If you have an internet addiction (or are just an internet addict for one or two sites), an excellent thing to do is the switch to Firefox (aff) and install the Pageaddict add-on. Completely private, Page Addict records how long you spend on each website, so that you can assess how bad (or not) your internet addiction actually is. Refreshing PageAddicts statistics can be another great constructive addiction to easily move towards, in that it helps you become aware of the time you spend.

Pageaddict also has the ability to limit the time you can access any particular site or types of sites. Some good advice, here, is to reduce things gradually - for instance, limiting Facebook to one hour, then 45 minutes, then 30 minutes per day, until you get down to 20 minutes or whatever you think is acceptable - all quite easily. If you are a chronic “grazer”, looking at many sites for only a short amount of time each, make sure you look at the total minutes spent, at the top. There are other website blocking software out there, let us know if you’ve found some good ones.

Gmail gives you the option of “taking a break” and setting a period where you are unable to check your email - be it for ten minutes, an hour, or a day. A good basic rule for email is to set aside clear times to check your email (for instance, first thing in the morning, and then not until afternoon coffee break at 3pm). Regularly checking your email has been recognized one of the biggest time wasters in workplaces worldwide.

If email and “email-to-surfing” addictions are a problem, have a look also at all the email subscriptions you have collected. Remember, just because a subscription is interesting, it doesn’t mean you need to look at it every day, or at this particular point in time. You can unsubscribe or block any subscriptions. You can even set yourself positive reminders, such as Hasstlebot, to hassle you in productive ways.

On Facebook, you might decide to not be notified about news from particular “friends”. And if you let people know you are cutting back generally, it is completely acceptable to cut back on the numbers on your “friend” list altogether.