Problem-solving case: Do supervisors Need Freedom to Manage Their Time? Information scientist Fred Stutzman noticed that whenever he went online, he was just a click or two away from a treasure trove of information, entertainment, and social connections. Just one little click, and he could find some tidbit that would be more engaging than whatever project he had sat at the computer to tackle. As he told a reporter recently, being on the Internet provides a "sense that at any point in time, you can dip into this stream." Consequently, Stutzman, like other computer users, finds that he doesn't give 100 percent of his attention to what he is supposedly doing at his computer. So Stutzman used his computer expertise to create a new application he called Freedom. Freedom basically provides a means of escape from online distractions by making it hard for computer users to go online when they have set aside time for other work. When a user launches the Freedom app, it asks how long it should disable the computer's Internet access-any period of time within a range from one minute to eight hours. Next, it asks the user whether it should allow access to the local network, which might include printers or other computers to which the user is connected locally. After the user answers the questions and provides a password, Freedom delivers freedom from distractions by shutting off connections as specified. What if you try Freedom but then realize that your plan was a mistake because you need to look up critical information online or print a document a customer is waiting for? Freedom offers an out that is intentionally annoying: You have to reboot the computer (shut it down and restart it). The process is not complicated but is troublesome enough that users would bother with it only if they really need the localnetwork or Internet connection. Writer and radio show host Peter Sagal appreciates using Freedom as a way to stay focused when writing books and screenplays. He relearned to work without distractions by setting Freedom first for short time periods and then gradually increasing the duration of the uninterrupted time day by day. Page 371 Supervisors might agree with Stutzman and Sagal that concentrating at the computer is ever more difficult thanks to distractions like social media, news feeds, shopping sites, and cat videos, not to mention e-mail from customers and co-workers and instant messages from colleagues. But is Freedom the best solution for supervisors? Perhaps they would be better off following the advice of Linda Stone, an Supervisors might agree with Stutzman and Sagal that concentrating at the computer is ever more difficult thanks to distractions like social media, news feeds, shopping sites, and cat videos, not to mention e-mail from customers and co-workers and instant messages from colleagues. But is Freedom the best solution for supervisors? Perhaps they would be better off following the advice of Linda Stone, an expert in the impact of computers on thinking. Stone says apps and software that make us use computers appropriately are only a first step toward what is the real and meaningful change: learning to control ourselves at our computers. Productivity techniques can really help in time management, allowing hours of the day to not get lost in the Internet abyss. According to Chris Bailey, author of A Life of Productivity, the Rule of 3 can be helpful in learning to work intentionally. At the beginning of each work day, decide what three things need to be accomplished by the end of the work day. This guides focus and helps to not lose out on hours during the day. 1. Imagine you are a sales supervisor who works primarily in an office at headquarters, staying in touch with traveling sales representatives to coach them and oversee their performance. Why might you need Internet access? Would you need to have that access all day long, every minute of the day? Why or why not? 2. Continuing with the example in question 1 , how do you think it would change your support of the sales reps if you used a program like Freedom to stay offline for an hour or two every day? How do you think it would change your ability to complete other kinds of work, such as writing reports, thinking of new ways to motivate workers, and planning for future goals and budgets? 3. Discuss your opinion of Linda Stone's view that individuals should learn to police themselves online, rather than relying on software to help them manage their computer use. For a supervisor, is getting control over time by any means more important, or is learning self-control more important