As a fellow worker bee, the cosmic struggle is real when it comes to deciding whether or not I want to indulge in a pastime that some may call a distraction.

The crown jewels of distraction are television, video games, movies, books (yes even some books), and podcasts.

There are those people that work nonstop and shun such distractions. There are also those that live their lives around nonstop distraction and everyone else falls in-between

So who’s right and who’s wrong?

Does it matter?

The answers to these questions are subjective but this article is about my own two cents.

The thing is, distraction is okay if you’re okay with distraction.

Some people I know feel bad or don’t believe they deserve any distraction. They’re the ones always focused on what the next thing is with their business or how else they can optimize their time.

The main problem I see with up and coming entrepreneurs and young professionals is feeling guilty for enjoying something like video games or Netflix and chill.

The guilty feeling comes from believing they should always be doing something that generates income or helps them grow as an individual.

I believe that personal development plays a large role influencing the “always be doing something” mentality. The listicles never really mention distracting yourself. They do mention taking time for yourself but mainly for doing something “less” productive like reading a book…… about business or playing in such a way that you get your exercise in. It’s always about moving forward.

But who says distraction isn’t it’s own form of personal development?

You don’t always have to be doing that magical something to better yourself or your business. You don’t need my permission but if it helps….

Enjoy It. Make sure you’re enjoying the distraction in some way. Bonus points if what you enjoy makes you laugh and a huge dose of feel good chemicals flood the body. Be Mindless. Use the distraction to take your mind off things. I mean, that is the point of a distraction right? Relieve some stress and try not to think to hard. Zone out and just let the distraction overtake the senses. You’ve had a hard day and have earned/deserve it. Set a time limit. This ensures that you don’t necessarily go overboard on your distraction. This could range from setting a gaming marathon to an hour or finishing a movie in it’s entirety. Use your best judgement here.

When you distract yourself within reason, you enter into an agreement towards being a responsible consumer versus a blind one. People not on the path to achieving goals are generally caught up in blind consumption where there is no limit to the amount of distraction they incur.

But we’re all on the journey, and we know better! Heck, you might even find an inspiration or two in what to create next from one of your distractions. Keep an open mind (could be item number four on the list but I’ll leave it right here).