My week’s experiement is over, and with my 20/20 hindsight I can categorically claim that a week of no blog reading at work is not worth a hill of beans, be they lima or kidney.  Or even pinto.

Like a smoker jonesing for his next fix, I spent most of each day thinking about carrying out my vice.  I can’t imagine that’s helping me increase productivity, either.

I suppose the one thing I learned was how to distrust everyone around me. On more than one occasion I got sent blog postings via email, IM, or toilet stall.  By the end of the week, I got very good at recognizing blandmines before succumbing to them.

So no more continuing of this experiment.  I may try to cut down a little on blog reading during the week, but I think abandoning the little leisure time at work is probably counterproductive.

I’m trying my damnedest to avoid reading any blogs at work this week. On Monday I deleted my Bloglines bookmark, removed Google Reader from my iGoogle homepage, and prayed to heathen gods to give me the strength not to buckle.

Much like a Cambodian farmer or an Afghan kid looking for food rations, I find myself unable to avoid blog landmines (I call them blandmines). On two separate occasions today I was unable to avoid reading blog entries.

A routine trip to the restroom this morning turned tragic as I entered the stall and noticed someone had printed out the day’s posts from Good Morning Silicon Valley. Uncontrollably I read several stories about AOL giving an “unlimited free time” package to 2,000 of its employees, and Steve Ballmer comparing Microsoft’s products to kids in a family.

Later in the afternoon, I check my email and see one of my coworkers sent me a message. This guy, who is aware of my task, sent me a blog post emailed from Google Reader. Apparently a new feature in Subversion is interesting enough to destroy my ambition and ruin my goal.

More as it develops…

I spend far too much time at work surfing the web and reading blogs; everything from Slashdot to Marginal Revolution to the Brazen Careerist. Well this week I’m experimenting in not reading any blogs at work for the entire week.

And please note, this is going to be hard for me. Like one of Pavlov’s dogs, I have been conditioned to check the latest updates on The Caucus every time I compile my code. It’s a fundamental shift in the way I work. By Friday I’ll know whether I can do this cold turkey, or if personal development is a gene of the Sirens which forever calls to me, unattainably.

This entire experiment reminds me a lot of that Broadway Play, ‘Checkin’ In’:

[Young Celebrity] I’m checkin’ in!
[Doctors & Patients] He’s checkin’ in!
[Young Celebrity] I’m checkin’ in!
[Doctors & Patients] Checkin’, checkin’ in!
[Young Celebrity] No more pills or alcohol, no more pot or Demorol,
No more stinking fun at all!