How to Manage Your Time Online Wisely

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVA047JAQsk

I’ve been online since 1994 with my AOL connection on a Mac. The online world has evolved from being a haven for computer geeks to becoming a necessity to manage many details of our busy lives.

We can watch or read the news from our favorite source, manage our banking, keep an eye on stocks, stay in touch with friends, run businesses, and sell unwanted items on Craigslist or eBay.

Yet, if you’re not careful, the computer can easily steal hours from your day.

Here are a few things that I do to guard my time.

• First things first. If there are business or school commitments, those come first.
• Have a set time and limit for e-mail and Facebook.
• I don’t read forwards (and I think my friends have given up sending them to me), therefore, I don’t pass them on.
• Learn to use the folders and filters in your e-mail program.
• If you’ve subscribed to too many things…unsubscribe!
• Learn to use the delete button. If it’s over a few days old and you are not going to read it, delete it (Gmail has an archive button so you never have to permanently delete anything.)
• Virtual gifts – fun once in awhile but can get very time consuming. Really, why spend the time on a virtual garden when you could plant a real one?
• Have a plan and stick with it!