How Do YOU Avoid Being Distracted By Facebook and Twitter While Working?

Lots of awesome (and funny) tips by our users (some samples below)

Super Useful Software:

Self Control.app Google it. It’s wonderful. You can select the domains you want blocked
- Paul Carroll

Give Up:

I don’t. For me, the question is, how do you avoid working when using tools like Twitter and Facebook?
- Laura Anderson-Gavin

Best State Of Denial

I have no problem working w- ooooohh!!! Something shiny on Twitter!!
- dbabbitt

Making It Hard To Use Twitter:

Simple! use Gravity and the Facebook widget on my N97 and try to ignore the beeps and trinkles of them both alerting me to reply to tweets LIKE THIS ONE!
- awallafaShagba

Turn It Off

Turn them OFF. Unfortunately, if they are on, I just can’t resist the temptation!
- Astrid and Rene

It Is Good To Be Distracted!

I believe that personal distractions are good for the soul and that since I work alone at home, the connectness actually improves my productivity. Otherwise, working at home would be a social drag. Actually joined a number of new networking sites today and working to streamline yet increase my twittering and updating to further increase the portions of soul food! I think it’s working for me.
- Lordeeme

Healthiest Tradeoff

I have forgone smoke breaks in lieu of Twitter and Facebooking.
- Chrissa

Best One Of All…

I try to follow fairly boring people.
- Brett Patterson

It’s that time of the week again, folks! This week we’re giving away one cool The GodTwitter T-shirt. Made by the awesomesauce Tony Gigov (@tonygigov), creator of the Twitter Nonsense Comic strip. And who wouldn’t want to rock this shirt at their next tweet-up?

GodTwitter_T-Shirt

Now, are you ready to win it? Here’s, what you need to do:

  • Leave a comment below answering the following question: How do you avoid personal distractions when using tools like Twitter & Facebook while working?
  • You only need to answer this question once.
  • Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) GodTwitter T-Shirt in white or black (your choice).
  • Entries can be submitted until Friday, July 3rd, 12:01 a.m. PST / 3:01 a.m. EST.

Good luck!

Category: Giveaways

  • Wish someone I'm following had re-tweeted this earlier. I must have been working if they did.
  • Hire a surrogate to Tweet, and Face for you!
  • Susienews
    Get into the habit of using them at the end of the day, just before I turn off my computer to leave. That's my reward for a good days work.
  • evil_girl
    Twitter & Facebook are definitely not a distraction! How else am I going to pass an eight hour plus work day looking busy and immersed in work? There's only so much paper to shuffle around and file. So many reports/spreadsheets to create/update/analzye.
  • Who won?
  • But without Twitter and FB, I would have nothing to do.....
  • Yes you do, work! lol
  • Limit myself to the time before breakfast each morning. Trouble is - I'm getting up earlier each day - 03:30 this morning!
  • Theresa K.
    Thankfully (and annoyingly), my work uses WebSense which blocks FaceBook and Twitter. I recently figured out that I can work around that by using TweetDeck, but not for long I'm sure. Therefore, my biggest distraction is my phone (G1) which runs Twitter and Facebook very nicely. I adjusted my phone's "work" settings to run the message alerts silently. Then I just keep the screen on black out (only phone calls and texts break through). That helps alot. Plus, I just feel really crappy about my lack of productivity when I allow Twitter and Facebook to control my attention.
  • mdp
    I tweet FOR my work. Yeaaah!
  • I don't get distracted by Facebook.

