I, like many, am constantly searching for the perfect blend of to-do list meets productivity system, meets time management. I'm happy to report that I've finally concocted a system that works.

Here's the recipe for my personal productivity cocktail:

1. Start with some SelfControl.

2. Then pull from your Kanban.

3. Don't forget to add Pomodoro!

That's SelfControl… the application

I've given up on the idea that my paultry lizard-brain can resist the temptations of the internet whilst trying to get meaningful work done. So now I do the equivalent of chaining myself to the desk: I use a little program called SelfControl that automatically blocks access to certain websites, for a certain amount of time.  An elegant black countdown clock shows me how much time I have left before the internet becomes a free-for-all again.

SelfControl

No amount of quitting, logging out, or rebooting will reverse your decision to block those pesky websites.

Which sites you choose to block are up to you- you simply add the high level domains on your blacklist.

SelfControl_Blacklist

Choose how much time you want to block for (anywhere from 15 minutes to 24 hours)

and click Start.

SelfControl_Main

Away you go.

What's on your black list?

Don't even try to tell me that you don't have any sites that are not time-wasters for you. What are they? Do you dare to load them into SelfControl?

Windows Users: SelfControl is Mac only, but you should check out SelfRestraint, which was developed as a Windows alternative to SelfControl.

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