Time Management For Writers: Nanny For Chrome

Time is precious. Often we don't have long to write, but it doesn't take long.

Consider the case of Peter V. Brett, the author who wrote The Warded Man on his half hour commute to and from work using his cellphone. Peter remarked that:

I like to write on the subway. It is peaceful when the internet goes quiet. Takes getting used to, but now it is very natural. Anywhere I can put on headphones and not be bothered by anyone for thirty minutes or more works now. (One Novelist Composed His Best-Selling Novel on a Cellphone – While Commuting to Work on the Subway Every Day)

How much time do we waste on the internet each day? For myself, I'm sure it's at least half an hour.

Nanny For Chrome: Mind Your Time

Nanny for Chrome can help us make the most of our time. Just tell her which sites you'd like to limit your time on, YouTube and Facebook for instance, and specify when and for how long you're allowed to view them.

Once your viewing time for a site is up, Nanny blocks it. Yes, you can change her settings to allow yourself more time, but you'll need to type in a 64 character long string of random text. Not easy to do!

Want to try it out? It's free! Here's a link to Nanny for Google Chrome.

I think this would come in handy for NaNoWriMo. I have next to no free time these days so even an extra 20 minutes would be welcome.

Photo credit: "On the Doorstep, Valparaiso" by geezaweezer under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.