Learning To Manage Distractions

MB Text 5-17-2015 (Distractions)I have heard many people call the times we live in, the age of information. This may be true to a large degree. While we are living in precarious times, new information seems to be quickly outdated. The more informed the public becomes, the more problems seem to exist, brought about by the new information. In fact, the greater the technological advancement the more distracted we become.

I call this age, “The age of great distractions.” People are rarely able to maintain any focus today, and the medical field has documented this. A.D.D., better known as Attention Deficient Disorder, is rocking both the young and aging of the Western World, making stakeholders of pharmaceutical companies supplying the drugs for treatment, very wealthy.

It used to be common culture for everyone to read the newspaper on the subway train while going to work. Advertisements were posted on city streets and in shopping malls, etc. Now a large majority of the population, seemingly everywhere, can be found with their heads buried in their mobile devices scanning the internet, their emails, Twitter accounts, and Facebook. If this is not the age of distraction, I don’t know what is.

Technology is the base cause for an increase in traffic fatalities in the United States, because texting and driving has proved to be just as deadly as drinking and driving. So although technology is good, it breeds other problems that arise as a result of new information. The faster the newer products, and things made more convenient, the more complex our problems become.

I was driving past a High School that had recently released its students from class. When I looked at the youth leaving the building, over half had their heads buried in their cell phones. Can you believe that a child walked into the street without looking and nearly got hit because he was reading something on his phone?

These are just a few examples. There are other distractions which also make it difficult to get any real work done on the job. Computers have taken all the thinking ability of humanity, leaving most Americans scatterbrained and unable to figure out or solve problems on their own. Rather than deriving from a person’s heart, the media influences dreams and ambitions via movies, advertising, and periodicals, distracting people from their true purpose.

How do you distract a man with a dream? Give him another one. People are moving from one career to another without realizing what is creating all this movement without motive. People are getting college degrees in business management, yet pursuing jobs in healthcare facilities. One person I’m familiar with moved from working as a logistics manager to a car salesperson, from that to a healthcare facilitator, and from that to a Wal-Mart employee, all in two years.

If you don’t learn to do one thing well, you will not be able to do anything well enough! Watch out for distractions because they are seriously looking to pull your attention elsewhere.

Seriously consider that your ability to get focused, and stay that way, is more than just an advisable thing to develop and nurture—it’s a decisive aspect of your success or failure. Getting things done the right way and on schedule is absolutely imperative. Staying keenly centered is the key to getting things done, because you learn to work smarter rather than harder.

Take advantage of opportunities to develop ways to help yourself stay focused at work, school, and even in your daily life, by managing your distractions and reducing the possibility for procrastination. This will help you eliminate most setbacks and delays so work is not merely thought of, but actually completed.

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