I recently had one of those big problems you think is going to end the world but actually ended up being a blessing in disguise. I was moving and in the process my internet service provider told me I was going to be without internet for seven days. WHAT!!!! 7 DAYS WITHOUT INTERNET.

As someone doing a lot of internet marketing I thought it was going to be impossible. It ended up being 10 days without internet and amazingly some of my 10 most productive for a long time.

The first day I was kind of anxious but the second day I found out I was being way more productive. It made me aware of behaviours that were not effective and I found out I was spending too much time on the internet doing stuff that I didn’t have to do. Some of the tasks I was doing in a way that was not effective or disrupted my productivity.

So based on my experience of being without internet and the changes I’ve made here are: 8.5 tips for being more productive when working at your desk.

1) Don’t download your email in the morning right away.
Focus on the critical tasks that will bring in money. 

2) Don’t check your twitter or other social media accounts in the morning.

3) The first thing you should do for the day is to review your tasks for the day and start working on them.

4) Don’t have your email program open unless you are awaiting a super mega important mail.

It seems like a small disturbance when you get the notification that there is an email, but its more than that. It disturbs your concentration and flow of thought and drains you of energy because there is always these small things that grab our focus away from what we should be doing. We have enough distraction as it is. Some of them we don’t have control over. This one you do. Try to limit the distractions that you can.

5) Have limited time set for reading email or read them when you need a break from your other tasks.

6) If you do social media stuff limit the time for those as well.

7) Don’t work on too many projects at the same time.

Just like a computer will get overworked if it’s working on too many tasks at the same time, so does you personal computer(your brain)

8) Make sure you get up and move and do some exercise every 2 hours or even more often.

This will increase your energy and break the monotony.

8.5) And maybe, just maybe, you should try switching off the internet for one day just once every six months or so. I almost guarantee you will become aware of behaviors that are not effective. You might also notice that some of the things you think you can’t be without is not that big of a deal.

I’ve actually increased my productivity by at least 50% AND I feel better about doing my work.

I’m way more energized and I think it’s because I don’t have all those distractions.

Good luck increasing your productivity.

Patrick Powers