How do you manage your time online and make sure you're spending it on something useful?
If I'm being honest, I'm online (and on PC in general) more than is healthy. Never less than 12 to 14 hours a day.
In practice, I use it most often for:
– creating graphics
– creating videos
– gathering ideas and creating content
– LinkedIn (this is partly work, but also entertainment – and I can easily spend 3 hours a day there
– exercise (I work out following YouTube videos)
I'd say productive use is around 60 – 70%.
But I want to reduce the total time overall and shift more toward productive use: work and learning new things.
To monitor my PC activity, I use @SurfPal – I found it on PH (which only shows analytics of where I spend time and how often) and Activity Monitor within Mac.
But still struggle to find a time for learning / replacing my unproductive or work time with learning, because I work so much that I do not have time to learn.
How do you keep your time under control, and how do you "force" yourself to use your time online more efficiently?
Replies
I would say 60-70% is not that bad. Anything higher than that leads to burn out and exhausting, in my opinion.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@vlad_fedoniuk But I feel that even when I work, it is still time I could use for educating myself. Maybe I am too workaholic. And do not know how to get out of there.
vibecoder.date
Honestly the biggest challenge is not having a dedicated ebook device. I read a ton and I loathe having to use my phone because as much as I block notifications some still get through.
And the screen is tiny.
On the laptop, I wish I could spend less time on twitter. I've been gradually decreasing my presence there. Wish there was a place where I could get the same tech news and discussion content without the discourse and million identical replies with the same buzzwords and the distinct feeling everyone is either using AI or sounds like AI now.
The thing that has worked best for me is to just put everything in separate firefox (or waterfox) profiles.
But I may be switching to librewolf soon.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@build_with_aj Let us then know whether your solution was somehow helpful with cutting the noise :)
@build_with_aj Was going to say the same thing!! I got a Kindle at the beginning of the year and has me reading like never before without distractions. A Kindle for news or learning new things wouldn't be too shabby to get some extra focus time
vibecoder.date
@ceciliatran That would be an amazing build/product.
I'd love to ahve a kindle/like that just consumes some sort of api or rss feed that brings me curated news, email newsletters, and lets me load my ebook collection.
A semi offline device for all my long form reading.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@minhajulll, when is the date of launch?
minimalist phone: creating folders
@minhajulll Then feel free to ping me :)
I had a similar situation, and switching to strict time blocks helped. I allocate specific hours for LinkedIn and brainstorming, and the rest of the time is deep focus mode. If you don't force yourself to close extra tabs, social media will swallow your whole day. Have you tried using apps that physically block distracting sites once you hit a limit? For me, it was the only way to actually carve out time for learning.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@azimzim I am primarily on desktop, and haven't tried them yet. Maybe just "Focus". Do you have any recommendations?
minimalist phone: creating folders
@nah_na Is those 8 hrs really used for work? :D because I could see in my collegues back then that they also check FB, LI during working hours :D
Keeping my time under control is something I am still battling with if I'm being honest.
One thing I have done is learn to delegate tasks - to my VA and to AI.
Now, when I come online, I am researching, reading case studies, studying patterns that help me adopt or create my own flows for products I am working on.
Like yesterday, I was focused on paywall and different things that affect conversion around it.
So yes, I force myself to use my time more efficiently by blocking off other things. Thankfully, I have a high focus when I am working, so for me it's easier to not get distracted when I pick one thing to do, as opposed to when I use to multi task.
I told myself I was getting more done then, but I realised I wasn't. My brain too wasn't functioning at its optimal limit
minimalist phone: creating folders
@janefrances_christopher How much work (hours) is to for your VA? I was thinking about something like that too.
I would like to say that I command my time, but is not true by far, my kids and family chores rule it!
Wake up at 6:00 and start working at 8:00, mostly vibecoding, and while Claude runs I check here and other places what is cooking. 14:30 pick up my kids, go to sports center all afternoon and at 20:00 go back to work, mostly study while vibecoding side projects. At 22:00 I don't remember my name.
Thanks Claude for remote-coding!
So, my time online in the morning is I would say almost 80% concentration, I have only six and a half hours and I would say I can get 5 real working and concentrated hours, if I blink my morning is not productive.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@agraciag Wow, from what you are writing, you are pretty productive. Maybe I should have a family and kids to create a sort of external pressure to compress my time :D
@busmark_w_nika It really does help to cut the unproductive time, otherwise kids will have to learn how to iron their clothes :D
minimalist phone: creating folders
@agraciag 😄 that's needed. Work habits from childhood :D
Honestly? I used to lose 2+ hours a day just doom-scrolling between apps. The problem is not a lack of willpower — it is that most tools are designed to keep you engaged, not productive.
What helped me was reducing the number of places I go to get things done. If your reminders are in one app, calendar in another, notes in a third, and todos in a fourth — you are spending half your time just context-switching between interfaces.
That is actually why I built HelloAria. The idea was simple: what if your AI assistant lived where you already spend time — WhatsApp or Telegram? No new app to open. No new habit to build. Just message it like you would a friend and it handles your reminders, todos, and calendar.
The less friction between you and getting things done, the less time you waste online doing nothing.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@sai_tharun_kakirala When you will launch here? :)
Askflow AI
I stopped trying to reduce time online. I just make sure every session has a purpose before I open the laptop.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@volina And how do you "fullfill that plan with the purpose"?