Beware Web 2.0 Time Dumps

On Mondays, I share my thoughts on Working @ Home. 

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” Bernard Russell

One of my favorite podcasters, Fr. Roderick Vonhögen of SQPN.com, has been doing a lot of talking lately about "Facebook Fatigue" and the annoyance of things like constantly being asked to join a wicked Pirates vs. Ninjas battle or accept a mixed drink from a "friend" he's never met.  For big guys like Fr. Roderick who have friends in the four figures, use of Social Networking sites helps advance their agenda but can also lead to a drop in personal productivity. 

I love Facebook, Twitter, UStream and all of the other places I gather to network and socialize with friends around the world.  But I'm learning to carefully discipline myself when it comes to the use of these new media applications.  Since I work at home and no one's going to bust my chops for playing Scrabulous instead of working, the temptation is always present to just hop over to Twitter and spend half an hour checking in on short blurbs about what my friends are doing.  A blog post at Geeks Are Sexy even helps put Twitter friends on Snooze - so others must be caught up in the same time dump I find myself enjoying.

I'm learning to take breaks at scheduled times in my workday to interact with these particular sites and to turn them off when I'm working.  They can serve as a reward for getting things done, or can provide a needed respite when my brain feels fried at the end of a long day.  How do you manage your social networking time and what tips do you have for keeping your use of these tools productive?

Home-Work for Today:

• Examine your use of social networking sites today, documenting every minute you spend on these sites.  If you conclude that the time being spent on them is cutting into your productivity, create a schedule for their usage.

Best of the Blogs:
(recent posts related to today's topic of  Working @ Home)

• 7 Killer Applications for the BlackBerry
• Invoicing Web 2.0 Style
• Updating Your Home Business Web Site
• Getting Productive with Facebook Apps

Comments

[Lisa Hendey]

Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to comment and share your suggestions! You have me thinking about the "friend limiting" thing - I do that with Twitter, and only selectively follow people, but not so much with Facebook.
Also, your most recent podcast was great - I enjoyed the stories! Hope to hear from you again soon! Lisa

[The Perseverance Podcast]

Great Post! I agree that we need to be responsible when using these great tools. It is so easy to get side tracked. I limit myself to once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening (which still seems like a lot now that I think about it). I never invite Fr. Roderick Vonhögen to anything for the very reason that he has probably over a billion online friends! : ) I limit the friends that I do have on social network sites. If I don't know where I know them from, then I politely decline their invite. Some people take offense when I explain that I am limiting who I accept and don't accept. I find this is out of their own pride, because I personally don't see why someone who doesn't even know who I am would want to be my friend all that badly. ; ) Well, before I get too side-tracked I better end this! The End. : )