Webupon

E-Mails

The advent of e-mails has helped human beings in a lot of useful ways, especially in the transference of data (text, files, video, pics, etc) without the use of envelopes and stamps. You can transfer data to someone else near or far in a matter of seconds. Most of us depend of our e-mails for work and to keep in touch with friends and family. Thus, checking e-mails become a ritual nobody can live without. The question is how many times do you check your e-mails in a day? Many would say they check several times a day. Some even leave a browser tab open for e-mails and would instantly be alerted of incoming e-mails. Checking e-mails several times a day can be counter-productive. So, try to cut it down to once or twice a day at most.

Social Networking Sites

Many people spend a lot of time at Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, or Friendster in the name of networking or keeping in touch with friends and family. However, a lot of them go there to play games and do other unproductive activities. I am a member of Facebook. There are so many fun applications to add to my profile, so many games to play, so many groups to join, and so many messages to paste on your friends’ Fun Walls. There are countless things to do at these websites!

Forums

Are you an active forum member? If you have a hobby, you will find that there is most likely a forum which discusses your muse. I don’t have a specific hobby so I hang out at MyLot a lot. It is a forum site which allows you to discuss many different topics based on your interests. You can start discussion threads or comment on other people’s discussions. The best part is that you get paid for particpating in this forum. So, I must say that I have been quite addicted to MyLot. It is so fun interacting with people with the same interest as you and even more so when you become popular from contributing positively to other forum members.

Messengers and Chat

The social being just can’t live without interacting with other social beings. We talk on the phone, skype, send each other messages, send out e-mails, letters, etc. There are so many ways to communicate nowadays. You can also chat online in real time using Yahoo!, Google or MSN Messengers. You are constantly checking who is online, so that you could “talk” to them. It is very common for people to have a browser open for messengers in the background and will toggle between completing reports and chatting online with their friends. Another counter-productive activity!

Apart from the usual Messengers, there are other interactive websites which allows you to chat at chat rooms. You can even use an avatar to chat with other people. One such teen chat room is Habbo. You can change clothes and go to places like a pizza parlor or other virtual places to chat with other people.

YouTube

YouTube has revolutionized the way we watch video clips. Nowadays, you can even become famous with YouTube. Many people spend a lot of time uploading or downloading video clips for their viewing pleasure. Funny clips are among the most popular. But that is not all. Many people go there to look for online instructions on how to do something. For example, there are a lot of clips on how to play the guitar. There are tonnes of video, movie, instructional clips for anyone to view.

Online Games

At certain points in your life, you must have played some games online. I used to play Solitaire and Minesweeper on the computer. But I know there are so many other online games available on the internet. I like to complete Sudoku puzzles. It’s available online. It’s so addictive! Many people play World of Warcraft and other more serious games for serial gamers.

Blogs

Are you a blogger? If you are, you will know that you have to spend quite a bit of time posting new materials to your blog on a regular basis. If you want to ensure that you have a steady stream of audience for your blog, you need to update it every day to keep the interest going. Doing research for your posts and looking for pictures for your posts can be a time-consuming activity. If left unchecked, you will have spent many unproductive hours simply surfing aimlessly. I think you understand what I mean.

Many bloggers also read other blogs. That can take a lot of time too, especially if you have a lot of blogs you like to visit daily to keep up to the times. So, you have to take note of the time you spend on blogging activities.

Social Bookmarking

In order to promote your blog or websites, all of us spend some, if not a lot of, time at social bookmarking sites such as Digg, Technorati, and StumbleUpon. You may be making friends, adding favorite sites or updating your articles to be indexed by these social bookmarking sites, all of which takes up a lot of time.

RSS Feed Reader

Do you subscribe to any forms of newsfeed? If yes, you will probably spend a considerable time reading news online. It may not just be local or world news. Some of us subscribe to blogs and other websites through the RSS feeds as well. So, a lot of time is spent on reading stuff online.

Statistics

If you have a blog or website, or participate in online money making activities, you will definitely spend some time going over your statistics. You may be checking your traffic stats or earnings/revenue stats often. It’s fun to see many people come to your site or see your earnings increase everyday. Some people check their stats many times a day. I am guilty of this too!

There are many distracting websites on the internet vying for your attention all the time. Some of them are just out there to waste more of your time online. So beware! Once you are aware of them, you can then find out How To Stop Wasting Time Online in 5 Easy Steps!