internet

1. Your environment
Keep your room reasonably quiet.  If you like music or the radio keep the volume down or, as an alternative, keep the remote in easy reach and turn it up only when you need to.

2. Visitors or family
Keep visitors to a minimum by telling people that they are welcome to call and see you but not during the day when you are working.  Likewise, tell your spouse and children that, however much you love them, you don't want them disturbing you during work time.  This is one rule that you should enforce absolutely.

3. Lighting
Don't work in half-light and, particularly, don't work looking at a bright monitor against a dark wall behind.  Keep the lighting in your room bright and at about the same level that you would have in an office.

4. Pause for thought
Make sure you have something nice to look at when you stop to think.  A window with a view of a street is good or perhaps a second computer with a screensaver.  If you must, have a TV but make sure it shows something that you will not be distracted to watch - and make sure you turn the sound down!

5. The internet
If you work and use the internet for research at the same time, consider having another old computer to access the net so that you don't have to keep switching from word processor to browser.  The specification for an internet-only computer can be modest and you only need a small monitor.

6. IM
You can't get away without having messenger running but don't stop to check it every few seconds and make sure that it doesn't alert you every time a message arrives.

7. Get a routine
Have certain days when you update your blog, or other online content, so you know in advance what you will be doing each day.  Stick to your schedule so that new posts appear on a regular schedule.

8. Take a break
Don't sit working for hours on end, make it a routine that you start and finish at definite times and take a break every half hour. Remember that taking a break is as important as writing.

Tags: blogs, internet