Is the Web Killing Your Productivity?
By Michael StelznerI wanted to write a nice post tonight.
But…
It seemed that I had a few hundred emails to sort through, Facebook relationships to accept, Twitter updates, LinkedIn approvals and did I mention phone calls to return?
It seems that it is much harder to write than it was just a few years back.
I was told that the Internet was supposed to help us get more done.
It seems that rather it has created “more work.”
And unfortunately this kind of work seems to be everything but profitable writing.
Am I alone here?
What’s your opinion? Are you finding it very difficult to sit down, clear your plate and let the creative juices flow?
What say you?
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May 20th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Hi Michael,
I have the same problem! Quite often the only way I can get any work done is to print out my research and my notes and go to a room that doesn’t have a computer. Even if I’m tempted to look something up while I’m writing, I try to resist till I have at least a rough draft of whatever I’m working on.
Warmest regards,
Chrisoulla
May 20th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
And the duck descends.
I find myself playing with the latest social media/Web 2.0 stuff to maintain familiarity. But given the number of personal writing projects piling up on my desk, I’m loathe to invest much time in most of them. At least not the kind of time needed to make much of them.
Am I missing something, or just shepherding my time? When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
There are just soooo many distractions. Am currently sitting behind my desk, and am already into the second hour of my working day, with blogs and social media sites having occupied all my working time so far, with more minutes still needing investing. Networking is what business is all about, and striking a balance is key to not wasting too much time on networking and neglecting productivity in the process.
May 21st, 2008 at 1:12 am
Yes! Im facing the same problem as well. Whenever I’m trying to sit down and do my assignments, I always find myself browsing thru webs or mails tht never seems to be stop flooding my mail box. So I have to force myself to offline for a couple hours and then focus to do my work. If not, I’ll write down things i want to write at a piece of paper before i got on my PC. hehe…
May 21st, 2008 at 1:20 am
I completely agree! I used to think that it was much harder when I was just learning about all this new stuff, but then the more you find out, the more you have to do and then the more you realise you have to learn!
I suppose the busier you get, the more likely it is that you’ll need to hire someone to do all this stuff for you… but then you get away from the personal touch which adds so much to your business…
What a great challenge to have!
May 21st, 2008 at 6:21 am
I think the Internet speeds up many things — research is the huge one. You no longer have to go to the public library or order a document through the university to find a certain stat you are looking for. And email — can’t say enough about it. I truly would not be able to do the things I do (and have the clients around the world that I have) without the Internet.
But it can be a time-sucker.
Back in the mid-90s I was part of the misc.writing Usenet group. A guy named Jack Mingo was there who always had a witty one or two sentences for replies.
Anyway, he was commenting on a post by a regular flamer (does that still mean the same thing today — someone who posts purposefully-inflammatory remarks?) and said something along the lines of: “Methinks his Net writing equals his Gross writing…”, of course saying that the only writing he did all day was posting to the newsgroup, so does that really make him a writer…?
That always stuck with me, because I felt myself going down that road too. It was soon after I left the group (for other reasons as well, not just that one).
‘Course today it’s commenting on posts and maintaining my own blog. But I think there’s a fine line — like any vice — between enjoying some fun ‘Net time to recharge the ol’ batteries and abuse.
On that note, I think I’ll get back to work…
~Graham
May 21st, 2008 at 7:02 am
I agree 100%, Michael.
Like Tom I try to maintain familiarity with the tools. But it eats up precious time just figuring out how they work—and IF they will genuinely add value to my clients’ marketing strategies.
Because many of my clients use it, I try to check in with LinkedIn every day. I use Del.cio.us to organize research material for projects.
Otherwise I don’t allow myself to check blogs, RSS feeds and social networks during business hours.
As a sole proprietor copywriter, I’m busy full time and beyond working on multiple projects and tight deadlines to keep a steady income flow.
I know I should create a blog as a self-marketing tool, but I honestly don’t feel I can carve out and commit to the requisite time for a weekly post that is thoughtful, useful and “adds to the conversation.”
Facebook, Twitter, Jaiku, Seismic, etc—impossible. I really don’t know how copywriters manage to use these tools regularly and still have time to strategize and write for paying clients.
So I vacillate between feeling technologically left in the dust—and smug that I’ve wisely chosen not to flit after the latest shiny toy.
May 21st, 2008 at 11:06 am
Lorraine wrote, “I know I should create a blog as a self-marketing tool, but I honestly don’t feel I can carve out and commit to the requisite time for a weekly post that is thoughtful, useful and “adds to the conversation.””
Actually, Lorraine, I applaud your self-awareness, high standards, and apparent ability to prioritize. You have a model that works for you, apparently successfully. Why fix what isn’t broken?
