Today, computer monitoring becomes a vital necessity. According to a study by the University of Hong Kong, each 20-th inhabitant of the planet suffers Internet addiction. This is due to the proliferation of free Wi-Fi access points and a variety of gadgets.
According to a poll conducted by the research center of international personnel portal HeadHunter, free access to the Internet is the second most popular distracting factor. 32% of respondents cannot resist the temptation to browse the Internet at work. This factor is only bested by “chatter with colleagues (53%)”. In such circumstances, computer monitoring software is actually needed.
What should a manager do if willpower of employees is not enough for self control computer usage?. This is where employee monitoring software comes to rescue. It is better to proceed step by step.
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Make a portrait of the enemy
Find out what takes the most of your time. It seems obvious, but still it is better to make a list. It will help you to go much further along your path to control the computer usage. The most popular distracting sites include:
- Social networking (Facebook, VK, Twitter, and others)
- Livejournal, blogs, and forums
- News and financial sites
- Chats
- Online games
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Turn off alerts
This is the easiest way to defuse distracting resources and gain control of your computer. Various alerts (signals, sounds, pop-ups, etc.) encourage you to return to a distracting site. The work, of course, at this point will be suspended and the most unpleasant is that to tune into it again will be difficult and take a long time. The good news is that in most cases such alerts are easily disabled. And that means that computer monitoring is much easier than many people think. For example, in Facebook, simply click the “Settings” in the upper right corner, select “Account settings”, then “Notifications” and disable them all.
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Set clear objectives and constraints
It is difficult to break away from reading all the letters or messages. But if you set your mind on checking only 10 or 20 of them, then it will not drag on indefinitely. Set clear goals while browsing the Internet and get a little closer to controlling your computer.
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Turn the enemy into an ally
Turn distractions into rewards. Clearly defined objectives will enable faster and better performance of the tasks. And using a distracting site will only be possible after completion of the task. For example, after 1-2 hours of working, you spend 10-15 minutes to rest. The main thing is not to lose time. To do this, set up the timer.
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Take drastic measures
If willpower is lacking and you fail to limit time spent on entertainment sites, it is better to make these sites unavailable by using the tools and browser extensions. They will block distracting resources so efforts to control your computer will not be in vain. This radical step requires total commitment, so think carefully.
Computer control is a serious matter, the same as dependence on it. Internet access is almost as available as air, and it is hard not to drown in an abundance of entertainment and information. Only well-informed and deliberate actions could lead to the goal of using the computer and the Internet without sacrificing health, mind and wallet.