# Kicking a computer addiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kicking-a-computer-addiction/209792 "2003-10-27T04:43:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![agiantdwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@agiantdwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agiantdwarf)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kicking-a-computer-addiction/209792/1 "2003-10-27T04:43:14Z")
Right now I’m spending 5+ hours/day reading useless stuff on the internet (SD boards and other forums). I’d like to cut it down to 2 hours. Does anyone know of any programs that measure how long you’ve used your computer that day? That would help me immensely. ---
**Author:** ![madbuttface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@madbuttface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madbuttface)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kicking-a-computer-addiction/209792/2 "2003-10-27T05:29:56Z")
Well there’s a clock in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. It works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kicking-a-computer-addiction/209792/3 "2003-10-27T06:52:49Z")
Maybe something like these? [http://download.com.com/3000-2344-10203945.html?tag=lst-2-6](http://download.com.com/3000-2344-10203945.html?tag=lst-2-6) [http://download.com.com/3000-2344-10155564.html?tag=lst-2-13](http://download.com.com/3000-2344-10155564.html?tag=lst-2-13) [http://download.com.com/3000-2344-10147395.html?tag=lst-2-22](http://download.com.com/3000-2344-10147395.html?tag=lst-2-22) [http://download.com.com/3000-2344-10149101.html?tag=lst-2-20](http://download.com.com/3000-2344-10149101.html?tag=lst-2-20) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Walrus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Max\_Walrus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Walrus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kicking-a-computer-addiction/209792/4 "2003-10-27T08:02:52Z")
I’m going to say two words to you right now. I want you to listen to them very very carefully, then I want you to take them out of the office with you and incorporate them into your life. Stop it. ---
**Author:** ![stupidgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@stupidgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stupidgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kicking-a-computer-addiction/209792/5 "2003-10-27T11:31:36Z")
This might not work for your situation - but when I was trying to work for exams and I was getting distracted by my always-on high speed internet connection I used to give the ethernet cable to my next door neighbour to ‘look after’ that worked well for me. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kicking-a-computer-addiction/209792/6 "2003-10-27T12:16:03Z")
I bought a timer at Target - the kind that winds up, sometimes known as a kitchen timer. I set it to 20 minutes. When the alarm goes off, it is time to STAND UP AND WALK AWAY from the computer. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kicking-a-computer-addiction/209792/7 "2003-10-27T12:50:52Z")
I run the StatBar on my system,one of the options is system run time. [http://www.statbar.nl/](http://www.statbar.nl/)