Content Marketing, Online Copywriting, and Business Website Strategies
For the past year or so I’ve been using two applications on my MacBook Pro that I absolutely love. Even if you’re not a Mac user, I still want to encourage you to keep reading because PC versions are available for at least one of the apps and the concepts are incredibly important for your business and for your life. Seriously… the vast majority of my ultra-productive work comes from using these simple apps that have allowed me to free up more of my time, focus on high-results projects, and get away from my greatest distractions…
First, the two apps–
If you’re looking to block your computer from web access for a set period of time, you need Freedom. This handy little application will completely block you from the Internet anytime you turn it on. Simply open the app, set the number of minutes (from 1 minute all the way up to 480), and turn it on. Presto! No more web access for you, buddy. (Mac AND PC versions available for this app.)
If you’re looking to block only particular websites, I highly recommend Steve Lambert’s “SelfControl.” Turn this app on and you can designate exactly which websites you want blocked. Create a running list so anytime you turn it on, the same sites are blocked. Enter the number of minutes you need a little self control, activate, and ba-bing! No more annoying little sites like Facebook, Twitter, or email access. (Mac only.)
The makers of the Freedom app also recently released a new app which I have not yet tried out called Anti-Social which basically does the same thing as SelfControl but is available for Mac AND PC.
This point might be obvious for some and completely missed by others, so let’s unpack it. If you do any kind of work on the Internet (which includes virtually all of us these days), chances are extremely high that you spend a great deal of your computer time surfing aimlessly and getting lost in the high tide of websites, email, and social media.
Whether you want to believe me or not, you simply do NOT need to check your email, Facebook, and all your other little accounts 1723 times per day. It’s NOT doing you any good.
BUT…
Quite frankly, it’s really really really HARD to stay away. I don’t know about you, but the second I sit down and pop up my laptop screen I’m racing off to about 1,326,028 websites, email accounts, and god only knows what. All it takes is one little thought in a different direction and click, click, click, and suddenly I’m watching random videos on YouTube about how to blow bubbles in my beer.
UNLESS…
I make a point of activating Freedom if I want to stay off the web completely or SelfControl if I want to do focused work online.
Neither of these applications are expensive. Freedom is just $10 and Anti-Social is $15. SelfControl is free. And just think of how quickly this tiny little investment will translate into income-producing work time.
There’s a time for silly websites and random web-browsing. But if you can get a little help from these applications, you’ll be far more likely to know when it’s time to get some work done and when it’s time to play.
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Anti-Social does not have a PC version that I could find.
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