Disconnecting the Internet Might Make You More Productive

Thanks to PimpYourWork.com for this. It is right on the money. You may not need to disconnect from your computer but even something as simple as setting your e-mail to check for mail every several hours instead of several minutes can make a huge difference.
I’ve mentioned in some previous posts that I live in a Third World country. This means that my area’s phone/internet cables can be stolen at night (presumably to be sold at junk shops) and I’ll be left disconnected from work.

Well, this happened last week.

Surprisingly, my productivity actually doubled. I was producing twice my regular output for the previous weeks of April. Is it possible that severing your connection to the net can make you more productive or is this some kind of fluke? I think it’s possible to be more productive without easy net access, and here’s why:

Your net time becomes precious. To compensate your lack of a connection at home, you probably resort to net cafes, free wi-fi areas, and the like. You can’t exactly sit in these places forever. Ergo, you only do the essential when you’re online. Goodbye to random surfing.

Less distractions. Additionally, when you’re working on your computer, you have less distractions because you’re not connected to the net. No random surfing, Twittering, checking your Facebook messages, or reading RSS feeds. When you’re working with the computer, you’re working with the computer.