha?? Is there a computer built today that doesn't have a modem? Yep. We bought it.

And you know what?

Best. Mistake. Ever.

We bought a USB modem, a tiny little thing that plugs into the front of the computer. Easy to use. And easy to hide. Now, I allow myself an hour in the morning to do my social media stuff. And then I unplug the modem and hide it. I retrieve it at lunchtime and give myself another hour. And hide it somewhere else. If I have to research something, I write it down and do it at the allotted hour.

Productivity returns!

What about you? Do you have to take drastic measures to stop yourself from wasting time?