Pesky Distractions
As I’m sitting here, trying to think of how to start, I get that … feeling. You know, that feeling to check email. Or maybe someone posted something “important” on Twitter. Oo, Facebook!
And, 30 minutes later, here I am again: struggling to start writing while also thinking “Now, what was it that inspired me to write anyway? What did I want to say?”
Mt. Laundry. Not to scale.
I don’t know about you, but I know, personally, I also struggle working from home. The past 18-ish months have been an exercise in discipline as I’ve learned to work from home. Yes, there’s a Mt. Olympus of Laundry to tackle. Yes, the dishes from dinner are still in the sink. Dinner from two days ago. Wow, it’s a nice day - I could be doing some yard work.
While we’re at it, let’s add one more: I have a wife and middle-schooler at home. Being the tech guy at the house often leads to this: “Joe, could you help with this PDF?” “Dad, the Internet’s down.” “Would you look at this?”
What I’ve learned is that once that distraction hits, it’s a challenge to recover the momentum I had before said distraction. One way to handle this is to catch the distraction before it happens:
The External Distraction
I get it - we can’t always control those external distractions. It could be a fire alarm, a request from a superior, a phone call, someone in the next office talking about last night’s “Very Speical Episode of ‘Blossom’.” So, some of those we need to learn to tune out. Others could just be solved by setting boundaries. Something I wish I’d known how to do a few career moves ago; maybe some days (weeks) wouldn’t have been as stressful as they were.
So, how do we set boundaries? I don’t have all the answers; however, here’s something I thought of:
“Hey, Joe, do you have a moment?” No.
Well, that sounds cold and ends the conversation. ...and could damage relationships or career opportunities. How about this:
“Hey, Joe, do you have a moment?” Honestly, I don’t. does 10:30 work for you? And, if it does, honor that 10:30 commitment you just made.
“Hey, Joe, do you have a moment?” I don’t; could we schedule sometime later today or this week?
It feels simple and by setting a time to follow-up, you’re honoring the person that needs something while also advocating for yourself and taking charge of the situation. That way, your internal “people-pleaser” is satiated as well.
The Internal Distraction
These can be even more challenging. It’s that tick when you feel momentarily stuck. That itch to check email. That thought of “I can pick this up later.” Yet, later never comes. Or, you gain momentum on a different task and don’t want to interrupt that.
Here’s the trick I’m working with. It’s a two-step process:
The choice is yours.
Recognize the “trigger.” What is it that gives you a pause to do something else?
Change the outcome.
The framing I use sounds like this, “When I feel ____________, I will ___________ .” Or, you can add “When I feel ____________, instead of _______, I will _________ .”
“When I feel the urge to check Facebook, I will walk up and down the stairs.” Or, “when I feel stuck, instead of checking Twitter, I will step outside for a breath of fresh air.”
Give it a try; let me know what works for you. And give yourself some grace. Habits take time to build; afterall, we’re just hu -- ooo, Facebook!