This smug owl will bully you into being productive

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We’ve all been there, you log into Facebook (or Pinterest or Twitter or YouTube or insert your other online addiction here) for “just two minutes” to see what everyone’s been up to in the hour since you last checked and then suddenly it’s 5pm, you’ve done absolutely nothing all day and you break out into a cold sweat because you’re probably a social media psychopath.

Well luckily there are all kinds of apps and services and plugins to stop you becoming a procrastination maniac (FYI, we like StayFocusd and Kitten Block) and our new favourite has to be Productivity Owl.

Productivity Owl is a plug-in for Google Chrome, which doesn’t block any website or social network but instead sits there behind them all quietly judging what a terrible human being you are before it pounces and tells you to GET ON WITH YOUR WORK. Of course you can add certain work-related websites to an allowed list, but don’t cheat. The owl will know. According to the blurb in the Chrome Web Store you’re encouraged to “Ride The Owl”, which sounds like some really creepy sex position, but in actual fact means having the owl working all the time and not opening any other browsers but scheduling in free time to look at whatever you please. But you’re encouraged to not set up too much free time as the owl will “lose respect for you”. We’re not sure what that means, but we’re kinda scared.

There are lots of plug-ins and things like this already, but we like the fact Productivity Owl is just that, an owl. After all, what better animal to tell you to get back to work than a smug owl. Owls are one of the few members of the animal kingdom that never seem to make mistakes. They just sit in trees being really “judgy”, twisting their little heads round to look at that stupid outfit you’re wearing and take note of that really impractical choice of shoes.

We don’t doubt that setting up Productivity Owl will irritate the hell out of you and probably drive you slowly nuts, but hey, at least it stops you Facebook stalking and pinning your way through the day.

[Via Lifehacker]

Becca Caddy