I think one’s ability to uniquely add to the conversation is a consideration that too many bloggers didn’t spend much time evaluating before they launched. Time to write, and frequency of posting, are two more considerations. If you know you don’t have the time to commit, why take on the commitment.
Scot Herrick had had a pretty good blog, until one day he made a decision based largely on “uniqueness” of contribution: http://tenkeyboards.com/the-end-of-ten-keyboards/
May 21st, 2008 at 11:43 am
Michael, perhaps your subconscious is trying to tell you something.
If you know you need to write, but get distracted by other things — some of which could conceivably wait a few days (not the phone calls) — is there something larger afoot?
Perhaps the frequency of posting that you set for yourself is starting to feel like a drain, an obligation.
Perhaps you’re not that interested in the particular topic you were planning to write about.
Perhaps blogging is starting to feel too routine, too rote, and subconsciously you’re long for a new challenge in your marketing.
9 times out of 10, when I’ve reflected back on things, I’ve realized that being easily distracted was an early warning sign of a larger sense of dissatisfaction — or burnout. With the help of friends, I’ve learned to be mindful of when and how much I used words and phrases like “ought to,” “should,” and “I wanted to ______, but________.”
You might check out Steven Berglas’ book “Reclaiming the Fire: How Successful People Overcome Burnout”.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:43 pm
The web is a huge distraction for me, because I do so much there. The ’social outreach’ and networking are minor jobs that ball up together into one major time-consuming part of the business.
I thought about this ahead of time when I first knew I’d want to work online, and built into my business vision provisions for web assistant(s). I’m not at the point where I can hire one yet, even though I do have a few volunteers for certain projects, and the work’s increasing as people get to know me. So, I am feeling the strain at keeping up.
The emails, message boards and blogs inspire me. I’ve gotten pretty good at writing for a time and then checking them during my breaks. And every other day or so, I just check them once and then do not work on the computer at all for the rest of the day. Those days I do brainstorming and writing away from the pc.
I haven’t done near as much as I want to do on the internet. Still need to gain some skills yet. I think you have to be the master of organization to fit web networking, project working, and family into your day without wearing yourself out.
May 21st, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I’m learning to choose my poison. We can all market like demons, but sooner or later you learn there’s nobody who can tell you how to fit 11 gallons into a 10 gallon container.
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 am
The web feeds into one of my challenges. My great love for new ideas and searching for the next new thing can become ill-disciplined very easily. I keep having to remind myself that I need to temper wild flights of fantacy with solid “do-ing” work.
I find I am most effective when I chunk my week into groups of time. The best success comes when I plan for wasted time too. That’s the time allocated in my usually low productivity point of the day, when I have no rules. Somehow, because I have given myself a period where output is irrelevant, I am less likely to be distracted during the rest of the day.
For me, the web does not kill my productivity - but my behavoiur can.
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:06 am
Here’s a guaranteed four-step plan to success as a self-employed writer:
1. First get busy with paying clients.
Work 40 hours a week on your marketing if you have to, until your schedule is full with paying clients. This is the time to fool around with your Web site, LinkedIn, blog, Twitter, etc… when it’s a valid marketing activity.
2. Once you have as much work as you can do, raise your rates. Steadily.
Charge more for every new client if you can. As long as you are busy and earning more on each project, you only need to spend a small amount of your time on marketing.
3. Then get more selective. Cherry-pick your assignments.
Your higher rates will filter out certain clients. That’s fine. Only work with the ones that interest you, for the fees you want to earn. Go into marketing maintenance mode, spending only a few hours a week on this.
4. Always project your workload and cashflow for a few months ahead.
If you can see your workload falling off, go back to step 1 and do more marketing again.
The problem I see with most freelance writers is that they NEVER do enough marketing at any stage, they NEVER get busy enough, they SELDOM raise their rates, and they NEVER project out more than the next couple of weeks.
Fix those problems and you will have a realistic handle on how much of your time you can justify fooling around with things like LinkedIn and Twitter. Or fritter away on the web, or on writing things like this.
Cheers!
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:15 am
Wow, Gordon’s got it. (A) we don’t need social networking to climb the ranks and (B) social media is just another way to procrastinate if we want to.
But it is certainly more fun than doing laundry or washing dishes…
As I commented this morning on CalalystBlogger: with so many writers questioning the validity of Twitter et al., this might be marked as the week that it and other social media jumped the shark. (You heard it hear second…)
~Graham
p.s. great 4-step plan to success!
