Imagine a piece of software that figures out just how many hours we have clocked up surfing internet porn. On second thoughts, we’re probably better off not knowing. But what about the hours we might be wasting today, or tomorrow..?

Web surfing devours our time. Whether we’re battling with constant porn urges, or successfully making progress in overcoming a habit, we all know how easily those ‘couple more minutes’ turn into hours. Even when we’ve overcome the compulsion to surf porn, we very often find outselves left with a twitching mouse hand. YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, news sites… the urge to surf remains overwhelming.

So this tip applies to everyone who wishes to use time on the internet more productively. MeeTimer is a free plugin for Firefox, which ingeniously measures just how much time you spend procrastinating online. And it can provide some scary numbers.

So how does MeeTimer work? It simply enables you to create categories for the websites that you regularly visit. Some categories are set up for you: work, communication, search and of course, procrastination. Porn sites would definitely fit in this last category.

As you surf, a click of the mouse enables you to place your favourite sites in the appropriate category. All other sites you visit are classed under miscellaneous. It’s as simple as that. And then the plugin just sits in your browser and keeps count, revealing the harsh truth whenever you wish to know!

There are options for warning you about procrastination sites, and even options for blocking them out. But this is not a filter. Running this plugin is a voluntary action that you can take to become more accountable for the time you spend online. As the author’s website says:

Understanding just how much time is disappearing is key to actually acting upon it. No deterrent-based system will work if you actually want to get round it; it has to be your choice.

So thanks to creator Andy Mitchell for this unique tool, and potentially providing us with one hell of a valuable shock.