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How do I remove my desire to constantly check Facebook and Twitter at work?

  • I work for a fast-paced startup in SF that requires a lot of focus during the daytime. However, I can't seem to work for hours straight without feeling like I'm missing something on Twitter or Facebook. This causes me to check it more frequently than I'd like, which in turn leads to detrimental interruptions in my analysis. This loss of focus can really set me back.

  • Answer:

    I think the big question is why you want to check Facebook and Twitter and what is the frequency (ie once an hour or once every 5 minutes). Since I don’t know the details of your reasons and frequency of checking social media, here are a few broad suggestions: Reframe social media as a reward after good work: Figure out how long you’re able to focus in general before you need a break. Let’s say it’s 55 minutes. One way of structuring your time is to focus for 50 minutes and then take a 5 minute break, where you can check social media, stretch etc. That way it's built-in to your day and it’s a reward you can look forward to, rather than feeling bad about it. This has been most effective for me. I work in social media so my breaks might look a bit different but it’s helpful to have a reward instead of doing something and feeling bad. Apps & Add-ons to help you focus 1)  If you’re not sure what frequency you’re checking Facebook and Twitter, tools like Rescue Time can help. Sometimes just seeing that you’re spending an hour on something can be enough. 2)  There are Firefox Add-ons that will prevent you from checking sites you designate for a period of time. These can help wean you off checking in on a frequent basis. 3)  Remove any social media apps from your desktop if they’re distracting you and breaking your focus. Do you have Twitter apps on your computer like Tweetdeck that are constantly pulling your attention to updates? If this is distracting to you, remove them. I hope this helps! Good luck!

Athena von Oech at Quora Visit the source

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Other answers

It sounds to me like you don't enjoy your job very much, and will use any distraction - FB, Twitter - to avoid doing it.  Do you have the same tendency for distraction when you are doing activities you really like or is it just your job?  If it's all the time maybe you have ADHD.  Bottom line, find yourself a job that is more interesting than FB and Twitter.

Dave Hagler

The "context switch" to check on Twitter or Facebook can be expensive. You check your tweet stream or your Newsfeed (or both) and when you return to your "real work," you've forgotten what you were doing, so it takes you a few minutes to re-gather yourself. It sounds like you're quite an active Twitter/Facebook user, so don't fight it. But, allocate specific times during the day when you'll check on them (e.g. lunch time, afternoon coffee break, right before you shut down your computer at night, etc.). This allows you to "do more" on Twitter/Facebook per instance, but avoids the high frequency context switches.

Dennis Shiao

try using chrome extensions for twitter and facebook. They have a time limit you can set for refreshing regularly. This way you get cute notifications of people you REALLY want to follow. An an hour would work if you keep the limit of friends and those you follow to a minimum. (Don't check on everyone.Because then your cheating. You haven't really left).

Michael Kimani

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