www.meobserver.org 2 Home 21 Feb. 2018 EGYPS 2018 Egypt is moving into being a regional energy hub President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi inaugurated on Mon- day the second edition of Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS 2018) which took place from February 12 to 14, 2018 at Egypt International Exhibition Center (EIEC) in New Cairo City. The exhibition brought together the industry’s ma- jor companies and key players in the Region, provid- ing insights into the upcoming oil and gas opportuni- ties in Egypt and North Africa, from future licensing rounds, project requirements to short and long-term strategic plans and priorities. The conference tackled four main sectors Strategic, Technical, Women in En- ergy and the new Security in Energy, hosting over 150 expert speakers and attracting over 1,000 confer- ence delegates. Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla said during his speech in the opening of EGYPS 2018 that EG- YPS 2018 is one of the ministry’s elements to show the world our successful stories and economic re- forms. Molla added that the EGYPS 2018 is an op- portunity to recognize current possibilities and in- crease co-operation with international companies and oil industry’s experts. Molla also referred to the economic reforms in Egypt such as the energy subsidies, Currency floata- tion and the development of investment legislation which aimed to increase the competitiveness of the national economy. The Ministry of Petroleum signed a coopera- tion agreement during the Conference, with Baker Hughes International Company to launch the opera- tions of Egypt Gate project to market the petroleum zones and oil discoveries, attracting international companies’ investments to these areas. Egypt Gate project aims to develop advanced mechanisms for the marketing of oil and gas exploration areas through Global Energy leaders at EGYPS 2018. the International Information Network, Minister of Petroleum Tarek al-Molla commented. ed the government's commitment to paying all dues nies in the show reflects the progress realized in Egypt, Shell sign agreement for Molla added that this project is considered as a of foreign companies operating in Egypt and pro- the petroleum sector in Egypt and offers a chance milestone to adding the rising petroleum zones on viding an investment-magnet atmosphere to lure for exchanging expertise in the oil and natural gas the development of JV Bapetco the international investment map. The agreement more investments in the energy market domains. Preparations are underway for a visit was signed by undersecretary for agreements and ex- On the other hand, Minister of Petroleum of Ven- by representatives from key Italian companies to The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation ploration Ashraf Faraj, and vice president of Baker ezuela Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernandez said Egypt, he added. (EGPC) has signed an agreement with Shell Egypt Hughes AG Ayman Khattab. The agreement states his country’s participation in the conference comes Dubai-based Emirates National Oil Company to develop Badr El Din Petroleum Company (Ba- that the government provides the company with digi- within reviewing a futuristic vision of petroleum (ENOC) announced at the Conference its plan to petco). The deal has been inked by both head of tal infrastructure and electronic applications to sup- and gas production. Meanwhile, Algeria's Energy expand through its subsidiary Dragon Oil. The EGPC and chairman of Shell Egypt Gasser Hantar, port the project and to enhance the predictive ability Minister Mustapha Guitouni noted the importance company said that it participated in the conference according to the petroleum ministry’s statement. of the accounting information for the management of of reviewing laws regulating energy in Africa call- to enhance its presence in Egypt and highlight the This initiative came as part of the petroleum global bidding rounds for oil and gas exploration. It ing for amending these laws to attract foreign in- diversity of its operations and expertise in the en- sector’s strategy to maximise the oil firms’ assets also states that the company prepares a digital invest- vestors to work in the African countries. While ergy sector through its wholly owned exploration and develop production fields, petroleum minister South African Energy Minister David Mahlobo ment map to the outbidding areas. and production company, Dragon Oil. Tarek El-Molla said. Further more, Molla asserted the petroleum sec- said that Africa is full of attractive investment op- This deal will also improve projects’ economies, portunities, adding that his country is participating “Egypt has important sources of energy, as hy- tor’s commitment to drawing up a plan that aims at drocarbon production is estimated to contribute reduce production costs, raise performance level, resolving all problems facing the sector via signing in the conference to discuss means of fostering ties apply governance