The Art of Distractions
What could have you and I could have done yesterday, that didn’t get done?
Okay, maybe you got everything done, you planned. Maybe you write your plans done for the next day and prioritize them. I am the opposite and it is properly my own fault. I am a major procrastinator.
That is my confession. But, procrastination is just part of the problem.
When I set out to follow my dream, I had high hopes. I went to college, although at times I could have done better had I not waited until the last minute.
After college, I went back to college. I then set out on a job hunt.
The job hunt was my first post-college distraction. I never went to college to seek out a higher paying position. I went to college to learn more about the craft writing.
I was so distracted with getting a job I didn't want, I didn’t write. What caused this distraction? I followed the status quo, I was following what others thought I should so.
I was distracted by someone elses dream.
But that’s not all, I was out of college and it was time to get down with some video games. Get down is exactly what I did. That is when I noticed, I had put in over 150 hours into gaming. In the meantime, I was losing valuable writing time.
As a writer, the most important thing to do is write.
Imagine if I put that time into writing. I still had an unfinished book on my laptop that needed my attention.
I assume the book would be done.
Instead, I was distracted, I let everything instead of writing dominate my time. I knew what I was supposed to be doing, writing.
I could blame it on the devil, but he didn’t need to intervene, I was sabotaging myself.
This is the art of distraction. The things that sneak into our time and steal it from what we are supposed to be doing. The funny thing about distraction is that it can come in many forms, school, sleep, television, video games and much more.
How can we not let distractions keep us from our destiny? I say this because distractions come to keep us from our dreams.
Imagine the graveyard and how full it is with people who had a dream, but distractions of life some preventable and some not kept them from seeing those dreams.
I said earlier that the devil didn’t need help, I was wrong, distractions may be his finest tool. The bible tells us this itself,
John 10:10 (NAS) “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
What are you allowing distractions to keep you from?
Okay, so we know that distractions are stealing our time, but how do we prevent it?
According to Entrepreneur online,
1. Block off “distraction free” chunks of time in your schedule. Be it 20 minutes or an hour, be rigorous. Hide your phone, email, and Twitter feed. In fact, eliminate temptation by blocking out the Internet altogether.
2. Identify where and when you’re most naturally productive. The majority of us can only truly focus on an average of six hours a week, says David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute and author of Your Brain at Work (HarperCollins, 2009), so it’s crucial that we use the time wisely.
3. Quash your inner child. Distraction and procrastination are intertwined. It’s rare to find one without some trace of the other.
I am adding one more to the list.
4. Procrastination. When we have something we need to do. We have to learn the art of doing it at that moment. If we put it on the back burner, we may never get to it.
We can learn to control distractions with dedication, hard work, and good time management.
By doing so we can reach the next level “ video game terms”. My next level is to write more. I’m hoping you will see me moving toward the goal in the form of more frequent post and a finished book.
If you need a little extra assistance being distraction free here are a few resources.
