When being AntiSocial isn't a bad thing.

I discovered a really handy computer program last week, and I thought I would share what I've found.

Facebook can be a serious productivity problem. I usually don't go on FB when I'm at work (I am usually pretty good about keeping it to my lunch and 10 min breaks), but I remember those times in college when I would be "studying" and wind up surfing facebook or my other preferred time-wasting websites for hours and hours on end. Productivity shot.  My "study breaks" would wind up being hours and hours long and I would have to start taking breaks TO study. 

{I feel like I can't be the only one with that problem here.}

Enter AntiSocial. Blocks Facebook, Twitter, and any other sites you tell it to. (ColdTurkey does the same thing for PCs. They make me use a Mac at work)

WHOO HOO! via Comic Vine

I first heard about it on a blog I stumbled on, and I figured what the heck, why not? Even though I don't really waste much time on facebook, it could come in handy when I'm finding myself losing focus.

I wish I had known about it sooner. At this point, I'm using the trial version (they haven't forced me to register yet, haha!). But it's changed my life.

This little gem makes you REBOOT your computer if you want to check the blocked sites before the time limit has been met. And that's major shame if I restart just to check recent newsfeed updates. :)

You can set it to block sites for any length of time between 1 minute and 8 hours, and you can access ANY other internet site except for the ones you indicate (Twitter and Facebook are automatically blocked).

There are just a couple weird things about it that I've discovered when using it {although I could just be non tech-savvy}:

1. You have to force-quit the program if you need to shut down your computer before your allotted time is up. Why, I'm not sure, but it's bizarre. So if you decide to use the program, make sure to give you some time at the end of the day of "unblocked" time.
2. It won't let you download email attachments while the program is running? That's another weird one. I need this capability every day at work, so I have to REALLY want to isolate myself if I want to use this.

Because of these things (especially the second one!), I can't use it at work all the time, but I thought someone else might find it helpful! Do you think you'd use something like this?