standards, and upgrade human with the participating countries. about six percent of Egypt's GDP. The government 83 agreements, underlining the importance of the also has ambitious plans to boost investment in resources’ skills, El-Molla added. conference in exploring promising opportunities in Khaled Abu Bakr, the head of the Egyptian side of the Egyptian-Italian Business Council, said the petrochemical sector over the next five years," Bapetco chairman last said that the company is the petroleum market and increasing cooperation planning to drill 31 new wells by the second half with world companies. Egypt will turn into a regional center for natural ENOC Chief Executive Safi Al Dalasi said. gas trade. Dragon Oil fully owns the East Gulf Oil con- of fiscal year 2017/2018 until the end of FY18/19. He described the foreign partners as “key to suc- Bapetco, a joint venture between Royal Dutch cess,” adding that he is sending them a message that In statements to MENA on Tuesday on the fringe cession in the southern Gulf of Suez, covering 93 stresses the government’s keenness on reform as well of the Egypt Petroleum Show 2018, he said the square kilometers in a shallow area with a depth of Shell and EGPC, invested about $202 million in as avoiding all sorts of bureaucracy. He also reiterat- participation of heavyweight international compa- 10 to 40 meters. FY16/17, according to the ministry’s statement. By : Nagy Rashed Ukrainian airlines starts operating flights Egypt plans first hydropower from Cairo to Kiev and Vice Versa plant in Middle East The Electricity Ministry is planning to electricity on Tuesday with representatives Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) starts in build the first hydropower plant in the Mid- of a number of Italian companies working April 2018, operating flights from Cairo to Kiev and dle East at a capacity of 2,400 MW using in the field of energy and environment as Vice Versa 4 times a week (Monday,Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). the pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) part of efforts to encourage investment in Flying a Boeing 737- 800, the Aircraft has a technology at Ataqa Mountain, Red Sea, to Egypt in the field of electricity and renew- configuration of 162 economy Class standard seats utilize renewable energy resources, Elec- able energy. and 12 business class seats offering competitive tricity Minister Mohamed Shaker said. During the meeting, Shaker reviewed Business and Economy class fares in the Egyptian market to all the cities it flies to, with connections The plant will be established in coopera- measures that the ministry has taken recent- to Almaty, Astana, Ankara, Amsterdam, Baku, tion with Sinohydro, a Chinese state-owned ly to address challenges of power outages in Brussels, Chisinau, Dubai, Istanbul, Larnaca, hydropower engineering company, accord- Egypt, which peaked in 2014. He pointed London Gatwick, Madrid, Milan, Minsk, Paris, ing to Shaker. Shaker discussed means of out that the ministry has completely over- Prague, Stockholm, Tbilisi, and Warsaw. UIA also offers direct long-haul flights with three classes of enhancing joint cooperation in the field of come the problem since June 2015. services (Business, Premium Economy and Econ- omy) from Kiev to: Bangkok, Beijing and Colom- bo. Further more, UIA connects Ukraine to over 80 destinations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well to domestic destinations, operating over Port Said Container and Cargo Handling Company's dry 1000 flights per week. UIA was established in October 1st, 1992 and started operations on November 25th 1992 with Kiev to London flights. It was the first airline in the former Soviet Union to use the new Boeing 737- port in the tenth of Ramada targets boosting exports 400 aircraft. Mr. Jamal Ezz El Din, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Managing tives in providing the best service in the least time and at the lowest cost. Director of Port Said Container and Cargo Handling Company signed a con- It is worth mentioning that the dry port owned by the company is the first tract with 4P Logistics Company specialised for marketing of container han- dry port established in Egypt within the largest industrial gathering in the dling and logistics services for the shipment and handling of empty and filled tenth of Ramadan to serve Egyptian exporters and investors. containers (Incoming - outgoing) inside and outside the customs zone in the It is located on an area of 80 thousand square meters and has a common dry port on 10th of Ramadan. storage area of 2000 m2 and is operated with the latest container handling This contract helps in increasing the productivity of the dry port and attract- equipment. ing a broad base of customers to deal with and revitalise its work, especially The dry port is characterised by its geographical location on the roads with the current trend towards expansion in the field of logistics and its objec- linking the land and the railway with Cairo and Egyptian ports.

