How to Force Yourself to Disconnect From Your Computer
Regardless of whether we pay attention or just don’t want to deal with the world, we all have moments when we realize … we sit at the computer all day. In this case, you may berate yourself for lack of willpower (or obvious laziness) or ask for help.
Whether you’re using Windows or Mac, there are many tools you can use to encourage yourself to pause the screen – ideally for a long time – so you can relax.
Window
Microsoft doesn’t have a big screen time management built into its operating system, at least not for ordinary people, but you have several options. First, you can just act like a complete jerk and restrict yourself from logging in at certain times of the day. In other words, use some forced time.
Open an Administrative Command Prompt (by searching for Command Prompt, right-clicking and choosing Run as Administrator). To set time limits for yourself, enter the following:
net user [your user name] /time:[day],[time]
With regard to these variables, [your username] should be obvious; otherwise, open Computer Management from the Start menu and find yourself in the Local Users and Groups section.
“Day” should also be obvious: “Sun, P, Tue, Tue, Thu, Fri” or “Sat”. Time is indicated in 12- or 24-hour format, of your choice: “14:00” or “14:00”, for example. You can only set limits in hours, not minutes, so don’t try to be specific.
In my case, to prevent myself from using my desktop computer before bed on weekdays, I would do the following:
net user davem /time:Su-Th,6am-8pm
This code will only allow me to use my computer from Sunday to Thursday morning until 8pm or so. Friday and Saturday are open to everyone, as I have not indicated any restrictions for these days. However, this trick prevents you from logging in only during locked times. If you are already signed in, Windows will not kick you out.
Parental control
If the above trick doesn’t quite work for you, you can always follow the slightly simpler method of setting up parental controls on your system. Make yourself a fictitious “child” account and use “parental” permissions to set yourself screen time limits . This may sound a little silly – if not overwhelming – but it is certainly one way to limit what you do for individual applications. If you need a little help and not games , it might be worth looking into .
Applications and extensions
There are some decent apps and extensions that you can also use to self-monitor your computer time. Cold Turkey or StayFocusd can help you block websites that you spend too much time on. Extend that to apps by trying Freedom , although it will eventually force you to subscribe to the app – expensive, but perhaps a small investment is what you really need to really stick to your performance goals.
While an app like Focus Booster won’t stop you from using any of the other apps on your computer, having a countdown timer to get work done – or, conversely, being able to take yourself a break – might be all you need to stay focused online. – entertainment during procrastination hours.
Mac
You have several options if you want to reduce the amount of time you spend retyping what you did on the terrible MacBook keyboard. I’m a kid. Everything you do on your Mac is up to you, but you don’t have to do it for so many hours every day if you don’t want to.
The first and easiest are the built-in Screen Time features you’ll find in macOS Catalina. Open System Preferences and click on Screen Time . You will see a window that looks a bit like this (no doubt with a lot more hours logged than me):
When you’re done complaining about spending nine hours in your web browser today, click Downtime . Turn it on and you can set a period of time during which only certain applications will be available to you – for example, no games after 19:00. However, make your rules good, as you can only send one chunk of time this way.
If you don’t want to be in control of yourself that much , you can also use the Application Restrictions section to determine how much time you are allowed in each application category each day. So, if you only want to allow yourself to play for two hours a day, but don’t want to go crazy by specifying a “game window” in which you are allowed to play, just use the application limits. It’s easier.
Likewise, if there are applications that you need to use but do not want them to fall into your network of performance rules, make sure you check them under Always Allowed.
And it’s all! Screen Time makes it easy to control your screen addiction by limiting the amount of use of your favorite apps. You don’t really need much more to get back on the productivity track.
Applications and extensions
I often see recommendations for RescueTime , a great app that helps you get a clear idea of how much time you spend in apps and blocks annoying distractions from affecting you. I’m not sure if I would spend $ 6 a month in the name of productivity, but this is an option if you need an even more reliable tool than Screen Time to nag you about how much time you spend on your Mac.
FocusMe is another reliable app for blocking distracting apps and websites, thereby freeing up your time to be more productive than sitting at your computer. And perhaps paying for the app is the answer; You’re more likely to ignore the free screen time or listen to FocusMe warnings because you’re paying for the damn thing anyway. At least that’s my way of thinking. If I were to spend $ 149 on a lifetime purchase of a productivity app, I would definitely pay more attention.
Some people like timing . I haven’t used it, but it gives you a free trial so you can get a feel for it before you sign up for a subscription. His reports on everything you do on your Mac are comprehensive, but I find it more useful if you’re trying to keep track of the amount of time you spend on specific projects, such as if you bill an hourly bill for something. client. I’m not sure how useful it is as a productivity tool in the sense of getting away from the computer, but it’s an option.
Personally, I’m a fan of SelfControl . This free Mac app lets you create a blacklist of distracting websites. Set a timer and it won’t let you visit them until the timer expires. Perhaps disappointment in yourself is all you need to get something out of your day. (Better yet, SelfControl continues to work even if you restart your Mac or uninstall an app . Brutal but effective.)