Rescue time..

A friend/lifehacher introduced me to this neat little app called RescueTime. I have been using it for a month now.. it sits in the background and observes what you are doing. then your activities are categorized into -2 to 2 points. -2 being very distracting and +2 being very productive. Then it shows neat little graphs on how your spend (waste) your time every day.

My biggest learning from the exercise was how much time was wasted in email. I knew I was spending more time that I should.. but when I saw I was spending close to 4hours per day at the email, it gave me quite a shock. 

I have made emails a -1 activity since then, and my mind has responded by subconsciously classifying email as a distraction - so now there is a guilt feeling, sense of self betrayal etc. when I spend too much time on email. I dont keep a browser tab on emails all the time. I switch on 3G on my phone only when I really need it, and life is much better! :) 

Do try RescueTime!