The distractions in life are where many of us find ourselves before too long. We may have started-off with good intentions to do this or write that, but soon we are consumed by the news, the politics, the gossip, TV, the game, the movie, the people, the book that grabs our original intention, and grinds it to dust before our eyes.
Maybe it is just me?
I don’t think so. In fact, I know it isn’t from the distraction of reading other people’s stories on distractions, instead of writing my own. I tell myself that reading the work of other people is an essential part of being a writer. And, of course, that is true, but it is also irrelevant when it becomes a distraction rather than an essential function.
So, what to do about this?
Sometimes, I give in to the distraction. After all, there is clearly a part of me who, at that moment in time, would rather be doing B than A. And that is fine, but to do so on every single occasion would mean that we never get A done, even although part of us also wants to achieve some A in our lives.
Another approach might be: to be super-organised, and to create a schedule or timetable where every single thing we wish to do has its time and place. After all, didn’t our teachers and parents spend a great deal of time telling us there was a time and place for that thing, and this wasn’t it, especially when we were doing something they didn’t want us to be doing……at that time, and in that place?
So, we could be completely critical and controlling of ourselves and pigeon-hole all our activities, desires, distractions into their own little boxes, to be performed only at that time and in that place. I know that we could do this because I have spent hours, days, years doing precisely that to the point where I was always the planner, and never the person doing. Yes, the scheduling had become the ultimate distraction. And thus, none of the identified things were ever done.
So, have I learned anything from any of this?
Yes! I have learned that I will forever be prone to distractions – and that is ok. I still do the scheduling, but take minimal time to do it, and now call it a guide rather than a timetable, and I will now aim to get that thing done within the week, but not necessarily at that time or in that place.
This is important for me because I think that dealing with getting things done or avoiding distractions should not be about productivity or the success of apps on our phone or spreadsheets on our laptops, but it should be about the human involved. Ourselves, in other words. We should not be thinking so much about the management of time, but instead, we should be thinking about all of our resources, time being only one part of that.
We need to think about our physical and mental health, our energy, our ability to do the task, our family and social conditions, our working environment. Are there any areas, here, that need resolving. Only when we have dealt with all of that, should we then look at removing the temptation of distractions. And if the distractions themselves are toxic, such as addiction, then they need to be seen as health problems that need resolving, rather than something on which to judge ourself, which only causes spiralling of toxicity.
And as to the notion of getting things done, I will personally embrace the distractions as preparation for eventually fulfilling the original task. My critical judge will always be there, but so will my rebel. Neither will have complete control, but both will have their time and their place, but governed by my unconscious (rather than my conscious) mind.
And if some things don’t get done?
Maybe, they weren’t as important as we originally thought. Trust the unconscious mind!
Yes, it is messy and weird, and very far from perfect. And it will quite likely be very different from your solution as we are all unique individuals. And that is just as good for you as it is for me.
Hooray for humanity!
What are your distractions……and what are your solutions?
Fraser
August 2024