Sticking to to-do lists with specific next actions can help you get things done, but we can all get lost along the way, whether in the wide-open playground of a browser or some other time sink. Productivity blogger Andre Kibbe suggests fighting a procrastination jones with a little self-awareness and a "Crutch Activities" checklist kept close at hand.
Instead of cursing yourself each time you find that you've spent 90 minutes in your inbox when you meant to check email for 10 minutes, add "Checking email" to your Crutch Activities checklist. Review and update the checklist regularly, and develop protocols, like batching, for controlling these impulses.
"Batching" simply means setting up a scheduled time to plow through email, as explained by guest poster Tim Ferriss. Another beneift of crutch-listing is being able to schedule your "crutches" as far away from important or time-sensitive tasks. If I need to look up a specific fact on food to finish writing an article, for instance, I'll be closing down email until the facts are found.