The internet is the enemy of productivity
Not to say there’s a direct correlation between internet access and my productivity…but if today is any indication, the evidence is rather compelling. Today I worked for about 9 continuous hours. Every other day this past week has yielded significantly less productivity. The difference? No internet access today, sitting in Gund hall in the shadow of a concrete stairwell.
I suppose another correlation could be proposed, one to do with my proximity to studio (apparently any studio will do) and productivity. But the evidence in this case is less compelling, because although I’ve typically produced more work in studio than when outside studio, I’ve also typically had internet access in studio. Comparing my productivity today with past work sessions in studio suggests that my previous output in studio has been less than optimal when exposed to internet access.
Or maybe I’m just more productive today because I’ve become sick of hearing myself complain about how unproductive I’ve been lately. Maybe I was resolved to be productive today and this clarity of purpose yielded tangible results. Perhaps…but I’m inclined to see the internet as the common denominator amongst all unproductive days.
So let’s extend the experiment and collect more data: I’ll avoid internet use during working hours (what I’m working on right now doesn’t really require it) and see if that contributes to increased productivity. I think the key is to intentionally put myself in WiFi dead spots, although that implies an addiction of sorts; kind of like getting sober by locking up the alcohol and destroying the key.
I wouldn’t characterize it as an addiction so much as a compulsion: if I have internet access, then I find myself occupying my time instead of using my time. Kind of like watching people on TV being creative for an hour and finding your own situation unchanged at the end of the show. Surfing the web for an hour or two leaves me feeling exhausted, as if I’ve been working all that time, but of course I haven’t produced anything. More thoughts, more ideas, more ruminations, more blog entries, perhaps, but no work to speak of.
Am I the only one to experience this phenomenon? What do you think it means for the future of ubiquitous computing? The fact is, sometimes I need a break. Sometimes I need to “get away from it all”. Sometimes I need to cut down on the noise and distractions, ignore the blinking lights and flashing screens. Sometimes I need a clarity of focus and purpose to get work done. How do I turn off the ubiquitous computer?
Yet the curse is that when I return, the inbox is fuller, the IM conversations longer, the phone calls more urgent. My RSS reader reminds me of exactly how many posts I haven’t read, or conversely, how productive everyone else has been (even if it’s to write a blog entry)—I haven’t opened that thing in months: the quadruple digits of unread posts is just too much. When do we stop running the information economy and it starts to run us?
Thus, I currently find myself very much ensnared in a love/hate relationship with technology. At the end of the day, it’s practically Pavlovian: New mail? Check the inbox!
So let’s try a few days without the internet…