Most everyone I know is spending multiple hours a day online—usually a mix of business, leisure, and plain old time wasting (Hello, Facebook!). We all lead busy lives, and if we’re not careful, being online can become ALL we have time for.

Here are some of the ways I streamline my online time to get the most accomplished and have more time for my family and other duties!

1. Have a plan

Know why you’re getting online, and what you plan to accomplish. It’s helpful for me to plan out each day in advance. For example, my daily list might include writing 2 new blog posts, printing some coupons, and ordering a book from amazon. Then when I am online, I do only those things, and start a new list for the next day.

Everything is written down on paper in a spiral notebook. Seeing it laid out clearly makes it so much easier to follow.

2. Business before pleasure

Those of us who work exclusively online know how hard this tip can be to follow. Before I allow myself to start reading other blogs or emailing my friends, I finish up ALL of my business work. Because blogging can be so time consuming, there are many days I run out of time and/or energy before I’ve gotten to do anything fun. That can make me sad, but it’s really a matter of picking and choosing and realizing that I can’t do everything!

I used to always, without fail, read all of my friends’ blogs (and even blogs of people I didn’t know hardly anything about!) first, before doing my own work. As a result, I was getting behind in writing articles, answering comments/emails, and scheduling giveaways. I finally realized that I must write before I read, or I will always be too tired to write, and I love writing!

I also don’t recommend getting sucked into Facebook wars, Pinterest binge sessions, random googling, etc. It is a huge time suck that produces no tangible results and often brings people down anyway.

3. Utilize RSS feeds and Subscriber lists

It takes time to visit a large number of websites each day. And it’s a waste of time when you browse from blog to blog, hoping for new updates when there are none. Any site that I enjoy reading regularly, I subscribe to. For instance, I used to check deals on The Krazy Coupon Lady constantly. It was becoming an obsession for me and I worried about missing out. Eventually, I just signed up for her hot deal alert and now I receive only 1 email a day that highlights the best ones. So much simpler and quicker!

4. Set a time limit

If I’m not careful, 8 hours can go by in a flash online, leaving me too tired for the necessary cooking, cleaning, shopping, and other things I need to do in real life. There isn’t a magic number for everyone, but try to keep your online time reasonable. For me, this is usually 3 or 4 hours for work plus an hour for fun stuff.

5. Unplug

At least once a week—if not more—turn the computer off, ideally for 24 hours. Working 7 days a week will lead to nothing but burn out and frustration. Bloggers in particular are afraid to step away for even a minute, and I totally understand that, but we need to remember that genuine readers will return if you provide quality content on a regular basis.

I find that taking 2 or even 3 days a week off actually makes me feel more clear-headed and inspired to work.

How do you avoid wasting time online?