A Built-In Vacation

This challenge actually falls on a good week. It’s spring break and we are taking it easy, spending some time together as a family, and I will be working on an art project that I’ve been looking forward to diving into. In some ways the break will make it easier to take on this challenge, and in some ways it will be more difficult. I can be easily distracted. I do well enough focusing most of the time, but every once in a while a random thought will drive me away from the task at hand. This happens most often when I have hit a dull spot in my project; my brain gets tired of thinking about the same thing and says, “I’m gonna take a break, see ya later.” Sometimes it gets really bad. I haven’t counted, but I would guess that there are days in which my little 5 or 10 minute diversions add up to cost me 3 hours of work. I’ve tried resolving not to visit social media sites and to only keep my work tabs open, but just about every time I end up caving in.

Five Little Distractions



I also work from home quite a bit. I am usually well protected by my wonderful wife against the distraction of kids rushing into our office. But again, during those dull working moments, I suddenly find myself thinking about how wonderful these people are and how I would like to see them and hug them just for a minute or 10.

Prohibition

My solution to this loss of time has been a strict, no distractions allowed policy, that has pretty much been ineffective at keeping me from doing those things. Maybe it’s not that I need to put these activities under a prohibition, but perhaps I need to govern those activities with more purpose and actually schedule them into my day.

Be in Charge of Your Distractions

My theory is that as I govern my schedule and allow for activities that would otherwise distract, that I will not be as drawn to those distractions while I am working. Maybe by scheduling 30 minutes or so each day to play on facebook or visit my family or watch a favorite show, I will save the other two and a half hours that all of the added up distraction could potentially take away.

Here are some distractions that I will be more purposeful about making time for this week:

1. Social Media – I like interacting with people and keeping tabs on close friends. I like keeping up with the latest viral videos and memes. Like it or not, I learn a lot here about what’s going on in people’s lives, and how they perceive and respond to what’s going on in the world. It is also a place where I get to share the exciting things I am doing.

2. Family – It’s hard to go more than five hours without picking up and squeezing tight my boys. It’s hard to go more than a few hours without saying “hi” and “I miss you” to my amazing wife. It’s also hard for me to sit comfortably in a chair, sipping coffee and working on my computer, when I know that my wife is downstairs playing ring master for the circus that is our home… maybe it’s not that hard. When I do spend time with them I want to be able to give them all my focus instead of carrying in the back of my mind the work that I’ve left undone.

3. TV Shows – I didn’t talk about this much above, but I have caught the binge watching bug that began spreading rapidly at the onset of online streaming for tv shows and movies. We cancelled our cable subscription a long time ago, but that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of spending 60 hours in two weeks watching every episode of Breaking Bad (especially now that Netflix has every episode). Not to mention Firefly, The Office, Arrested Development, etc. PLEASE don’t comment or message and make other suggestions. The point is, I really enjoy these shows. I enjoy the art of them. In some ways they are both entertaining and inspiring. I just need to not watch 7 episodes in a day.

4. Vacation – This is more of a long-term thing, but applicable for this week because of Spring Break. I would also say that for me, true vacation means unplugging and finding recreation in things other than tv shows and social media. There are a few times and days this week that we’ve set aside to be together as a family, and to visit some extended family. I am looking forward to a visit to the zoo, the museum, playing chess with my oldest, playing some music with my wife, and other fun, non-technology related activities. Though I can’t take a vacation every week, I do intend to look at the months ahead and carve out time away.

That’s it for now. I happy to report that during the writing of this article I did not once go check facebook. As I did with the previous week I will keep track of my activities and give a recap of my experience. Here is my recap from the “Self Care” week. Leave a comment below and let me know what works for you in keeping the distractions at bay. I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, or questions.