    Twitter is another matter:-)

    So, I've decided to choose to make Twitter a part of my working-day; twittering is working (very very enjoyable work :-)

    Since I've been active on Twitter, I feel excited, connected and creative...
    @ThisisKaye
  • Karolina
    Whenever I find myself reading/replying for more than 5 minutes, I turn them off for at least two hours to get some work done
  • Noon
    Leave my phone at home it's the only way
  • Alexandra
    Let´s face it. That is precisely the reason you use Twitter and Facebook while working: to receive some distraction in the midst of a tedious or tiring task. If time is of essence and something needs to be done, then I switch them off and get the job done.
  • Loreen McDonald
    I avoid personal distractions while on Twitter by wearing HUGE headphones and blinkers.
  • Mardi VanEgdom
    I misunderstood the question in the first place, so here's my real answer. I don't know. I think we need a 12-step program.
  • Amanda_Lyon
    I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts dee da la de. There they are a standing in a row...big ones, small ones, some as big as your head. As you see I have way too much time on my hands "not working" and yet, I still can't seem to find the time to get anything done around my house! FB, MS, LJ, and Twitter! My head is going to explode! To distract myself from social networks I just close the computer and turn up the music. Dance and sing to clear my mind and pray to god that no one hears me!
  • Jack Spencer
    I avoid worrying about the problem altogether. I quit working to spend more time tweeting!
  • Vanessa Hubbard
    I have no problems with personal distractions as I have no life without Twitter.
  • I use a timer, when 15 min is up I mark all as seen, I can only check it 3 x's a day.
  • Amanpreet Singh Arora
    simple....update ur status @ social networking sites like facebook,twitter,orkut etc as "Whenever u find me online wasting time[using facebook,twitter] kindly post me a msg/wall/scrap/tweet n say LOGOFF"
    in da end u`ll b bugged up wid so many msgs that either u will stop opening dese sites or u`ll just go online,peep into ur posts n quickly sign out [tats wat i do :P]
  • santafetraveler
    Twitter blocks out all personal distractions. The question is, how do I disconnect from Twitter- it is addictive!
  • sandywilder
    Since I run my business from home, it helps keep me company and saves me money since I don't go out to lunch as often, looking for signs of life.
  • bex
    put a link to your work website onto your facebook and twitter pages, so then youre 'always at work'
  • Maybe when the zombie apocalypse happens I'll stop using Twitter, then again, that would be an incredibly valuable tool to have.
  • Create really long passwords and constantly erase your browsing history and all stored information.
  • I use NutshellMail to get an email digest of all my Facebook and Twitter activity every 2-3 hours. The digest shows me new followers, quitters, dm's, @replies and search terms i track. I can also send tweets, dms, retweets, follow and unfollow commands via email. Its a great way to keep me connected on my schedule and if you are blocked from FB or T at work, it is compliant since it works through email. For disclosure, i am a co-founder, but do a twitter search of nutshellmail to find out what others a saying. http://nutshellmail.com
  • GN
    Follow work related tweets (tweeters or keywords) with RSS feeds and then treat them as regular work email ... unless you get distracted by email ... then just take your ADD meds on time ;)
    My $.02
    G
  • Adderall and Xanax.
  • I don't take things so personally and everything works out okay ;)
  • Its dificult but i tried to use facebook and twitter only from my mobile not on my pc this help me but since i am a twitter and facebook addict its really dificult :)
  • sammy delmar
    let go of "who i think others need to think I am, for me to be ____ (ok)" and then type anything that is:
    1. true
    2. kind and
    3 necessary
    (or harmlessly funny)
  • Cat Chew
    I don't avoid. Prioritize.
  • Beth
    I got fired from my job because I was constantly on Twitter and facebook. Now I just sit at home, collect unemployment, and tweet all day long! Woohoo!
  • I use Peoplebrowsr.com and then group all followed by category. this helps me scan my work stack without being bogged down by news and other non-work specific tweets. Facebook is mostly personal for me, so I just ignore it during the day, with the exception of a couple of 'check in' times.
  • I don't! I put an academic spin on what I tweet and follow and feel justified.
  • I have one life. I am not work and personal. I am me. With that in mind I choose what to work on each day how and when. If I am getting all done that needs to be done in a healthy and joyous manner than whatever i am doing within that structure is fine.

