20 Ways to Waste Less Time on the Internet

Image via Complex Original

We all keep to-do lists, and we often ignore them. The more firmly you can stick to a to-do list, the better. This means that you need to resist putting off scheduled events and work a little longer if you don't make it through your list. This may result in your working late sometimes, but it will teach you to schedule effectively. We all make schedules, but many of us are more than willing to open up Facebook and watch our self-imposed deadlines fly by.

Google Chat, Facebook Chat, Skype, YouPorn Chat: none of it is going to help your productivity. Idly chatting with friends you haven't seen in a while is nice, sure. Here's the thing: if you only talk to them when you are both bored on the Internet, you probably don't have that much to say to each other. Schedule time in your day to email, call, or chat with friends: the rest of the time, tell the world that you're unavailable. Disconnecting from the grid for most of the day means you might miss out on that ex from high school asking how you've been, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good of our productivity.

You are going to be placed on Internet mailing lists. Even the greatest identity protecting ninjas among us get stuck on a Williams-Sonoma or Papa John's mass email list from time to time. Don't fret. As soon as you get that first email from the Papa offering you a free 2 liter, unsubscribe. Same goes for blogs. Just because a blog or magazine sends informative digests doesn't necessarily mean that you should be reading them daily. Force yourself to seek out your content and you'll spend less time with stuff that you wouldn't have read if it wasn't dropped on your digital doorstep.

Reading more sources can actually save you time. Whether your favorite website is Grantland, Jezebel, BuzzFeed, or (ahem) Complex, you type in the URL for comfort as well as information. Eventually you develop a dependence on those GIF lists and Bill Simmons mailbags. You convince yourself you are just popping in for a little Oscar coverage when what you really want is a safety blanket. If you just want information, read a site you aren't as loyal to and it will be easier for you to close the window and get back to work. [Ed. Note: If you are reading Complex, feel free to keep the window open and click through Tech Channel lists periodically. It's a great stress reliever.]

Amazon and the rest of the huge Internet retailers are great at making sure you know about their wide-ranging sales. "30% off selected items." "50% off electronics." "Deep discounts and great deals." Not only are these traps for your credit card, sales like this also suck your time. Before you know it, you've spent three hours looking at outdoor gear that you're never going to use anyway trying to convince yourself an all-weather backpack would come in handy for the long walk from your apartment to the local pizza shop. If you need to buy something, you'll find it cheap somewhere on the Internet. Don't get suckered in by Internet sales. Nothing is cheaper than not buying something you don't need.

Even the most well-intentioned among us sometimes use online dating as a place to click through profiles of people we will never message and message people we never intend on meeting. Before you spend hours looking for a girl who loves David Lynch and hand-knitted scarves as much as you do, ask yourself if you're really going to follow through on potential love connections. Not only will this save you time, but It's polite to the people who are actually trying to get a date (get laid) if you remove yourself from the game that you have no intention of playing.

Wikipedia is amazing. Every trip to the website yields some new trivia nugget that for you to drop next time you're trying to drunkenly impress a girl. Before you know it, you can get so deep into the playground of information that you can't see a way out. Know exactly what you're hunting for on Wikipedia, and once you've found your informational quarry, close that tab. This is coming from a guy who spent an entire evening exploring Waffle House's incredible standard of emergency preparedness, so yeah, I know that of which I speak.

Fantasy leagues are the preferred way to keep in touch with childhood friends, college buddies, and former co-workers among bros and those with bro-like tendencies. Fantasy sports have become wildly popular largely because they can get extremely competitive quickly. Because fantasy often celebrates long lasting relationships, longtime rivalries and old grudges tend to work themselves out on the waiver wire, turning otherwise reasonable beta males into ultra-competitive phone gazers. Take a personal inventory at the end of every fantasy season. If you are on too many teams or one of your leagues has become so competitive that you fantasize about your waiver priority before you fantasize about that hot barista around the way, you may need to take a step back.

If you're the kind of person who actually enjoys video games, why waste your time on inferior games like Farmville and Candy Crush Saga? Hating on Candy Crush is tantamount to blasphemy in this day and age, but let us ask, what value you do you get out of the game? Is making rows of colored candies really that fulfilling? If you like video games, more power to you, but at least play one of the cinematic, beautiful games that are flooding the marketplace rather than idly drifting to games fit for five year olds during your office downtime.

