A San Francisco computer programmer claims he increased his work productivity by hiring a woman to slap him every time he looks at Facebook. Maneesh Sethi found the woman on Craigslist and says she has helped him boost his productivity from 35% to 98%. "Having worked mostly alone, on my computer, I found that the majority of my time is spent unproductively. Nothing makes me more embarrassed than seeing the amount of hours I spend wasted on Reddit and Facebook chat. I figured 'This is stupid, why am I wasting this time doing nothing? When I have a boss, or someone of authority watching me, I always get my work done. How can I simulate the authority figure?' Naturally, I believe that an authority figure should have real authority. So I went on Craigslist, put up an advertisement, and waited to see if anyone would bite. "I received 20 emails in less than an hour from people who loved the idea. I read through them, found one that stood out, and hired her to meet me at a café the day after. The next day, at 9am, I found Kara sitting and waiting for me. Pulling up a seat, I gave her the basic instructions – she would monitor me for the next few hours, and make sure that I was staying on task. I gave her a list of action items that I needed to accomplish, and made her promise to force me to stay on task."
His ad read: "I'm looking for someone who can work next to me at a defined location (my house or a café) and will make sure to watch what is happening on my screen. When I am wasting time, you'll have to yell at me or if need be, slap me. You can do your own work at the same time. Looking for help asap. Compensation: $8 / hour, and you can do your own work from your computer at the same time."
