English: A pile of potato chips. These are Utz-brand, grandma’s kettle-cooked style. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How many times has this happened to you? You sit down to really get some work done and an article catches your eye. Maybe it’s an interview with Your Favorite Actor Ever and he’s going to finally reveal something you’ve been dying to know. Or maybe it’s a blog post about the very issue you’ve been struggling with. Or maybe a service you use all the time just changed their terms and you need to know how it will effect your business. Or maybe it’s something political and you just feel like getting enraged.

You’ll just read that real quick and then get down to work.

So you click on the article, read it, and emerge blinking sometimes hours later without having gotten anything done. Because articles on the internet are like potato chips and you really can’t read just one. Something on the sidebar catches your eye and you decide to read that too. Or that initial article reminds you of that other thing that you have to go research while you’re thinking of it. Or whatever you read about raises so many questions that you have to consult secondary sources. Or you get so enraged you need to go write a rant on Facebook. Continue Reading »