65th year Issue 8/2018 - 1edition Publisher and Chairman Consultant of ME Affairs Investigative Editor Address Al-Jomhoriah Yasmine Fouda [email protected] Distribution Authorised by Eiman Rashed Head office Mahmoud Fouda Annual subscription rates in Egypt the Egyptian united organization for Press Special Reports Editor [email protected] 41Sherif St., Cairo, Egypt "An Egyptian Joint Stock Company" Egypt L.E 260 [email protected] Rania Imam Layout & Design Tel:00.202.23926919 Over 50 years covering Middle Editor-in-chief Managing Editor Arab Countries US$90 Al-kawmia Moharram Fouad Fax:00.202.23939732 Distribution Founded in 1958 by Ahmed Fouda [email protected] East and Gulf Economic News H.A.Raouf Amira Elhamy Ahmed Saber Mob: 01222174062 in the world www.meobserver.org 21 Feb. 2018 BCanks & ompanies 3 Australia and Mega projects aim to develop Egypt coordinate for gold mining in Egypt 93% of Egypt area Egyptian Agriculture Minister Abdel Monem el areas based on luring investments, setting up small Australian Ambassador Neil Hawkins is delighted that Bana said on Wednesday 14/2/2017 the under-con- projects, creating jobs and paying more attention to Australian mining companies are showing increased interest in struction mega projects launched by President Ab- traditional and hand-made industries, he added. Egypt’s mining sector. del Fattah El-Sisi aim at developing 93 percent of He referred to the projects carried out by the gov- ‘Egypt has huge potential in mining, as the dozens of Egypt's area and creating more jobs to young people. ernment to improve life of residents of rural areas, Australians working at the Sukari mine near Marsa Alam can During the 41st session of the International Fund including boosting electricity, potable water, drain- attest’, he said. ‘We look forward to increasing cooperation between Australian and Egyptian mining officials and for Agricultural Development (IFAD) board of gover- age, and road networks and increasing agricultural companies in 2018.’ nors, currently in session in Rome, the Egyptian min- production by adopting new agricultural techniques To kick-start that cooperation, the Australian Embassy in ister said Egypt has taken many reassures to achieve and improving plant and animal breeds. Cairo, in collaboration with the Western Australian Department comprehensive agricultural development and to iron He said Egypt would continue its efforts to lure of Mines and the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority, out hurdles to developing most needy rural areas. more investments to rural areas and back small farm- coordinated a two-day capacity building workshop on best A clear-cut strategy was laid down to develop rural ers to achieve sustainable agricultural development. Abdel Monem el Bana practices for sustainable mining governance in Cairo from 14- 15 February 2018. The workshops were made possible by the kind support of Australian mining companies Allied Gold Limited and Resolute Mining Limited, both of whom are actively engaged in Egypt, as well as the Egyptian Council for Sustainable Development. Juhayna exports ‘Sukari is one of the top ten gold mines in the world. It Majid Al Futtaim expands his investments shows what can be achieved here in Egypt when Australian and Egyptian miners come together and go for gold’, Ambassador up 207% in 2017 Hawkins said. into various governorates in Egypt boosting optimism and Hassan Allam of its consistent encouragement for investment in Egypt.” expansions in 2018 acquires 600-feddan Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, stated that the Juhayna’s total sales of food land plot on agreement delivers a strong message products last year were around to leading companies that Egypt and EGP.6.06bn, including EGP 2.9bn North Coast all its governmental bodies are in full support of investors. The minister also worth of dairy products. The company’s Hassan Allam Properties announced securing a 600-feddan pointed out that this protocol is part of exports achieved a staggering 207% land plot on the North Coast, the company announced in an the implementation of the directions growth to EGP 367m in 2017, up from emailed statement. from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi EGP 120m in 2016. The planned development for the plot will include residential to inject new investments that support units a clubhouse, a five-star boutique hotel, a commercial the provision of commodities of all Seif Thabet, chief executive officer hub, an Aqua Park, sports club, as well as beachfront cabanas. kinds, including basic commodities of Juhayna Food Industries, described “We are expanding significantly, whilst maintaining the for the Egyptian citizens with high 2018 as the year for the recovery quality and low prices, taking into values of a boutique development,” Hassan Allam Properties Majid Al Futtaim, a leading shopping of Egyptian economy. “The market This is directly