    It is about choices for me.
  • I'm my own boss so I don't have anyone to tell me "get off Twitter and get back to work" so I just set goals during the day...if I get X done I can spent 15 minutes on Twitter.
  • Gaurav B
    Simple. Work in a company with a firewall that blocks all things facebook, twitter, flickr, picasa, gmail, etc... Though I don't guarantee you won't be distracted by other things. We are who we are. :)
  • TheFatHobbits
    Avoidance is easy. We run Websense proxy at work and it is filtered out :D
  • facebook is good platform for marketing.
  • Leachblock in firefox.
  • I don't. They work perfectly together
  • I don't do the facebook thing unless I need to send a message out to the masses, but twitter is always on. I keep Tweetdeck running in the background and check it every half hour or so. But like others have said, my bosses are on twitter, so its never a real issue. :)
  • Nettie06
    I simply cannot avoid it. I'm a procrastinator and anything that will distract me from the task at hand (I work for myself) is most welcome here in Nettiesville
  • Brad
    If I'm using Twitter or Facebook at work then that is my personal distraction. Why avoid it?
  • I had a really really bad case of Facebook addiction during the my last quarter in college. It was ridiculous, when it was time to study or write a paper the good ol time management skills kicked in.

    In order to get my facebook fix, I made a schedule. I will work for this amount of time, take a facebook and potty break, I will resume working at this time... and so on and so forth.

    It was very effective for me.
  • csm
    Check it in the a.m., at lunch, and before you leave for the evening.
  • Mardi VanEgdom
    Frankly, I'm usually so caught up in them that I don't notice any distractions. I have to literally pull myself away. Sometimes I worry about that...
  • Andrea
    I Tweet and use Facebook as part of my working life, so it's the perfect excuse to have them both open!
  • Lance Nelson
    I reclassify facebook and twitter as work and pretend that work is a distraction
  • Chris Z
    The whole idea is to keep in touch with your contacts. With that said, you keep your fingers crossed and hope your son doesn't post a picture of himself barfing via FB.
  • I separated my brain into sections, it hurt at first, but now I can multitask like no other.
  • Lisa
    Sneak a peak at both during bathroom breaks and lunch via iPhone.
  • Ginnean
    there's a few options that come to mind
    1) Get a job that a)pays terribly so you cant afford a mobile with internet on it and b) doesn't involve using a computer
    2) work for a boss who is a Luddite and therefore will have no idea what you are doing and will be easily fooled when you say it is work related.
    3) Give up this whole 'work' thing and retire 40 years early.
    4) get a job working for one or both of the sites.
  • Jesse Ringnenberg
    well i usually go on it without my boss knowing (SSSHHH)
  • I have decided my target before click on the on/off buttom.
  • I use MinutesPlease: http://minutesplease.com/
  • lordeeme
    I believe that personal distractions are good for the soul and that since I work alone at home, the connectness actually improves my productivity. Otherwise, working at home would be a social drag. Actually joined a number of new networking sites today and working to streamline yet increase my twittering and updating to further increase the portions of soul food! I think it's working for me.
  • Mellen3869
    While at work, I put up a HUGE sign that says - DONT BUG ME NOW - I"M TWEETING!!
    Then I make mean faces at anyone who trys to talk to me about work and doesnt read the sign.
    My boss just loves it.
    :P
  • abrahamvegh
    Use separate accounts. Keep your work-related connections on those accounts, and there will nobody there to distract you.
  • aa juzz cant ,.,. who wants 2 work man ,,.!!!
  • Annie
    I keep Twhirl open so I can scan the popups when tweets arrive. I check FB twice, maybe three times a day, depending on whether or not I'm posting links to my work. It's distracting, yes, but you have to discipline yourself to know what the priority is. Unfortunately, I'm not always well disciplined!! :)
  • C. Johnson
    I keep an evil look on my face and snarl at anyone and everyone that walks by.
  • C. Johnson
    I keep an evil look on my face and snarl at anyone that walks by.
  • RDD
    I just do it during the breaks between my work.
  • I'll make you a message you can't retweet (>140 characters that is):

    Have your favorite drink nearby so you won't have to pause when you're thirsty. Plug in earphones and listen to http://simplynoise.com/. Shut down e-mail and other applications so TweetDeck is the only one active and you're set to go.

