How do I limit my Internet use?

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OK, here's my issue.

I have transition problems--big ones. Always have, always will, probably. I don't stop doing anything unless there's some kind of a prompt to tell me to stop. So, for example, I don't stop reading a book until I get to the end; I don't stop cleaning a room until there's nothing left to clean; I don't stop eating until there's nothing left on the plate.

I have trouble getting started with things, too, but that's not the issue here.

The thing is, using the internet has no natural stopping point. The book always ends; the room's always finished; and if I remember how many calories are in the food and how much I need, all I have to do is just take out a meal's worth. But on the Internet, there's nothing to say "You're done now." And that's a problem. I don't just spend an extra five minutes; I spend an extra ten hours. I forget to eat and wait so long to use the bathroom that I have to run to it when I'm finally forced to go.

So yeah, that's a problem.

What I need is some way to stop using the Internet (or my computer in general) after a certain amount of time. I am hoping to do something like what I do with the food--measuring out a set amount ahead of time.

I can't use an alarm. I will sit there and not turn it off for an hour. It's very likely that if I do turn it off, I'll go right back to what I was doing. I just don't perceive an alarm as important enough to switch mental gears.

So it's not just a matter of losing track of time--though I do that too. It's a matter of literally not being able to conceive of the idea that there is something else I should be doing.

Other things do have this effect on me (books, notably); but almost everything else has a natural stopping point. The Internet doesn't.

I need to figure out a way to disconnect myself from the Internet and/or my computer. However:
--An alarm won't work. Tried; failed.
--An auto-shutoff or similar program needs to be schedulable ahead of time, and it needs to actually disconnect me from the computer. It should have a warning--at the very least a ten, five, and one-minute warning--but NOT a cancel button. I will press the cancel button just like I tend to turn off or ignore alarms. It needs to have warnings because if it doesn't, I'll get frustrated with it suddenly cutting off my access and will likely stop using it.
--I need to be able to use the computer and Internet at will for schoolwork. I use it for that purpose almost every day; that's why I have it in the first place. It's a valuable resource I can't just give up. So at most, it needs to block for five to ten minutes at a time rather than for hours--just enough for me to re-orient, not so much that I can't get on when I need to do schoolwork.

Like I mentioned, I do have issues with transitions in other areas of my life. At one point I stayed two hours overtime at a job at Goodwill because I had not yet finished organizing the women's shorts. I knew I was overtime but it just didn't seem to matter. I tend to be late to things and miss appointments constantly, and my sleep schedule is badly disorganized because I never know when I will be able to pull myself away from whatever I'm doing and go to bed.

But a computer is probably the single easiest thing for this particular cognitive quirk to affect, and it's really getting on my nerves. Any ideas, people?

switch off

This program is free and here is the description

This handy program is a PC timer that can shut down, log off, or force your computer to hibernate. It works either as a countdown timer, or set up like an alarm clock. When the proper time is reached, SwitchOff shuts down all open applications and performs its task. You can configure it to operate daily, weekly, or for a single occurrence. The interface is basic, but well organized. It features a small memory footprint and stable operation. A simple Web interface allows you to operate it from anywhere on the Internet. You can set it to operate minimized on the desktop or as a Windows service. Anyone needing a PC timer will find this program a useful addition to their system.

So it will turn off on a timer. there is an option to not warn you when it shuts down

Last edited by chessxcore on 12 May 2011, 1:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

If I use a program like that I'll need one that turns on again in the morning to allow my alarm clock to go off. I have an alarm clock in my room, across the room from the bed, and a computerized alarm clock, and have trained my cat to nudge me when those go off. Combined, they get me out of bed on time about 75% of the time, within about a half hour. So I need to make sure the computer alarm will go off... I should experiment and see if it'll come out of hibernate to play the alarm...

Oh, I should note: I'm using the Windows 7 operating system, if you guys have program recommendations, so they need to run on that.

I also have big transition problems with using the PC. I've started using an alarm, but you said that doesn't work for you, so maybe you could try this:

Ez OFF

It's free to try and it's compatible with Windows 7. It allows you to schedule the PC to turn itself off, or just to be locked for a set period of time. I don't know if it gives the warning that you want, but maybe you could set up an alarm separately to do that?

Edit: I made a mistake and put Vista instead of Windows 7. According to Microsoft, Ez OFF is compatible with Windows 7: Link

Last edited by Indy on 12 May 2011, 10:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

Here's another internet timer program that works for Windows 7. I haven't used it and don't know anyone who uses it - I just found it recommended by someone in a Google search.

EZ Internet Timer

I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a cancel button, because it's designed for parents to be able to control their children's internet usage. It can be scheduled ahead of time, and can have set schedules for different days of the week. Based on this help page, it appears that you can make a warning message that will be shown as much ahead of time as you specify - although I'm not sure it can give multiple reminders.

Cool Keep listing stuff, guys. I'm going to test them out one-by-one and see which one works best. Actually, if I have a decent collection, I'll probably review them for my blog.

You could come and live here! Our internet switches itself off all the time for no reason! PAIN IN THE BUM!! ! But yeah I have the same sort of problem, except I still need my PC to run so I can play the Sims3 or type...

I found this one (with several others linked below it) ...

http://windows.podnova.com/software/60997.htm

I also have a hard time with obsessions to the internet. its cooled off a bit because i moved and well really i'm a transiant now until the first. but after i get my brand new computer i'm going back to what i know wich is girls and internet forums so natuarlly i cant give you any advice on how to prevent internet AIDS. happens to the best of them

You could stop paying the electric bill

That is very interesting in general, not just regarding your internet usage. Is the phrase "transition problems" an accepted psychological term for what you describe? I fully relate to the examples you give above and have "transition problems" myself in many aspects of my life and activities. I'd never heard of the phrase "transition problems" before.

Someone needs to invent a timer application for the computer, something you can program to turn the computer off after the amount of time you choose and not let anyone turn it back on for however long you choose. That way, you have to stay off the computer for, at least, part of the day.
I used to do this too. I would zone out in front of the internet and be there for hours.
Then, my computer had a problem so I went without one for a while and that got me out of the habit.
Now I have a new one and I have gotten to the point where I can keep from being on it a few days in a row. I don't stay on it nearly as long because I get bored.
Unfortunately, there was only one drastic thing that worked for me, but it might not be practical for you.

edit...I just saw the internet timer thingy post....that could work.

Not sure. I think it's a term more used by special ed teachers and therapists who have to try to pull their autistic students away from one thing and get them to do another. Even if the second activity is something the kid doesn't mind doing, switching in and of itself can be very difficult.

Still needing external prompts even as an adult is apparently not uncommon on the spectrum--it can even get really extreme and even dangerous, such as when someone walks into the road because they couldn't stop walking, or doesn't eat because they couldn't transition to eating, etc. But you have to distinguish between that and special interests (which you engage in because you want to even if you can stop whenever you like), sensory issues (you don't notice whatever should be telling you to stop, like not noticing hunger or tiredness), or time perception problems (you don't realize how long you've been doing something). All of that can come under the umbrella of "transition" problems, but the specific issue I'm talking about is more like autistic inertia, which is very much like the physics concept: You keep moving in the same direction and at the same speed unless an outside force changes your speed or direction. And because there is no natural endpoint to surfing the Net, there isn't any built-in outside force.

Another one for the list, which I only just realized has a Windows version (including Windows 7) as well as a Mac version:
Freedom

However, it's not clear to me that it can be scheduled ahead of time. It looks like it might keep you off the internet once you decide to get off, but might not help for enforcing time to get off in the first place. In which case it's probably not what you're looking for.