aligned with the Egypt and subsequently fulfills the account the social dimension and CEO Mohamed Allam says. mall, communities, retail and leisure Egyptian government directions to Government’s vision”. He added the proximity of the centers and is promising and full of investment pioneer, and exclusive franchise provide high quality commodities that “This protocol is not only a accessibility for the citizens to drive opportunities,” he said, calling for owner of the Carrefour brand in 38 with fair market value to Egyptians, monumental milestone for Majid benefit from all products available. markets across the Middle East, Africa continuing the hard work in all sectors, in addition to ensuring the facilitation Al Futtaim in Egypt, but also a clear The efforts aim to revive the Egyptian Egypt's Angel Yeast and Asia, has signed a cooperation both public and private, to remove the and availability of these commodities testament to the efforts of the National economy and provide more direct and protocol agreement with the Ministry to all citizens. Service Projects Organization in indirect employment opportunities, obstacles facing investment and work of Investment and International obtains $52m Abdalla El Nockrashy, Country supporting Egyptian citizens and and the establishment of these centers to resolve tax disputes, in addition to Cooperation and the National Service Head, Egypt, Majid Al Futtaim giving them access to primary of excellence will be the system of Projects Organization with the aim of creating the appropriate environment to Properties stated that “This goods. The Ministry of Investment flexible investment zones, which loan from EBRD opening an additional 100 Carrefour agreement comes in line with Majid and International Cooperation has provide incentives and privileges to create channels of communication with stores in industrial zones across The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Al Futtaim’s commitment towards given us full support throughout the investors and ultimately to serve the small- and medium-sized enterprises. various governorates in Egypt. (EBRD) on Sunday announced that it has provided credit the socio-economic development of process of this agreement as part best interest of the citizens. He stressed that the shortage of foreign facilities worth around $52 million for Angel Yeast Egypt Company, the Egyptian subsidiary of China’s Angel Yeast Co. currency and the high exchange rate The loan allows the company to increase its dry yeast against the Egyptian pound prompted production, which is mainly exported, and to launch a yeast the company to increase exports, relying extract, a higher value-added product, according to the bank’s on local suppliers as much as possible statement. Moreover, the yeast manufacturer will increase its purchase to reduce production costs and avoid of local raw materials, the lender added. impacting the quality of products. “The company is already working with local suppliers of The Chinese Development Bank finances a $3.bn worth of projects in Egypt Thabet said that overcoming challenges molasses, a by-product of the sugar industry, and will increase can be achieved through continuing hard its purchase of local raw materials,” the statement said. The Chinese Development Bank work and seeking to replace imported (CDB) has earmarked $ 3 billion raw materials with local products in financing for several projects in line with the ambitious state plan to the Egyptian market in the coming support local products and small and period, of which $ 2 billion will be medium enterprises, in addition to allocated to the new administrative rationing consumption and increasing capital. the efficiency of operational capacities. The lender’s representative in Thabet explained that the company’s Cairo Bian Xuan said that the results of the negotiations with exports are still in early stages and their companies on the commercial share of total sales does not exceed 6%, requirements would be uncovered especially as it is focused on exporting once an agreement is reached. It amid the changes in the exchange is to be noted that the bank usually rate and the low value of the national Engineer Saad Abu Al Maati finances projects implemented UK and China on the African sector " Agro Business” as well financing for projects which were currency that makes Egyptian products by Chinese companies in Continent after Brixet", Shewan as small and medium enterprises implemented during the past years. more attractive abroad. He added that various markets around the world. said that his bank would focus will receive attention during On the other hand, Xuan stated the company aims to enter a number of Abu Qir Fertilizer Speaking on the sidelines of a on infrastructure projects, noting the coming period, pointing out that negotiations with the Central new markets including Palestine, Iraq, conference organised by the British that Chinese