For us internet marketers, addictions are things that distract us from doing something productive (read, money making projects). So, a day may come when you have not rested even for a while, but have not started/completed any money-making project either! So what have you done?
Well, you have been the victim of one of your addictions. It has taken control over you and you are feeling overpowered by that irresistible urge to watch some cool videos on Youtube, or rather surf and click online aimlessly! All this while, people around you get the impression that you are very "busy" in your work (and hence, making a lot of money) but you, and only you know that it is not true! :D
Of course entertainment is necessary for every human being (remember the proverb, "All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy"). However, things turn sour when entertainment turns into an "extreme" form of addiction! That is when it goes out of control and …well, you get the idea ;)
Anyway, my biggest addictions are (in the order of importance):
1) Youtube (watching and downloading videos; believe me there are a lot of semi-sexy videos over there, haha :) )
2) Imdb.com (details about Movies and the Crew; if you are interested in reading the latest gossip about Brad Pitt or his better/worse half, you know where to go ;) )
3) Chat (Skype, Gmail Chat, etc)
4) Buying Domains recklessly! You betcha, if in the process of working on something, a good domain name crops up in my head, I would leave my work and head straight to Namecheap.com to see if it is not already registered.
Of course, these days, funds being on the low, this addiction has become somewhat "controlled" on its own! :P
5) Aimless Surfing ;)
Unlike many others in this niche, I am not too much addicted to social networking sites and forums. Facebook, Twitter and the Warrior Forum are probably the only sites I visit, that too, occasionally! :D
So what do you think is your biggest addiction/distraction that is keeping you from concentrating on making money? Vote below (there is nothing called right or wrong answer here, so relax and vote with your heart ;) )! :D
[poll id=”2″]
And while you are here, don’t forget to check out this cool Firefox addon. You will thank me later! It was what ultimately saved me from two of my addictions: Youtube and IMDB. It was recommended to me by one of my friends, Sandi Valentine! ;)
Well, I am addicted to WF. I usually visit this forum and try to learn something. Though there are some useless post, but yet some are very useful…and I try to avoid WF special offer..lol. Because whenever I see some product, I feel to buy..Anyway whatever I am today,it’s because of WF. So I like that forum..
I can relate to buying the domain names recklessly. I have so many domains that I purchased for cool ideas and then never developed because the idea was over my head or I just never got around to it. My new rule is that I can’t buy a new .com domain until what I have is developed.
I still buy .info’s but those are mainly for affiliate redirects.
Brenda
I voted Twitter, but really its E1K, a chronic illness forum and – today – the cricket!
@Nathan,
Now I am really getting scared. I hope you don’t have any chronic illness, or how would you code all the future PHP scripts for me, hehe :P
When I sit down at my computer to WORK, I start checking my emails, then answering them, then surfing the web for maybe one more elusive piece of information that I can use in the article I’m writing and, before I know it, the morning has passed! In order to be productive, I must decide before I sit down to work exactly what it is I want to accomplish and forget everything else. I did that yesterday and finished two articles that I had been avoiding. Today, I’m obviously checking my email!!!
Games is my thing. Just those stupid Microsoft games that come loaded on your computer. I hate them, but keep on anyway opening one up any time I’m bored …
@Jason,
Check the portable games here:
http://portableapps.com/apps/games
Blame me for making you more addictive ;)
I just love reading your articles. You bring so much useful information to the internet especially for newbies.
Working on the phone with my partner. It used to be a great way for us to progress because we kept each other focused on the task schedule. We multi-tasked efficiently – listened, talked, typed, evaluated, made decisions, swapped examples and mock ups back and forth etc…now it scrambles my mind, but I haven’t yet broken the addiction, because my partner is just as addicted to that work style, and it continues to be the best method for her. Of course production is down at my end.
I have two things that keep me away from my “real work”. The first is not really an addiction — it’s more of a compulsion. I just HAVE TO open all those emails I get every day — even though I know most of them will prove to be the usual worthless offers.
The second thing is an addiction I’ve had for almost 5 years now — solving Griddlers puzzles. They are both intellectually stimulating and relaxing at the same time.