    If you're focussing on something else you may replace TweetDeck with the name of the application you need for the "something else". If you don't like noise as sound then get something around 60bpm without voice.
  • Stop working so you can't be distracted while using Twitter or Facebook. :D
  • Mario
    I can't :S
  • A Costigan
    I set my web filter to stop Twitter except during lunch break. It automatically pops on then turns itself off. Finish the day productive.
  • Susan D.
    All I have to think about is..What is helping me to pay the bills. Is it the job or twitter. Make's it easy to pay attention to the job.
  • Alex Branning
    Since I don't use Twitter for work, I am able to devote 100% of my twitterr time to personal use!!

    Clearly I don't avoid distractions too well since I'm posting this!!
  • Mostly I just log into Facebook a couple of times during the day when I'm ready for a break. With Twitter, I use Spaz as a client and open it up when I'm waiting for something to load, waiting for a response, or in-between projects.

    If discussions are getting too political (my weakness), I either waste the day with Twitter or just turn it off and try not to think about it and let it fester. :)
  • Ming Yeow Ng
    This is a seriously awesome app! Selfcontrol

    http://visitsteve.com/work/selfcontrol/
  • I have forgone smoke breaks in lieu of Twitter and Facebooking.
  • jennifer
    i make deals with myself. if i accomplish a task, then i'm allowed to look at facebook. for twitter, i use the tweetdeck, and don't allow myself to check out the chirp until i'm at a stopping point in whatever i'm doing. for example, i just got a chirp for 7 new notifications - gotta go!
  • DariaDAMMIT
    In order to not get distracted by either of these two, I just don't log on. Easy.
  • I use FriendBar, TwitterFox, and Twitterbar for Firefox...
  • ross
    I have an infant interrupt me every five minutes.
  • jasonfearon
    Facebook is blocked here at work, so that's easy.

    Twitter...I let myself look at it every 1/2 hour, BUT ONLY if I am within a couple of minutes of the 1/2 hour mark. So, if I miss the 9:30 Twitter timeslot, I have to wait until 10:00.

    I guess it makes me watch the clock more, but it also keeps me from checking every time I switch application windows, too.

    Its going to be harder now that I'm doing work-related Twitter, too. Hmmm.
  • Andy
    I avoid being distracted by Twitter and Facebook by working in a job where i can't hear them ding in on my smart phone.
  • dbabbitt
    I have no problem working w- ooooohh!!! Something shiny on Twitter!!
  • Well, twitter isn't THAT intrusive.

