I actually find "aimlessly" browsing the web less of a time sink than going to the few websites that truly suck me in.
Lately, I've been using an egg timer to stop working every twenty minutes and stretch. This has the side effect of forcing me to also consider whether the last twenty minutes were productive. That I'm here shows it's not perfect but I do think it has helped (both keeping my body more active and my computer activities more productive).
my first impulse was - let me rush out and buy an eggtimer. i had to tell myself to relax, experiment with this idea. i am now arguing that if i had that much self discipline in the first place, it would not be a problem in the first place! So tell me, how long have you done this? how effective has it been? do you cheat a lot?
I cheat a lot but it still helps - when I notice the timer isn't set, I set the time and stretch, this evens-out the times I just unthinkingly reset the timer.
I don't believe there is such a thing as generic willpower. A person has far more ability to do something when are reminded to do it.
And I've experimented with timers in the computer and I've found they don't work as well. The egg-timer gives me a full "UI" without consuming desktop space - I can stretch early and reset the timer easily without, say, returning to the machine itself. There's no conflict with system sounds, etc.. A thing outside the computer is more suited to getting me ... outside the computer.
And egg timers/kitchen timers are pretty cheap - if it doesn't work, you use it to time your eggs...
Lately, I've been using an egg timer to stop working every twenty minutes and stretch. This has the side effect of forcing me to also consider whether the last twenty minutes were productive. That I'm here shows it's not perfect but I do think it has helped (both keeping my body more active and my computer activities more productive).