There is nothing quite as beautifully numbing as falling into the warm embrace of an all day television marathon. We know it feels so good, but even the high art of Breaking Bad and Mad Men should be limited to a few hours at a time. Before you begin that first episode, open a note and write down how many episodes you are going to watch. You'll break this promise to yourself from time to time (especially if you are watching The Wire), but most of the time, you'll be able to guilt yourself into compliance.

If you are collaborating with someone on a project, there is no reason not to edit it together in real time. Rather than passing draft after draft of a memo or presentation back and forth, polish it together. Usually, it is best if one team member writes a rough draft, if only to have something to start with. After that, schedule a time to jump into Google Docs and edit the piece together. Once the piece is in Google Docs, any group member can make edits at any time. If you and your collaborators lose your way, you can always restore a previous version. 

Just like everyone believes themselves to be better at darts and beer pong when they're drunk, everyone believes they are great at multitasking. You aren't. Numerous sources have found that we aren't meant to multi-task. Your short-term memory is so limited that it can barely remember a phone number (5-9 items at once), let alone process two dissimilar processes simultaneously.

Visiting a news website, whether it be as high-minded as The Atlantic or as trashy as TMZ, can be a huge time waster. Instead of taking a leisurely stroll through your favorite sites, aggregate them with Twitter. If you're an information addict, build a custom feed with just your news, gossip, or sports content. You'll buzz through the headlines and read only the articles that matter most.

Merlin Mann at 43folders invented the concept of Inbox Zero. Though Mann has a number of articles, videos, tips, and tricks for you, the basic premise of Inbox Zero is that when you empty your email inbox, you empty your mind. Read every email in a timely manner. Respond quickly and succinctly if possible. File emails you'll need in the future in folders. Don't be afraid to answer an email with "I don't know," "Let's figure it out later," or "I'm sorry but I don't have time to deal with this right now." Any of those responses is better for you and the person you're emailing that leaving the message to rot in your inbox.

Even the most efficient communicators get into email loops from time to time. If you find yourself going back and forth on an idea, whether it's the result of a disagreement or a miscommunication, don't be afraid to have a quick meeting to clear things up. Five minutes of face to face contact on Skype or Google Hangouts can eliminate any number of problems that the written word couldn't clear up. Save yourself hours of frustration by being willing to change how you say it as well as what you're saying.

A convenient website doesn't make you an expert. Instead of spending an entire day self-diagnosing, researching how avoid paying the mechanic, or trying out DIY home maintenance life hacks, think for a moment if your problem is best handled by a professional. There is a chance you'll spend hours researching, attempt an ill-advised project on your own, cause even greater damage, and have to bring in a pro anyway.

The great thing about a BCC is that you know that some office jerk-off isn't going to reply all with some inane response. Email threads can get out of hand very quickly, and the best way to prevent the endless email chain is to cut off the serpent's head. If you are doing anything more complicated than planning a bachelor party, use BCC so all of the ideas filter through you and don't interfere with your game plan.

If you feel compelled to disagree with a Facebook friend or blogger, leave only one comment. If you are the author of the original post, limit yourself to one response. Anything beyond a response or a rebuttal is at best repeating yourself and at worst name calling. Not only do Internet dick swinging contests make you look petty, but they are also a huge waste of time.

Asking you to step away from Twitter and Facebook all together would be insane. How would you know which of your high school classmates got pregnant and what celebs showed the best side-boob at the VMAs? Don't just leave those social media sites open in a tab on your desktop. Schedule hourly (or even less frequent) Facebook checks and limit that check to five minutes or so ... unless you find a really great celebrity nip slip gallery. You're only human after all.

Investing in a faster Internet connection can be one of the best ways to save time online. Indefinite adjectives like "turbo" and misleading phrases like "double the speed" are used by providers to shroud your actual speed in secrecy. Make sure you know how many megabits per second (Mbps) you're paying for and that you're seeing something close to that speed. First, run a third party speed test, then run a speed test through your provider. If you find that you're running slow, sometimes as little as $10 a month (or threatening to take your business elsewhere) can give you Internet an order of magnitude faster. Don't just pay your bill. Make sure you're getting what you're paying for.