Since I do a lot of my work online, I felt it would be worth spending time building an effective browsing environment. Firefox is the natural choice for the job, given its impressive customization and add-on capabilities. While I found a number of good ideas out there:
Work-Only Firefox Profile
Firefox Extensions to Improve Productivity
Firefox is the #1 Productivity Improvement
Firefox Extensions to Make Your More Productive
I found that most places only had one or two thoughts on the matter, or a hodgepodge list of extensions with questionable effects on productivity (certain things, like automatically copying text is in the millisecond range of help, and the time saved [over a lifetime] is probably less than or equal to the time it takes to install).
Thus, I present a 7 step program to tricking out Firefox (work-style):
1. Work Time: Work Firefox (Profile Manager)
We're creating a browsing experience specifically for work purposes. Obviously, this is not going to be the same as non-work browsing. Unless you manage leagues or something, you don't need a Firefox add-on updating you on your favorite sports teams. It's time to separate work from play, even in Firefox. How?
Firefox has a (relatively) hidden feature called the Profile Manager. Profile Manager allows you to create multiple Firefox "profiles" (think accounts), with separately customized settings, plugins, and add-ons. This lets you eliminate unproductive features from your work browsing experience, but not your fun browsing time.
A comprehensive resource on the Profile Manager can be found here:
Firefox Profile Manager
This site tells you all the details behind Profile Manager, and gives detailed instructions for installation and setup, though it's really not very hard.
For Windows users:
- Close Firefox
- Go to the command line (run)
- Type: firefox -P
- Customize using the Profile Manager
Now that we've staked our browsing ground, we can move towards making our work environment as productive as possible.
2. RSS: Read Sites Speedily (Sage)
Yes, that's not really what the acronym RSS (Really Simple Syndication) means. But on the reader end, that's exactly what it's good for. A quality feedreader can save you a lot of time in reading (important, work-related, right?) websites. Instead of guessing and checking and checking and checking sites for updates, feedreaders notify you when updates occur, and provide the content without bells and whistles (such as ads).
For my feedreading needs, I prefer the Sage Firefox add-on. With a nonintrusive sidebar setup and bookmark-style folders, Sage doesn't get in the way, or produce disruptive alerts. You can set the program to check your feeds at regular intervals, or my preference; whenever you load Firefox (this prevents you from breaking up tasks every time a new feed pops up, keeping you focused).
The best feature is the automatic feed finder. When you visit a webpage, pressing the magnifying glass button in the Sage sidebar crawls the site for feeds, making it very user-friendly to beginners.
Of course, for maximum productivity, you should only include work-related feeds (for me this is a number of mathematics, fashion, and productivity blogs). Other feeds should exist in your nonwork Firefox profile.
3. Removing Timesucks (Leechblock)
The next step is to actively prevent yourself from engaging in time wasting activities online. I like to refer to websites such as Youtube, Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Wikipedia, and Stumbleupon as timesucks. They literally suck productive hours out of your work day, and they're designed specifically to do so. The number of links to related or "interesting" content on these websites is astronomical, and the entertainment they provide can be downright addicting.
Strike them out of your browsing life!
Of course, easier said than done, right? Not anymore, thanks to another Firefox add-on, Leechblock. Leechblock offers a serious toolbox for procrastination prevention.
You can designate up to six "block sets" of content, each with its own set of rules, including time limits, day restrictions, even complete lockdowns! What if you run into a new timesuck? Right-clicking on the page reveals a Leechblock option in the drop-down menu for quick addition to a block set. You can even issue an immediate lockdown from the menu! For those tempted to go and change the settings during lockdowns, Leechblock even provides options which lock the settings, or even about:config files! That's protection!
4. E-mail Emancipation (more Leechblock, autoresponders)
A number of productivity bloggers have dealt with chronic e-mail checking and responding:
How to Stop Checking E-mail on the Evenings and Weekends
E-Mail Zero: Imagining Life Without E-mail
I have to agree, checking my e-mail can often be my biggest procrastination item, especailly when I'm expecting a response from someone. While you don't have to go as far as outsourcing your email, or quitting it entirely, it's something that should be reigned in.
Thus, we turn to the more advanced features of Leechblock. I set up a block set for all of my mail accounts:
I've blocked both of my e-mail accounts all day, every day, except for the hours:
11am-12pm, 4pm-5pm, and 8pm-10pm
This prevents e-mail checking early in the morning (which causes pseudowork to take over the day), during the majority of the workday, and late at night (which causes excessive worry and planning before trying to sleep). Also, if I forget to check email during one of the designated periods, I have to wait until the next. This helps make email more of a habit than a haphazard timesuck.
You may be concerned about how others will deal with your new email habits. If you don't have a large volume of e-mail, you probably don't need to do anything. However, if you're in a corporate environment in which a number of people expect immediate response (because they're also chronic e-mailers), consider setting up an autoresponder. E-mail autoresponders, such as these simply let others know your email habits are important, as is your time. Don't be fooled into purchasing a program for this, all the major e-mail clients have the ability built in. Perhaps some commenters can find links to specific how-to's?
5. Becoming Self-Aware (Time Tracker and MeeTimer)
Finally, despite our best efforts, we often see beyond our procrastination (that basketball site will be useful if I run into a client who's a big fan!). Becoming aware of how (not if) you're wasting time is vital to reclaiming that productivity! I've found two add-ons that are particularly useful for this:
For broad trends, and a constant reminder, try Time Tracker. This simple add-on keeps a log of how long you're actively browsing in Firefox. The ever-ticking orange clock in the bottom right corner is a simple way to keep cognizant of your browsing habits.
For the more detail oriented fixes, check out MeeTimer. This wonderful add-on keeps track of how long you browse each site. You can also group sites into categories (work, procrastination, extreme procrastination) and track your browsing habits that way. This is a great way to find out your true timesucks, those websites which are really taking your time away. You can even set up active deterrents, with messages like "you've spend 23% of your working week on Procrastination: are you sure you wish to continue." Talk about tough love!
Identifying these problem areas can give you feedback to utilize in fine-tuning your other work profile settings. After just a few weeks, you should be able to identify and eliminate a lot of time-wasting behavior with these techniques.
Now, set up your own work browsing environment, enjoy the newfound productivity, and...
...get back to work.
This article was featured in The Nineteenth Edition of the Carnival of Improving Life, Rich Life Carnival #7, and The Carnival of Self-Mastery.
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