Why You Never Get Anything Done
Today’s Something for the Weekend is a cool hierarchy graphic that made the front page of Digg earlier in the week. It shows the different types of online distractions that bombard you every day and prevent you from doing any actual work. While it has been presented in a humourous way, it just goes to show what us internet marketers are up against every day while trying to make money online and not falling victim to the numerous time wasters which are just a single mouse click away!
Click the image to see a larger version of it.
I think this is a very conservative estimate of the distractions available to us, both online and offline.
For example, it only takes into consideration some of the larger networking sites -what about idly wasting time browsing forums or social media websites such as Digg?
Is it any wonder we always look for ways to get more done in less time with digital temptation all around us?
While self employment as an internet marketer is a great way to earn a living, you also need to be even more disciplined than you would be skiving at your 9-5 at your bosses expense!
Seeing as it is the weekend and we haven’t really got any work to do, why don’t you tell me how many of the distractions in the graphic above disrupted you this week? How many hours do you think you wasted?
Just write them as a comment below and let’s share how little “work” can actually get done!
The most distracted person wins a severe reprimanding and a copy of Net Nanny 
Adrienne Lee (1)
Lesley "Wes" Wils... (1)
Mark Geisler (1)
Mike Bell (1)
Russ Davis (1)
© 2010
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12 comments… read them below or add one
Hey DW,
I definitely kill a lot of time online, but most of my time goes out to something that wasn’t in the image. I spend a rediculous amount of time on the Warrior Forum. Because it is such a great resource for information and killer deals, I am always learning about new ways of how people make money online.
Every time, about 30 mins into the threads, I remind myself to “be resourceful, don’t look for resources” (Quote from Rich Schefren’s webinar).
If I’d had to put an hour count to it, I’d say I waste around 5 hours per week on the WarriorForum and other similar sites. It’s sooo difficult to give up, but definitely hampers my progress with work!
Thanks for the reminder!!
Joe
Damn man. Unfortunately this thing holds true for me. I make lists and try my hardest to stay focused but I always get drawn away from my actual work. I think Skype is my biggest distractor. When someone starts talking to me I just can’t turn away. I always end up spending like 50% of my day chatting and the other 50% actually working.
So relevant!
Matt
Hi David,
Yes any kind of self employed work requires discipline, but the internet offers such a huge range of distractions. I’ve not be in Alex’s forum much recently and just skimmed the posts when I looks.
Just reading Gary’s would take ages
One totally unrelated question for you – which widget do you use for your tag cloud?
Thanks
Keith
Hi David,
You’ve hit the nail here. I’m definately loosing time with Twitter and following up reading and subscribing to eBooks.
It’s a timely reminder to stay focused and stick to you own game plan.
John
Hey David how are you my friend?
You been away?
Well mate my biggest distraction is my family, then its skype then surfing and emails.
But people are always skyping me man.
I have tried to stay outta the forum I need to get more productive.
speak soon mate
Marcus
Hey David,
Hit’s the nail on the head every time.
How true and what better proof for the need of a clear defined task list that you stick to?
I say that, but am still guilty of being sidetracked on a fairly regular basis – just trying to keep it real!
I think it’s ok to get sidetracked occasionally, so long as we realise it’s happened and get back on track.
Talk soon buddy,
Andrew.
Hey David,
Twitter is my biggest distraction at the moment
and I also go over my allowed time in the forums,
when I manage to close twitter and get to the forums that is.
I try to stay away from emails until I have got what I need to do,
done otherwise I would be lost for hours but by the end of the
day I open them and can’t be bothered to find out what the
next big thing is so it’s easier to delete when your tired.
Great image though,
James
Hi Dave,
Wow, just looking at that pyramid and i see so many things that cut down on my productivity every day! It’s amazing how much time can be lost each day due to these distractions. So important to keep focused on the job at hand.
Well, i haven’t been on Twitter much recently, just need to get away from checking emails and stats every 5 minutes and i’m sure i’ll see my productivity increase more.
Cheers,
Paul
Hi David!
What a timely post! I feel like I am distracted by many of the items on the pyramid…the biggest for me is email and “organizing.” In an attempt to organize my business I can kill an entire day! While organizing and create a plan is critical, I definitely use it as an escape to do any real work. Thanks for the wake-up call! -Norene
Hi David,
This certainly make me realize just how much of my precious time I waste, doing quite a few of those things mentioned in the pyramid.
I try and put myself on a countdown timer when doing non productive things like Twitter, forums, etc… But sometimes I end up resetting the timer for a bit longer! I think I’m missing the point of the timer in the first place, I’m going to have to stop doing that!!
A very good reminder to us all, about just how precious our time is, and to not waste it doing non-productive things.
Take care,
Paul.
I can certainly resonate with that! Had to pinch myself last week as I’d felt myself falling into the old pattern – DISCIPLINE and FOCUS are the crucial things in this game
Oh you’re so right, David
If I start with work, planned in advanced, timed and focused; I’m fine and the emails can come later.
It’s when I start with checking my emails, signing in to chat or just taking a peek at FB that it all gets horridly out of hand pretty fast.. and the hours flash past.
Now, I have a timer on my desktop that goes ‘ding’ and I use it as a reminder to check progress and the lack of it……helps