Over the last few weeks, as I’ve been working to better organize my time. The fight that I’ve been waging is largely one explained in the documentary “The Social Dilemma;” the fight against distraction.
But that’s not quantifying it correctly. It’s the fight against media that’s designed to demand my attention and engagement. It agitates for it. Here are some of the things I’ve been doing to ward off distraction:
* Turning off my phone, placing it in Gladware, and placing the Gladware out of (easy) reach atop a cabinet.
* Turning off the wi-fi on my computer when I’m writing or doing layouts on my computer.
* Turning off my computer and using paper and pen or pencil whenever possible to do my work.
That’s a lot of turning things off.
If I have to go online, I sometimes repeat my task like a mantra until I complete it, (a tact attested to by Scott Adams of Dilbert fame). I was kind of suspicious of the effectiveness of these strategies at first, but it seems they are mostly enough to focus my intent, and ward off the feelers of Social Media/ The News. This seems to be the new battle. It’s not going away.
timmyr.com 