We live in a world of constant stimulation: music, communication, video, text, images. Because all of these types of entertainment are available with the click of a button, sometimes it can be difficult to resist the urge to distract ourselves from what we are supposed to be doing – really difficult, in fact.

That's why there is an emerging movement among businesses and individuals alike to track or even block the usage of certain websites that tend to drain your productivity (Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, theChive, Pinterest).

Here are three applications that are gaining popularity from professionals everywhere. (And don't worry: as soon as you're done working, your favorite sites will still be waiting for you to fritter away as many hours as you want.)

• Freedom. For the extreme procrastinators out there, this software actually shuts off your internet access entirely for eight hours. It has gained a lot of popularity with professionals that work from home and need to focus solely on one task, such as a writing assignment.

• RescueTime. Designed for an office environment, this software helps employees track the amount of time they spend on each website they access, and provides them with a graph that breaks down how they've spent their day. In addition, the application "FocusTime" can block certain distracting websites from access for a specified amount of time.

• Time Doctor. This software is similar to RescueTime, but also provides periodic reminders to employees. Once the program recognizes that you've been spending 45 minutes on YouTube, a message from Time Doctor will pop up that reads something like: "Hi! Are you working on preparing for your 3 p.m. presentation?"

If you decide to shut off your own internet access in an attempt to focus and you are experiencing trouble with network configuration when trying to reconnect, you may want to contact your local Washington, D.C. computer repair service to make sure your internet will work when you really do need it.