businessmen see that the value of the portfolio of Bank of Egypt to borrow $ 1 Libya, Jordan, Lebanon, and all African Company expands Business Association (BEBA) great opportunities to invest in the current projects financed by the billion are still valid, citing the last week, under the title "The administrative capital project. bank in Egypt is 2.3 billion reason that the latter is studying countries, and starting with Ethiopia and with various projects Strategic Partnership between the He added that the agricultural dollars, besides another 2.6 billion the terms of the agreement. the Middle East. under-operation Cairo hosted, during the period 31 January to 2 February 2017, in Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel, the 23rd Annual Fertilizer Forum and Exhibition, organized by Arab Fertilizer Association (AFA) and sponsored by AFA Egyptian member companies. The Annual Fertilizer Forum is considered the most Saudi Elaj Group turns Siag hotel into a hospital significant economic event with regard to fertilizer industry in the MENA region. Notably, the Forum was attended by the remarkable key figures of Arab and international fertilisers industry. Saudi-based Elaj Group is planning to In 2015, the Arab region fertilizers and related raw materials buy Siag Pyramids Hotel in Al Haram total production exceeded 100 Mt and exports surmounted 58 Mt. Arab region share recorded 30% of international gas stock, Street, Giza to turn it into a full-fledged and around 70% of phosphate rock stock, 35% of international specialised hospital. urea market, 64% of phosphate rocks trade, 42% of super The hotel has been closed since September triphosphate, 58% of phosphoric acid, 38% of DAP, 7% of potash, and 30% of sulfur international exports. With this in 2010 due to financial crises between its mind, the Arab region significance will even increase in the former owner Rami Siag and a number near future for the current launching and establishment of numerous fertilizer related projects in the Arab region. of banks, sources familiar with the matter Engineer Saad Abu Al Maati, , Representative of the told Almal News. Fertilizer Industry in Egypt and Africa and Chairman and The last evaluation for the Egyptian Managing Director of Abu Qir Fertilizer Company announced a set of new projects the company is engaged in to produce hotel stood at around EGP 185 million, ammonia nitrate at a cost of 5 billion starting operation in sources added. 2021, to produce a quantity of 200 thousand. 3 Projects The Saudi group aims at submitting offers by Kima Aswan at the cost of 11 billion for the production of ammonia and urea, that should start operation by end of to the creditors to purchase the hotel and 2018. As well as, the Phosphate Valley Project to produce turn it into a hospital after obtaining the phosphate rock and pure phosphoric acid at a cost of US $ 1 regulators' approvals. billion in partnership with 8 Egyptian banks and a number of local companies. Elaj Group recently bought an Maati stressed on the forum's slogan for sustainable administrative building at a value of EGP 80 agriculture and environmental protection, stressing on the importance of sustainability in the face of current challenges million from El Nasr for Civil Works to turn facing the fertilisers industry in the form of over supply and it into an integrated and specialised hospital competitiveness. He further added that fertilisers producers as well, sources said. need to concentrate on developing their products to increase crops produced, as fertilisers can increase crop production from 30% to 50%. by : Nagy Rashed

www.meobserver.org 6 World 21 Feb. 2018 Airbus sees initial details of the Eurofighter Typhoon in April

Initial details of a planned Franco-German program to develop as the older Panavia Tornado. a next-generation fighter jet should emerge in the second half of Hoke said it was imperative to avoid mistakes made in the last 2018, the head of Airbus’s defence unit told Reuters on Friday. big European military program, the troubled A400M military Dirk Hoke said France and Germany would work out in com- transporter, which has been plagued with cost overruns and tech- ing months how to proceed with the program, including whether nical challenges. to bring in an additional partner country, such as Britain. “It’s important that the specifications (for the new fighter jet “We expect basic issues, such as how the project will be struc- program) are developed with a sense of proportion,” he said. He tured, to be discussed in the second quarter, so that the initial con- said it was important to “prevent requirements that are too com- tours will be set in the second half of the year,” Hoke, chief execu- prehensive and that cannot be delivered by industry.” tive of Airbus Defence and Space, said in an interview during the Airbus this week took a further 1.3 billion euro ($1.6 billion) Munich Security Conference. charge