    Suggestion: You should let people download that image so people like me, who lives in countries far from USA can have that shirt made in local shops.
  • I don't. For me, the question is, how do you avoid working when using tools like Twitter and Facebook?
  • cricketm
    I have trained myself (through hours and hours of intensive work!) to tune everything out except for Twitter and Facebook. It's amazing but true ... children, spouses - even bill collectors - eventually learn to get their own food, take themselves to the ER, pay their own bills, and otherwise fend for themsleves. Distractions from Twitter and Facebook just aren't a problem for me anymore ...!
  • Only open after 11am and use Tweetdeck.
  • Brett Patterson
    I try to follow fairly boring people.
  • Joyce Fragale
    I avoid distractions by only tweeting just before starting work, at lunch break and at the end of the day....otherwise too much time would go by without me realizing.....like on weekends!
  • Trista
    Well since I am @ work on my lunch break doing this..I am not doing a good job of avoiding FB/twitter at work. BUT I do have a work FB/Twitter account seperate from personal..so at work i use those tools anyways for business purposes to reach my clientel. Once and a while I pull up my own account or check on my blackberry. I think as long as it isn't consuming your time completely, a little distraction isnt a bad thing to free your mind! Plus, just learn to be a super multi-tasker!!
  • Cheri Hunter
    I don't avoid them at work. I keep twitter, facebook, and myspace open on my desktop all day and periodically update my status and tweet from my desk. My job can be extremely stressful, and taking the time to tweet or post on social networking sites actually relaxes me. I use them to take a break from work. Keeps me at my desk more, too. Before I used to walk away and take a break a lot more frequently. I still do this, but less frequently. Social networking sites keep me sane at my job.
  • sorry, missed this one. (work work) What was the question?
  • the cerebral cortex is like a muscle, you can't work it all day. 10 minute breaks every 60-120minutes of work keeps me from going crazy thinking about work, gets me my fix and probably makes me more productive in the long run.
  • Daryl
    So simple - suggest that your employer register on twitter as a marketing tool and that you be made responsible for updating and checking progress. That's what I did. As it is actually your job to keep abreast of what is happening it can't be a distraction :)
  • kmartone
    I use Twitter and Facebook for work, so it isn't a complete distraction. But I do tend to keep it "hidden" and then only go to the services at specific times during the day to keep the work focused.
  • clutterbells
    Ha Ha Tiago Pereira.

    We have fair use at work (whatever that means). Facebook discouraged because of hogging bandwidth. I am self rationed by how busy I am and how many client deadlines I have.
  • I stopped cold turkey. Self control.
  • I try to force myself to checking them at the top of the hour or the bottom of the hour. Then I feel like I'm staying in the loop without taking away too much time from the work I need to have done.

    Keeping the twitter and facebook tabs hidden or closed out altogether is another good way to ignore it. I spend a lot of time on my web browser doing research, so "forgetting" their existence helps.
  • Well I don't facebook. I just twitter here and there throughout the work day, Work for myself.
  • Geoffie
    lots and lots of Ritalin
  • Fortunately I work at home and don't let it distract me while using Twitter & Facebook!
  • AnubisibunA
    I have to use facebook and twitter for my work - so, yeah... I don't avoid distraction... as I am easily distracted everytime a new tweet comes in, etc... as I have to monitor all traffic. THANKS for the contest!
  • LKM
    Have a "work" computer and a "goof off" computer. Don't install any Twitter clients, Skype or anything like that on the "work" computer. If you require Skype for your work, have a second Skype account for your work buddies. Turn off Mail auto-update on your work computer.

    I've also turned off any Twitter/Facebook/RSS auto-updates on my "goof off" computer so I only check these things when I actually want to; they don't constantly interrupt me.
  • Sue Jones
    Can can only do it at lunchtimes ( in a school) so, pretend i am working hard on some school work............just like the kids do in ICT!!! LOL
  • I've switched from Tweetdeck to twitscoop, it doesn't 'ping'' me every time someone updates to lure me in and I'm much more well behaved with it!

    @myzerowaste
  • The only way I can avoid getting distracted is to TURN THEM OFF! =) However, as a self-employed person, I often get to work using Facebook & Twitter for networking. YAY! =)
  • I just sell out the benefits of 2.0 web tools to my bosses to improve my work. They buy it!
  • When you're Tweeting or FBing, NOTHING is a distraction. anything can be useful. Social Media is built that way. Making connections and networking requires relationship management. one cannot do that simply with strict work-related conversations. Thankfully, in my line of work I can adopt a casual yet focused approach while Tweeting and FBing. It allows me to let my personal and professional space overlap and this is a plus for me!
  • derekjberg
    Well since my job is making sure people are connected, I'm pretty sure that Twitter and Facebook are all part of the job description.
  • Honestly, I don't think it's possible, but on very crazy days I just try not to login... sometimes you need the seperation.
  • zeazzz
    Thought I'm not supposed to, I think end up using Twitter more at work. Not Facebook though. I either go there in Firefox or on my iPhone - either way I tweet as much as I need to.

