I needed a new way of doing things. First, I realized that all my tabs fit into four categories:

Things related to what I was working on right now. Articles I’d like to read later. Sites I might need in the future. Communication tools like social media and email.

The solution was simple — I needed to make a routine of sorting tabs where they belong. For example, instead of leaving web sites related to a current project open day after day, I’d cut and paste the URL into the relevant document — typically a Google Doc or slide presentation.

Next, articles I’d like to read later are never read in the browser. Before I have a chance to get sucked-into the time wasting vortex of reading one article and then another, I quickly save it to Pocket where I can read the article at my leisure or listen to it while driving or in the gym. Finally, the open tabs I worry I might need some day go into Evernote with just a tap of a button on the chrome of my browser.

Here again, although it seems like I’m just pushing the mess around it’s important to remember that the quantity of digital stuff isn’t the problem — it’s the visual distraction and clutter that saps productivity and focus. The idea is to get stuff out of sight and out of mind until it’s needed. Interestingly, the same categories I used to sort through tabs worked just as well for eliminating many of the bookmarks that polluted the chrome of my browser.

But what about email and social media? Perhaps the worst time-suck of all is the endless stream of messages, notifications, and updates that sap focus and keep us busy with pseudo-work. These services are like chocolate — they’re best kept hidden because the more we nibble the more we want.

Given how distracting they are, I try to never leave them open while not in use and I use attention retention tools like StayFocusd and Freedom to block access to my email, Twitter, and Facebook during my morning writing time when I most need to concentrate.

Now that I’ve removed as much distraction from my laptop as possible, I schedule fifteen minutes every Friday for a “Friday flush” to clear out any clutter that may have accumulated over the week.