ManicTime
I am sure that many of you already know about this great free application that runs in your background and tracks how you spend your time on your computer.
What attracted me to this program? I don't have a manager to keep me on task. I start out with a fire in my belly and good intentions, but about an hour into whatever I'm working on, I want to go over to Reuters and see what's happening in the world (especially the oil spill, eek!) then there's Huffington Post, my email, Amazon...
Mindful browsing can be beneficial for many reasons but we have to remember that a well-designed website (like those I should be building) will make you want to dig deeper, to know more. What started as beneficial soon becomes distracting as I click on other links and forget what I was looking for in the first place.
I downloaded the free version of this program a couple of days ago from manictime.com and it has really sharpened my game in terms of how I spend my time on my computer.
To be your own boss is not only to encourage yourself. Sometimes you have to be brutally honest with yourself and understand that if you're not getting something done, the responsibility ultimately falls in your own lap.
Check it out!