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I’ve always been surrounded by technology in a higher-than-average way. For example, I used to sit on the lap of my older brother when I was 3 to learn about computers!
However, I feel that there are serious drawbacks to this knowledge: technology has become a source of distraction and time drag. I spent several (2~3) hours a day reading articles and comments from HN -- all very relevant and well written, but nevertheless time goes by before I notice it.
Meanwhile, I don’t actively work on what I want to. I’ve given up on several projects because the day seem so short and there is multitude of interesting things to see on the web.
I am on the verge of not finishing a flying four-engine helicopter because I just can’t concentrate and take the time to code the robot. Also, even though I just signed up for Stanford’s online AI class, I’m already behind on the lessons because I don’t take the time to see the lectures.
I realized that all of this time that seems to lack is used up by me reading articles and random interesting things, instead of working to completion and to ship things (as I’ve read over and over).
I’d love some advice on how to fix this situation! Does anyone also feel this way? Is it a normal part of the process of growing and acquiring more knowledge?
I've found some good articles here on HN about the theme (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1980770 and PG's essay http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1549363), but none of them seems to address the issue directly.
Thanks!
tl;dr: Has internet addiction ever been a problem for you? If so, what steps did you take to fix it?