    P.S- Awesome shirt.
  • Self Control.app

    Google it. It's wonderful.
  • clone yourself
  • I don´t use Facebook at work so it´s not a distraction for me. And I do consider Twitter a necessary tool for my work, so I just control a bit the time I spend in it. And I´ve found many good links that I´ve written about, or I was informed about, using Twitter.
    Cheers!.
  • My wife stands behind me all day, and if I click on anything she considers a "personal distraction" on FB or Twitter she whacks me on the head with a newspaper, shortly followed by an unemotional "Sorry."

    Hey, it works. Doh...here she comes!
  • Jill Bonenfant
    I use the group feature on tweetdeck and only check news and industry info during work and ignore the rest!
  • Darren Griffin
    I try not to check Twitter more than few times per hour and I check FB maybe once/day.
  • Moss Drake
    Obviously I can't...since I'm commenting on this page instead of doing the daily scrum...
  • PJ
    I use TweetDeck to organize my tweeple and just check the various columns from time to time.
  • I just avoid clicking on the TweetDeck icon ! And for Facebook, I just check it if I receive an email where it says a friend commented something.
  • kitwhite
    Avoid? Why in the world would I want to avoid personal distractions while working? I mean really, I can twitter all day and get paid for it! Now that's a deal I can't refuse!
  • I avoid being distracted by simply taking the phone off the hook... LOL! :)
  • Damien
    Sadly I was just lamenting that I don't avoid it.
  • I don't. I don't use Facebook- but I love my Twitter and my Myspace blog. I allow myself to get distracted while working as often as possible and/or necessary. Did I mention I have my own business and work from home? I forgot to mention that? Oh- guess that would make a big difference, huh? Oh well- back to the distractions with me....
  • AmorVincetOmnia
    I try to limit the times I open/utilize Twitter. Facebook is pretty easy to stay away from during the work day... Twitter, not so much! :)
  • I just switch the applications off. there's no way I can avoid distraction if I have it on...lOL!!
  • Block time off each day for work on Social Networking, turn off email, phone, etc. and devote time and energy only to Twitter and FB. Then when the time is up, it's on to the other things in your life. Oh, are there other things in life?
  • I killed all of my friends and family, now I have no personal distractions.

    Next I'll answer the question: do pigs really eat ALL of the human body?

    Matt.
  • hutchess
    I totally glaze over...totally immersed in the web. WWIII could break out and I'd never hear it. ~hutchess~ Oh! and earphones help ALOT!
  • christine
    Easy...I don't have a job to distract me...woohoo..go me go me
  • Vic
    I get the cats to take my calls.
  • I don't (and I don't feel the need to).
  • Matt Weilmuenster
    Sorry, I was checking TweetDeck. What was the question?
  • Facebook I can ignore indefinitely, while Twitter needs checked at least every 3 minutes.

    @goatmoose
  • Hunter
    I don't avoid it. :)
  • Lesley
    Facebook is so 5 minutes ago. Twitter fits right into my schedule (via Twitterberry). I can read tweets and tweet myself in a flash. Doesn't interfere at all!
  • jebarber
    I guess I don't, I was just sitting here, reading the comments and thinking about how I stay focused, when it hit me that I was just distracted by twitter when I should be working.
  • Soupy7
    Wrong question. How do you WORK without being distracted by Twitter & Facebook?
  • onegreatsmile
    Well, you're assuming here that everyone who uses Facebook and Twitter actually has work to do! Remove work from the equation and you have a non-question! But seriously, I've actually used both to try to network to FIND myself a job (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). I did get pretty close to a new position from a lead on facebook but because of the economy, hiring was put on hold. D'OH! Anyone want a copy of my resume?Anyone? Anyone? LOL
  • Turn them OFF. Unfortunately, if they are on, I just can't resist the temptation!
  • I make a list of 3 things I want to accomplish. Then after I can visit with friends.
  • dren
    I limit my twitter and facebook usage time.
  • Toya10
    I try to schedule it in between task to check in on fb or twitter.
  • Caren
    I love Twitter and use my account for both personal and work purposes and I admit I do find I get distracted by Twitter items quite easily. Having said that sometimes its a welcome distraction and I end up finding out work info that I wouldn't know about otherwise. I don't really worry about being distracted too much. When I have looming deadlines I tend to twitter less frequently, I change my useage patterns to reflect the amount and urgency of the work I have on.

