Writer's Resource: LeechBlock, Freedom, Anti-social for Anti-procrastination

All those who spend a good portion of their time on the internet surfing random sites, checking comics, reading non-industry blogs, and otherwise messing around raise their hands. (Go ahead, I'll wait.)

One of the best things about the internet is the vast amount of interesting information available on virtually any topic. One of the worst things about the internet is--you guessed it--the vast amount of interesting information available on virtually any topic.

Writers have to balance their innate desire to LEARN ALL THE THINGS with the need to actually, yanno, write things every now and then.

Enter programs that forcibly remove you from the internet for a specified period of time. Dubbed "productivity tools" by their creators, they can be vastly helpful for writers. Here are three of the most popular ones:

LeechBlock: This Firefox add-on allows you to specify which sites you want to block and when you want to block them. If your writing time is from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., you can tell LeechBlock that under no circumstances do you want to be able to check your Twitter feed during that time. From the website: "You can specify up to six sets of sites to block, with different times and days for each set."

Anti-Social (for Macs): This app specifically targets social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. You can also add custom sites to the list. You can get around this one by restarting your computer, but as the website says, "As you will feel a deep sense of shame for rebooting just to waste time on Twitter, you're unlikely to cheat.

Freedom: Available for both Macs and PCs for $10. This one takes it to the next level and just boots you off the internet entirely for a specified period of time.

If you're having trouble staying off of time-wasting sites, try out one of these productivity tools!