I am taking back my time by putting myself on a Facebook diet.  This is especially difficult in my current situation: snowed in in the middle of the woods of Vermont.  It’s lonely here in the woods, and the friends I have in Vermont live miles and miles away.  There is no coffee shop or grocery store to walk to, so I am pretty much sitting here alone with no outside contact.

Unfortunately, Facebook has become a huge time suck for me.  I have to imagine it has taken a big chunk out of productivity in white collar jobs in this country.  I’d like to say I’m more disciplined than that, but when I have few chances to see friends, I need that interaction more than ever.

My solution to this issue was to download the LeechBlock app for Firefox.  You can choose which websites to block during what time periods of the day.  You can also hide the controls from yourself during those times – a feature I found rather impressive.  I was so thankful for the app that I donated $5 to its creator.

I have an amazing amount of things I’d like to get done in the coming year, and I don’t want to be distracted.  I still very much want to stay in touch with friends, but I’d also like to improve my Spanish language skills and do more reading for pleasure.  I also want to find my dream job and have time to cook and create.

I have my computer set to block Facebook for six hours a day to see how it works.  This will give me six hours of focused time to be productive.  Anyway, I’d rather Skype with my friends, talk with them on the phone or see them in person.

And now back to my snow storm.  I’m looking forward to getting out there with my snowshoes.