Define Cynical Fan Forums

I'm sure we've all been there before - you get assigned some kind of assignment that requires internet access. This may be (and probably is) fine for some people who have a solid work ethic and attention span, but it can be very problematic for others. Like myself, especially lately. When I have an assignment online or I have to use the internet to study for whatever reason, it takes me -forever- to buckle down and get to work. I'm sure I'm not completely alone here.

Anyway, I wanted to start this topic to see if anyone has any tips on not getting distracted so much. Let us learn from each other!

I always just think really hard about how bad the consequences will be if I don't do it. Then I mope for a couple minutes and complain to myself about how gay it will be to do it then I force myself to leave. It's not easy.

No help from me. Everytime I have an internet assignment I'm usually on this site.

I'm the wrong person to ask. I'm as distractable as a rubber doorknob on judgement day.

I pull an all-nighter, so by the time morning comes, I'll have goofed off quite a bit, but gotten just enough work done for the assignment to be passable.

I compact 4256245762 hours of work into roughly an hour using magic.

I fail at not being distracted online. Try logging out of every messenger and website you'd be inclined to use, and just force yourself not to visit distracting sites.

I still have nightmares about HOURS lost at tvtropes... ;~;

My daily work involves being online (I build websites and write PHP), and I've been a career telecommuter for over a year, so I had to learn how to deal with this very fast. If I let myself do it, I can spend hours bouncing back and forth between various forums and community sites.

Basically, I ration my online time. Avoiding tabbed-browsing like the plague helps with this, but when I'm working on a project, it's work time. No personal browsing allowed (with the occasional exception for something worthwhile that notifies me via email).

Obviously, one can't simply flip a magic switch and work for hours on-end without some sort of distraction, so I set little goals for myself. After checking my usual rounds of forums, art sites, and LJ in the morning (about an hour of browsing to wake myself up and catch up on everything), I'll allow myself a round of checking them again (except LJ, it's too time-consuming) only when I reach certain goals. IE, once I finish the function I'm working on, or get a particular query working, or fix a problem. Little things that allow me to check my usual batch of sites roughly every hour or two, without locking myself into a clock-driven schedule.

Since it takes me about 10-15 minutes to go through a set of sites (excluding LJ and a couple others that are too slow-moving to bother checking more than once a day), this works very well, allowing me to stay focused on my work wherever I am, and still keep tabs on my "internet life".

On a related note, instant messengers can really eat up one's time while on the computer. The best strategy I've found is to have a good idea of how many conversations you can carry on at once, and use away messages/invisibility to make sure you don't go over that number. For me, I can have 2 conversations simultaneously while working (sometimes 3 if they're slow-moving or if one is work-related) without disrupting my work, so when I'm working, I put up an away message that says "I'm at work, don't bug me!", and then if there's a person or two I want to contact to keep me company or discuss something important, I can IM them without anyone else disturbing me.

Hope this helps!

My only advice is to not go onto any wiki, even if you want to use one for research. Those things destroy free time.

My daily work involves being online (I build websites and write PHP), and I've been a career telecommuter for over a year, so I had to learn how to deal with this very fast. If I let myself do it, I can spend hours bouncing back and forth between various forums and community sites.

Basically, I ration my online time. Avoiding tabbed-browsing like the plague helps with this, but when I'm working on a project, it's work time. No personal browsing allowed (with the occasional exception for something worthwhile that notifies me via email).

Obviously, one can't simply flip a magic switch and work for hours on-end without some sort of distraction, so I set little goals for myself. After checking my usual rounds of forums, art sites, and LJ in the morning (about an hour of browsing to wake myself up and catch up on everything), I'll allow myself a round of checking them again (except LJ, it's too time-consuming) only when I reach certain goals. IE, once I finish the function I'm working on, or get a particular query working, or fix a problem. Little things that allow me to check my usual batch of sites roughly every hour or two, without locking myself into a clock-driven schedule.

Since it takes me about 10-15 minutes to go through a set of sites (excluding LJ and a couple others that are too slow-moving to bother checking more than once a day), this works very well, allowing me to stay focused on my work wherever I am, and still keep tabs on my "internet life".

On a related note, instant messengers can really eat up one's time while on the computer. The best strategy I've found is to have a good idea of how many conversations you can carry on at once, and use away messages/invisibility to make sure you don't go over that number. For me, I can have 2 conversations simultaneously while working (sometimes 3 if they're slow-moving or if one is work-related) without disrupting my work, so when I'm working, I put up an away message that says "I'm at work, don't bug me!", and then if there's a person or two I want to contact to keep me company or discuss something important, I can IM them without anyone else disturbing me.

Hope this helps!

That really does help a lot. Thanks!

That really does help a lot. Thanks!

You're quite welcome! Another thing I thought of that helps me, though it mostly applies to daily working/long-term projects, is to separate my work area from my "fun"/personal area. I have a laptop and a desktop system, and I've found that I work a lot more efficiently if I do my work from a location other than home. Like taking my laptop to a quiet coffee shop/deli, or even just sitting on my porch with it instead of my desk. The mountain views from my balcony are a nice bonus

I'm extremely bad at this, although I'm better when I'm at work because I feel like I need to get this stuff done. Unless I'm on IRC, in which case productivity is a completely alien concept.

wtf people actually being helpful? What has this forum become?! D:

wtf people actually being helpful? What has this forum reverted back to?! D:

Felix gives the best method. Although wikipedia is still a safe-zone, provided that you stop yourself whenever you click on links that aren't directly related to your subject. I try to maintain no more than three wikipedia tabs open, all relevant, when doing research.

My problem isn't being kept occupied by too many links or tabs but getting too engrossed in whatever site I'm in. I usually end up going through all or most of the sites content. It can be quite time consuming, as these sites have been guilty of in the past.