Start your day screen-free. If you’re in the habit of doing personal devotions in the morning, resolve to not turn on your computer or look at your cell phone until you’ve done them (unless, of course, you do them on your computer or cell phone).
Set specific times (no more than three times a day) for checking Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. Mediakix estimates based on current usage statistics that the average person will spend over five years of their lives on social media.
Discover what’s sidetracking you. Ask yourself: Do I respond to emails during time with my family? Are personal texts, posts and emails taking time away from work?
Find what dulls. Pay attention to those things that tend to dull your mind instead of sharpening it. Are there certain websites or media you use only when you’re bored?
Delete and unsubscribe. Stop visiting particularly wasteful websites or put blocks on them, limiting your use. Unsubscribe from blogs with no redeeming qualities.
Take a digital fast. Set aside days for fasting from all digital media: cell phone, television, games, computer. The more difficult it sounds and is to do, the more important it is for you to do it.
For more on tuning out distraction, check out the book The Next Story and blog by Tim Challies.