on the A400M program for 2017, bringing total charges on He said Airbus supported bringing other countries into the pro- the project to over 8 billion euros. But it said agreement by NATO gram, which is envisioned as a family of systems rather than just buyers to stretch out the delivery schedule and accept certain a single new aircraft, noting that other countries could bring their changes would limit future losses. expertise to bear on various aspects. Hoke lauded an agreement reached this month by NATO buy- No decisions had been made on which company would lead ers, Airbus and the OCCAR pan-European procurement agency the new program, he said, noting that different firms could lead to negotiate a new delivery schedule for the aircraft. different segments of the broad project. He said he was confident that agreements with individual coun- Much would also depend on the level of investment pledged by tries could be finalised by the end of the year, and said the declara- participating countries, he added. tion of intention had helped repair frayed relations with A400M German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Em- buyer nations. manuel Macron in July announced plans to jointly develop a suc- “It was a very constructive cooperation, and there was strong cessor for the Eurofighter Typhoon. support from all participants,” he said. “I believe we have signifi- The new combat system could involve a mixture of manned and cantly improved relations.” Hoke said Airbus expected to release unmanned aircraft and would eventually replace the Rafale and details about the next steps on a European program to develop a Eurofighter, rival jets that compete fiercely for global sales, as well drone by late April at the Berlin air show.

Walmart in talks to buy over 40% of one of India's largest Saudi Arabia to see 84 e-commerce platforms Walmart Inc is in talks to purchase a stake new hotels open in 2018 of more than 40 percent in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart, a direct challenge to Amazon. country. Hilton VP of operations, com Inc in Asia's third-largest economy, two Almost 60% of Saudi Arabia’s cur- sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. rent construction pipeline of 143 ho- KSA & Levant Kamel Ajami said in a In what would be one of its biggest overseas tels is forecast to open in 2018, ac- statement: "Saudi Arabia is one of the deals, the U.S. retailer is looking at buying new cording to a new report. most important markets in this region, and existing shares in Flipkart and due dili- The ‘Saudi Arabia Hotel Construc- with new legislation and government gence is likely to begin as early as next week, tion Overview’ report by TOP HO- reforms making the Kingdom more the sources said. They declined to be named, as TEL PROJECTS – compiled ahead accessible than ever. the talks were private. of The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia – It represents our largest develop- Terms under discussion were not immedi- has revealed that 84 hotels compris- ment pipeline in the Middle East. ately available, but Flipkart would be valued ing 27,281 rooms will open through- "We have 30 hotels currently under at more than the $12 billion figure given when out the Kingdom this year. development in around 12 different Japan's SoftBank Group Corp's Vision Fund Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Al cities and our development team is took roughly a fifth of the firm last year for Khobar remain the busiest areas for always on the lookout for new oppor- $2.5 billion, they added. hotel construction across the country. tunities." Existing investors in Flipkart also include Each of these cities rank highly in the In 2018 Hilton expects to see U.S. hedge fund Tiger Global Management, Middle East’s top ten most active cit- three new hotels open in Saudi Ara- China's Tencent Holdings Ltd, online market- ies for hospitality development, sit- bia: Double Tree by Hilton in Mak- place eBay Inc and software giant Microsoft ting third, fourth, sixth and tenth re- kah’s Jabal Omar development, Corp. spectively. a mid-scale Hilton Garden Inn in Al A spokesman for Flipkart said the company Notable hotel openings set for the Khobar, and a Hilton in Riyadh. Be- does not comment on rumors or speculation. Belhotel Al Aziziya Makkah; Millen- Hilton is identified as the brand tween them they will add over 1,500 An India-based representative for Walmart de- Kingdom in 2018 include: Hilton Ri- nium Hotel Jeddah; and Hilton Gar- with the most hotel developments rooms to the company’s footprint clined to comment. yadh Hotel & Residences; Copthorne Hotel Makkah, Jabel Omar; Swiss- den Inn Al Khobar. currently underway throughout the across the country. Four Simple Tech Hacks That Will Make You More Productive Fast Company, While technology’s much time you spend in each app, but * macOS users should go to System when your work is done for the