Just over a week ago, I started playing World of Warcraft(again) and I was have a great time getting back into the game. Unfortunately, for you guys it completely knocked out my time for blogging and also some of my other things that I enjoy. My estimate for in-game time is over 40 hours for the week, that’s a full time job, what the hell could I have been thinking. So I’m going to write down a list of ways to seek and remove time sinks.
Do a Weekly Analysis for 1-2 Weeks
You don’t have to over thorough with you tracking, but every couple of hours write down what your doing. If you do something that could take a few hours write before you start and when you end, including the time for each. At the end of the week, compile all that information and look for stuff that appears rather excessive and see if you can cut it out; for me excessive would be anything above 6-8 hours for the week. Obviously, you can’t cut sleep, dining, or commuting out completely, but it is possible to cut back.
How to Cut Back
If say reading too much(though I don’t think that’s possible), you could cut the number of books available to you so that you read them more slowly and cherish them, or maybe it’s a social activity, you can cut your funding so that you have to stay home. Find a way to either make the time have more value, rather than desaturate it with over use, or put a flow valve on it so that you can constrict it. If it’s possible you could also just go cold turkey and cut it completely, this was my choice in canceling my subscription and removing the software from my system.
Find Something Productive to Fill the Time
This is the big one anytime you try to stop a habit, you need a distraction to prevent you from going back to your old ways. You need something that you find interesting and will add value to your life. Here are a few, some that I plan on using
- Blogging( I know I already am, I want to do it more frequently)
- Freelancing
- Programming
- Reading
- Focused Topical Learning
- Get A Job
- Head Back to School