Stuck on Stickies

It is January, and everyone seems to be focusing more on getting organized and increasing productivity. The new year and a fresh start seems to give everyone renewed energy to take control of our lives. I posted a link on Facebook to this article, but if you didn't see it, Lindsay, at Passionate Homemaking has an excellent article about Guarding Against Technology Time-Wasters.

One of the ways that I am both increasing my productivity and organization, AND helping to guard against wasting time online is through the use of "Stickies", which are just like post-it notes in their appearance and function. If you have a Mac, you probably already have it in your applications and there are instructions for how to use it here. I also have the program on my dashboard, and it is incredibly easy to both use it and hide it by hitting the F12 key. If you have a PC, you can download a similar program for free here. (DISCLAIMER - I have not personally tried the PC version of the stickies program, so I cannot share my personal experience. It might be worth checking out if you like the idea though.)

I like "Stickies" because I can keep my to-do lists on my computer. I keep a grey sticky with coding I never seem to remember that I can just copy/paste. I keep a purple sticky with my long term t0-do list and an orange one for the day's to-do list. I have a green one with my ideas for this blog. You could make a sticky with a Bible verse you are memorizing, your menu for the week, or recipes you want to try. There are many, many possibilities, and the stickies are very easy to customize.

So it's pretty obvious how they help me get organized, but how do "Stickies" keep me from wasting time on my computer? Personally, I am working on minimizing the "quick checks" I do online - e-mail, blog, facebook, etc... Those "quick checks" are meant to only take a few seconds, but in reality, they steal more time than I intend. I have been leaving my stickies up on my "dashboard" (desktop if you have a PC) all of the time, so if I think about doing "just a quick check", my to-do list is right in front of me. This reminds me that I have more important things to accomplish, and keeps me from wasting my time online. It works for me anyway.

How do you keep from wasting time online or letting those quick checks eat out too much time in your day? I'd love your ideas!