Do you find yourself checking e-mails or playing a video game every time you planned to work on your game? Do you find cheap "right" excuses to persuade yourself not to work? Well, here is a list of self discipline and time killer activities every one of us do.

IM - Instant Messengers

Every single person with an internet connection has at least one IM. Most of us have more than one. Let it be Windows Live Messenger or ICQ or Skype, we love to use them. We love to socialize, chat, have a meeting on them. Because they are easy to use and free.

But those IMs kill productivity. While I'm programming, a window pups up, a message from my best friend or my girlfriend or even from my family. You can always say, "Sorry, I'm working right now", but who does it? We love to chat on IMs.

Blogs

Yes, blogs just like this one. Blogs are like your favorite magazines. You pick the ones you love and you read them regularly. I end up reading blogs while I wanted to code something countless times.

There is a lot of blogs in the "blogosphere" and I'm sure there is plenty of them fits your interest. Again, they are free and some of them are very helpful on a specific topic while others are fun.

E-Mails

Checking e-mails is a big problem especially if you do bussiness online and get a lot of e-mails need checking every day. For example, if you sell games online, you have to have a customer support e-mail which needs checking regularly.

Video Games

It's my biggest problem. I can say, I'm a hardcore gamer, who buys all the AA titles and plays them to their tiniest bit. Every time I trick myself like "Let's play this game half an hour to relax so I can work better" and I end up playing those video games for 2-3 hours.

Needless to say, video games are brilliant. We need them but we need to limit the time playing them.

It all boils down to your self discipline. As I said they are really deadly. Solution is simple to say hard to act on.

* Close IMs while working.
* Check you e-mail twice a day, in the morning and before sleeping.
* Read blogs before sleep or after you done working.
* Play video games only in your spare time after work to relax and to be freed from the work stress.