    In my personal time I end up getting distracted by work related items so I'm sure the time balances out in the end (or rather I'm sure work gets more out of me than they pay for). So... bring on the distractions.
  • I HAVE TWITTER ON PHONE AND COMPUTER MOSTLY COMPUTER AND USE FACEBOOK ON BLACKBERRY TO AVOID DISTRACTIONS TO CONCENTRATE ON BOTH
  • lucky enough to have pc and laptop. laptop is situated on desk behind me, I turn off volume if need to focus on pc work, and twist and twirl around to the laptop as and when..
  • Can't wait to hear replies to this one... this is a challenge for me as well but most of my contacts are business anyway so it isn't too bad. Other than ignoring non-business tweets & posts, I save them til after hours and take a closer look or respond to them then.
  • luckily, i excel at multi-tasking. :] while i may check in on facebook/twitter throughout my work day, it in no way impacts the quality of my work. actually, checking on twitter has -helped- me a time or two. following certain has definitely media has proved helpful a time or two. :]
  • Janis Hall
    Set Time limits - and hold yourself to them. You actually have to shut down your feeds for this to work. Aggregation tools can also help, ex. I can see FaceBook and Twitter updates from Tweet deck.. at least I'm not opening two utilites and checking them separately ;)
  • Awesome tips in here xD.
    I just turn the music louder, if someone is getting on my nerves and disturbing me @ twitter, checking my mails or writing a comment like this ;-)