day. omnipresence in our lives affords us the in each document you open. This means Preferences > Parental Controls. * On an iOS device, go into your opportunity to get work done from any- you can see if you are giving one pro- * Windows users can find them under Control Centre and tap the present where at anytime, being on devices all ject more time than another, and can Windows Settings > Accounts > Family moon button to enable Do Not Disturb. the time can lead us down time-wasting decide whether that project actually de- & Other People. * On a PC, right-click on the Action tunnels, making us less productive. serves the additional time. ManicTime * Android users can download the Centre icon in the taskbar notification Thankfully most of the smartphones also tracks which websites you visited TrendMicro app, which allows users to area. Select “Turn On Quiet Hours” to and computers we use now also have and how long you spent on each. It even easily block access to certain websites. enable do not disturb mode. built-in settings or additional apps that tracks the time you spent away from ENABLE DO NOT DISTURB MODES * On an Android device, swipe can help you reclaim your productivity your computer. It’s available for PC, DURING THE DAYTIME down from the top of the display to so you can get back to using your de- Mac, Android, and even Linux. The solutions above work great if open the notification screen and tap vices for work. Here are four tech hacks RescueTime is another useful time- you’re the one to blame for wasting your on the Do Not Disturb icon. to make you more productive. tracking app for PC, Mac, Android, and time. But if you find your time is being FORCE YOURSELF TO TAKE FIND OUT HOW YOU ARE REALLY Linux that allows you to set productiv- wasted by your friends who won’t stop BREAKS WITH “TIME OUT” SPENDING YOUR TIME ONLINE ity goals for the day, and even gives you texting, or by apps that keep sending so- APPS Recently I spent a week tracking how a daily productivity score. If you have cial media or news alerts during work Even when you’re focusing on I spent every hour of my day. I was sur- an iOS device, give Moment a look. It hours, you need to block them from do- work, it’s still important to re- prised to find that I was spending five tracks how much you use the apps on ing so. The good news is that you don’t member to take breaks. Science times more time on some tasks than I your device each day, and even logs even need to make those friends and shows breaks actually make us thought, and not spending as much time how much time you pick up your phone apps aware of your tactics. more productive, not less. Thank- on other tasks as I assumed. But at the every day. If you’re an Android user, try All the major OSes have versions of a fully there are a few free apps end of the experiment, I at least had data QualityTime for similar features. “do not disturb” mode built into them. that you can install on your work I could use to help enact change. USE PARENTAL CONTROLS TO When activated, these modes prevent machines that will automatically There are a host of time-tracking apps KEEP YOU FROM PROCRASTINAT- notifications being sent to your device. tell you when it’s time to step that give us insight into just how many ING By default, do not disturb modes are away from the keyboard. hours we are spending surfing the web If you find that you are wasting a lot usually set to turn on at night when you If you’re on a Mac, Time and using various apps. The best thing of time on social media sites, you don’t should be sleeping. But a great hack is Out–Break Reminders is an about these time-tracking apps is that have to rely on willpower alone to avoid to flip the schedule on its head and turn excellent app that lets you they run in the background and auto- them. Instead, you can block them. them on during the day when you have schedule “normal” five- to matically log your usage. After running While the main operating systems (ma- work to do, so even if your friends keep 10-minute breaks every hour the apps for at least a week, you’ll then cOS, Windows, and iOS) don’t offer app texting, or those social media sites keep and a seconds-long “micro” have a good idea of whether you are or website blocking functions per se, pinging you, there’s no way you’ll get break every 15 minutes. PC truly being productive on your devices, they do all offer parental controls that the distracting notification until your and Linux users can get or if you are using them to procrastinate you can enable and use for yourself. work is done. the same capabilities from more than you thought. * If you’re on iOS, go to Settings > * On a Mac, go into your Notifica- the excellent freeware One of the most robust is Man- General > Restrictions to turn parental tion Centre, swipe down and toggle Do Workrave. icTime, which not only tracks how controls on and set blocked websites. Not Disturb to “On.” Toggle it to “Off”