There's Always Something

A few weeks ago, I decided to log off of Facebook for a while. This was for several reasons. Earlier this year I wrote a blog post about how social technology has a negative affect on our relationships, so I figured it would be good for me to back up my writing with my actions by taking a break. Not only that, but I also realized that I needed to be more productive with my time and that Facebook had become a major time-waster. So I've been abstaining for a time in order to boost my productivity.

What I have realized during this time, however, is that there is always something else to fill time with (besides meaningful work). The world has no shortage of distractions. In the last three weeks, I have spent much less time on Facebook, but at the same time, I have been on ESPN, Twitter, Hulu, and YouTube more than ever before.

I had thought that the ability to get work done depended on restricting external distractions. What I am learning, however, is that productivity is less a matter of these things and more a matter of internal discipline. A person who is truly productive is someone who truly wants to be so and who takes the necessary steps to do his work. This means making sacrifices in entertainment, sleep, reading dumpy blogs, and staring mindlessly into space.

I'm not totally sure how to develop this discipline. I used to be a disciplined person. It wasn't even that long ago. When I was in college, I was always in the library doing something. Yes, part of the reason was to hit on the girls who were also there, but it was also because I wanted to stay on top of my responsibilities. And I don't know what it is--living in a new place, having my own apartment, having a college degree, an overdose of frozen pizzas--but I am lazy as butt nowadays.

This needs to change soon, too. This April will not be a pleasant one for me, as I have several major papers and projects due for school, on top of all the general responsibilities of life and work. The decision I need to make is whether I should get started on some of this work, of if I should instead use the time to build a time machine and go back to Ozark David so that I can ask him how he did it.

What tends to be the biggest obstacle to your own productivity? How do you get past it?