    Greetz from Germany
    GreenPeaceFan aka CompiVersteher on Twitter
  • Kateri
    Are you kidding? Twitter and Facebook ARE the distractions.
  • @paulhaigh
    Easy Face book is for personl, and blocked and work, Twitter is for work networking, anything on Twitter is work, therefore and facebook never gets in the way
  • Roni
    I decided to RETIRE No problem! and I thank God for twitter. Now I have to learn how to be a good re-tweeter...while facing my facebook.
  • Just have a certain block of time in which you check your accounts. Technology can be a great tool; however, it can also be a huge waste of time if not used properly and it keeps you from establishing momentum throughout the work day. It is imperative that you only use a certain block of time. Control technology and don't let technology control you.
  • PlumasLaker
    I get RSS feeds of my FB friends status updates and also us Trillian to display status update notifications in real time in the lower right corner of my screen. I use Twhirl to accomplish the same thing for Twitter. It seems if I keep away from the main sights and just see quick updates, it is less distracting. Both Twhirl and Trillian allow me to quickly respond to something if if perks my interest.
  • Simple! use Gravity and the Facebook widget on my N97 and try to ignore the beeps and trinkles of them both alerting me to reply to tweets LIKE THIS ONE! agggghhh i had to use the web as my N97 browser didn't want to log into discus... all very frustrating!
  • Grimmie
    I don't, I embrace them!
  • The real question is/should be "how do you avoid allowing Twitter & Facebook from being a distraction - that is much easier to answer than finding distractions while interacting with these sites.
  • AMHRangel
    Haha, I don't :)
  • Cripesonfriday
    I don't , I use Facebook and Twitter as personal distractions from working
  • For Twitter my 'personal' account is also an official account, so I know i have to be VERY careful. I follow things that are personally interesting, but since I don't have any weird interests that I wouldn't want people at work to know about, it's okay.
    Facebook I state clearly on my profile and to my friends that this is for work purposes.
    I open up Facebook straight to my Page and Groups so I never see that 'home' page with friend statuses right off the bat.
    My CEO is also following me so that's motivation enough!
  • I just can't. Twitter and Facebook is just too addictive. I have to spend a few hours on Twitter and Facebook before I could do my work... any suggestions ?
  • My reply is same as Tiago Pereira's"just add your boss to twitter and facebook" :D :D :D
  • I work naked.
  • KittyDeerfield
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    T-shirt for you!
  • Leave 'em both off for hours at a time. Works wonders, and I swear I've got whiter teeth, too.
  • MFreeze
    I always keep Facebook closed until breaks/lunch. But twitter runs all of the time. I don't find it too distracting as I usually only click on work related links during work time. Personal tweets or topics of interest, I keep until my breaks to check them out.
  • By alloting myself a minute amount of personal time after stages of my networking/media goals are completed. It's just an extension of the "all work and no play" anecdote. Get something significant done over the course of an hour, then make a couple snarky comments on a couple walls or Twitter pages, then get back to work for an hour. All in a day's work!
  • I manage multiple profiles and keep my conversation segmented to work and personal conversations. Using tweetdeck I can view all segments, butkeep my eyes trained on the column that needs to be focused. I don't avoid personal at work, because often there is overlap in the conversations that is helpful.
  • Iris
    That's a good questions that's hard to answer . . . I make a firm vow with myself to FOCUS only on the task at hand which is posting and reading comments on my Facebook and Twitter accounts -- no reading of email or listening to any MP3's in the background.
  • terilg
    I turn off those distractions. If I have down time before a meeting or at lunch, I check in. I used to work at a company that blocked those domains; so it wasn't even an option.
  • Hjonesy
    By virtue of the fact I am commenting on here instead of prepping for my 4pm conference call it would be safe to say that I have not yet discovered the secret to not getting distracted at work.
  • I was finding myself very distracted when I hadtwitterfox installed- yes it was easy to pop up glance at the tweets and carry on, but I was doing this every single time I got a batch of new tweets! I found that if I actually set a specific amount of time to be on twitter.com and used it via a browser I saved a chunk of time I would have wasted otherwise.
  • Hi! My choice at work (because I work mostly from home), is stablish goals, time-schedules and time periods for use facebook and twitter.
    So, for example if I have to read feeds by twitter I do this at first in the morning o last in the evening for an hour or an hour and a half.
  • Sipster
    Use filtering methods and schedule 5 minutes lookups during the day
  • FB is blocked at work, so that one is easy. Twitter, I only check every hour, or when switching tasks, that way it is not too much of a distraction.
  • I'd argue that there's no such thing as a distraction when you're using social media - that's what it was made for, to pull your mind in a different direction and expose you to new things. Developing solid time management skills will help assure you're not spending time surfing the networks when you should be crafting status reports for work or doing other important tasks, but in terms of usage I feel there are no distractions, only new content yet to be discovered.
  • r.
    i just don't fill this form... oops!
  • Put on a awesome t-shirt so that everybody can see that you take social networking serious and that you do not want to be distracted.
  • I keep my personal and professional lives separate. I have a Twitter and Facebook account for my working life and a seperate Twitter and Facebook account for my private life. This not only helps me keep me focused at work, it also protects the privacy of my family and friends.
  • Good question with a simple answer... All you have to do is to use any of those Twitter tool availables were you can split and segregate by columns you follows and followers, and create one just for work purposes... As simple as that.
    SM
  • since twitter is so unobtrusive i leave a client open and check it every now and then. most of my facebook friends aren't that interesting so they don't update a lot during the daytime so that helps me stay away from it. i may check FB or other sites every 20 minutes or so just to change my attention and keep things fresh.
  • I turn off Facebook and Twitter.
  • I use TweetDeck to follow work-related keywords. I read my friends feed much more rarely.
  • That's easy.. just add your boss to twiiter and facebook :D
  • Er ... I don't ;D
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