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:09 am
The need to opine, disseminate, link in, book faces, etc. has gained overweening importance in our lives — ONLY IF WE LET IT. I, too, have been sucked into the vortex of those all important e-mails. I have yet to add another installation to my blog though — paying gigs take priority for keyboard time. Like having children though, I had to come up with a reason to have a blog. I can no longer hold a pen long enough to write meaningful journal entries so that’s my outlet. It’s still last on the list. Certainly, we all have something to say, especially to those of us who put words to paper as naturally as breathing. But really, what does it all mean? It means I turn off the Internet and turn on word and write for my clients, my deadlines and my livelihood. And then I go read a book.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:25 am
A majority of my business come directly from direct marketing. I’m in the real estate business. My income, based upon the national Board’s records will be in the 99.5 percentile.
There’s a distinct difference between distracting yourself by wasting time with social media, and making a magnificent living. It really boils down to personal preference, doesn’t it? Some prefer the old school of generating leads/business. I prefer to combine the old & new schools.
Nobody really cares how you skinned the cat until they ascertain IF you skinned the cat.
And those for whom twitter (as the latest example) is about ready to ‘jump the shark’, you couldn’t be more mistaken. I thought that too.
Used correctly and not like the town gossip, twitter is very productive. Is a quarter million so far this year good for you? That’s a profitable shark.
It’s all about how many cat skins are on your wall. How you skinned them will not be of interest unless the wall is cluttered with skins.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:26 am
Silly me — I wrote direct marketing when I meant social media/internet.
Probably makes a little sense now, eh?
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:41 am
The Internet practically begs you to look at it everyday. You want to keep up. But you can never be “fully” informed because there are so many voices, it is overwhelming. The filter, which used to be the press, is gone. While this allows for more variety and viewpoints, it is also overhwhelming and in order to keep up, I feel I have to read more constantly. The problem is that not much of what I read is actually important or even well done. Yet I feel compelled nonetheless. . .
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Some of you may be old enough to remember the silly movies that showed folks sitting around and eating bonbons, as proto-computer gadgets took care of everything around the house, even delivering dinner from trapdoors in the wall.
What few people realized back then was that when a computer makes me more productive or expressive, it does the same for everyone around me too. Everything snowballs until all data becomes metadata, every response elicits a new response, and what I teach (conclusively ending discussion) morphs into something I have to learn quickly–or get left behind.
I predict that within a year or so social media communication will so permeate our lives that it will all blur–the good, the bad and the ugly–into a knowledge porridge that seems nutritious but is ultimately of little value. Some time before then, I fully expect Our Fearless Leader Michael to produce a White Paper that puts everything into such clear perspective that everyone finds a truly effective means to control the clutter and separate wheat from chaff.
For now our only chance at staying atop the porridge is to follow good advice like that offered here by Gordon, and to pass the bonbons to someone else at every opportunity.
(Given the food analogies, it must be getting close to dinnertime) (!!)
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Depends on what kind of work,i can’t work without web,i need it.
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 am
I always have time when I let my self not to open my social networking account…Give some times to myself for thinking and writing down my tought to a paper. Calmness is what I need for writing.
May 29th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I actually feel that the time I save being able to look up anything in an instant instead of trying to find the answer at the library or wherever makes me more productive.
May 30th, 2008 at 6:06 am
It certainly can do. You just have to buckle down. I find IM is the biggest distraction. I know quite a few people who spend way to much time on sites like Digg though.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Hi Michael.
This is so true. I must be honest I am a blogaholic thus get caught up with posting to start with, then there is skype, emails etc. Statistically they say that the average staff member only works 60% of the day, 100 hours out of 173 which confirms what you are saying. The cost per hour of a staffs time thus needs to be divided by 100.
June 9th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
This problem is the one I am facing for about 5 years. I cannot tell web isn’t useful for me. It really helps me to do my work, but….. Every time I wish to relax for a couple of minutes and look through some blogs, sites…. I suddenly understand that cannot return to my work as it captures me… What can I do?
June 13th, 2008 at 8:44 am
I find that when I’m up at my boyfriend’s I get a lot more work done. This is because he doesn’t have any internet connection so when I sit down to write I really do write. I can’t check my emails, stumble stuff for people, add friends to blogcatalog and all that other stuff.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I think in terms of work & productivity, and certainly creativity; most of the internet is just noise. Its nice though; its a community thing. It is social. But if you really want to see how much these blogs et al are(nt) stimulating your work, try taking a week or ten days off. It makes sense that original thoughts come from places outside the limits of your computer screen. I like it when people blog, and work, with personality. The world doesn’t have a plastic border.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:02 am
I think when it comes to writing there are times I can get more done if I turn of the computer and go back to pen and paper.