Easily Distracted
Oh boy. I'm sick.
And it's no fun. The run I went for on Monday has brought some unnecessary consequences. Running in negative temperatures has damaged my lungs and given me a cold. I'm now being very well taken care of ("very caring, a little annoying") by my Lioness.
It did bring about a revelation that has been in the making for the last 18 months. When I'm struggling physically because I'm tired or sick, or when I'm struggling emotionally because I'm anxious or worried, I self medicate with my computer and the Internet. I will find something to distract me and actively sabotage what I have to do for work.
I have been putting in place counter-measures to help me keep on track. I know if I give in completely to my urges to be distracted, I engage with a self defeating spiral that damages my capacity to be disciplined further and further.
It's hard enough as it is to stay focused, with boring systems hanging up, people slow to reply. I try to adapt to the business' rhythm, but everything feels like it's moving at a glacial pace and my mind immediately wanders off.
Nevertheless, these are the anti-distraction measures in place:
Working directly with people I enjoy spending time with is the best counter measure, however. Fruitful collaboration eases me into getting into the zone and makes whatever I'm doing feel useful and urgent. But until I get to that stage, I have to actively manage myself so I don't spend energy on distractions, allowing the pile of work to grow taller and out of control, resulting in me feeling depressed at the end of the day.
It's in my hands and in my mind the key to make my work feel like a breeze. I have to be smart and diligent about this.
And it's no fun. The run I went for on Monday has brought some unnecessary consequences. Running in negative temperatures has damaged my lungs and given me a cold. I'm now being very well taken care of ("very caring, a little annoying") by my Lioness.
It did bring about a revelation that has been in the making for the last 18 months. When I'm struggling physically because I'm tired or sick, or when I'm struggling emotionally because I'm anxious or worried, I self medicate with my computer and the Internet. I will find something to distract me and actively sabotage what I have to do for work.
I have been putting in place counter-measures to help me keep on track. I know if I give in completely to my urges to be distracted, I engage with a self defeating spiral that damages my capacity to be disciplined further and further.
It's hard enough as it is to stay focused, with boring systems hanging up, people slow to reply. I try to adapt to the business' rhythm, but everything feels like it's moving at a glacial pace and my mind immediately wanders off.
Nevertheless, these are the anti-distraction measures in place:
- I have put in a general time limit that blocks websites if I spend too long in them. This is for sites like Facebook or Whatsapp, where I have to visit periodically to fire off messages or provide quick updates.
- I have put in an impulse blocker to completely prevent me from reflexively jump into websites (like YouTube) when systems are being particularly slow or difficult to use.
- I have completely disabled Facebook and YouTube feeds, so I can't engage with infinite scrolling.
- As of today, I've set up a new habit to only view Social Media after 5 p.m. Before I was starting my day checking it for news, which invariably created seeds to distract me further. For example, I'd see such and such band be announced, which would trigger me to use Spotify to learn more about it, which in turn would expose me to related artists that I would be curious about, and as such I would be trapped in this web of distractions.
Working directly with people I enjoy spending time with is the best counter measure, however. Fruitful collaboration eases me into getting into the zone and makes whatever I'm doing feel useful and urgent. But until I get to that stage, I have to actively manage myself so I don't spend energy on distractions, allowing the pile of work to grow taller and out of control, resulting in me feeling depressed at the end of the day.
It's in my hands and in my mind the key to make my work feel like a breeze. I have to be smart and diligent about this.