Control the internet by scheduling it, not resisting it

You sit down to work and tell yourself you won’t check anything. Ten minutes later you’re “just looking up” a tiny fact, then replying to a quick message, then approving a calendar change. Forty minutes vanish. You didn’t fail at willpower. You followed a habit loop: boredom, reward, repeat. The mind learns that novelty is always one tap away, so focus begins to feel like deprivation.

Flip the script. Give your brain planned novelty. Today you decide exactly when you’ll go online. Maybe it’s 11:00, 2:00, and 4:30 for twenty minutes. Between those windows, you are offline, full stop. If you need something in the moment, set the next window five minutes out. That small delay breaks the craving circuit without wrecking your schedule.

The first afternoon will feel edgy. Your hand will reach for your phone like it has its own agenda. That’s okay. Keep a pad near you to capture what you would have searched. Use your offline list: draft paragraphs, sketch the flow, read the printed spec, stretch your back. When the window arrives, go online guilt‑free. Get what you need, answer the few messages that matter, then close it down. The urgency will drain away when the reward is predictable.

At night, give yourself a wide window to catch up and relax, then move the phone away during dinner, a walk, or a chapter. Attention, like sleep, refills in the spaces you protect. You’ll discover that planned indulgence is easier than endless resistance. It’s kinder, too. You’re not quitting the internet, you’re making it work on your terms.

Pick three times you’ll go online tomorrow and put them on your calendar. Outside those times, go fully offline, and if you need the web mid‑block, set the next window at least five minutes away. Keep a paper list of lookups and an offline menu of tasks like drafting, sketching, or reading printouts. At home, create one generous internet window, then put your phone away during dinner or a short walk. Notice how your focus softens and your stress eases when novelty has a schedule. Try it for just one day.