Welcome Guest!
Search
My Sites
Navigation Links
Copyright
All music on benbarden.com is free to share for non-commercial use only. Please see the music pages for more information.
All other content: Copyright © 2009 Ben Barden.
All Rights Reserved.
Constant distractions will kill your focus
< Building Blogs: Interviews | Unsorted Posts | Stream of consciousness blogging >
I don't know about you, but I find it very difficult to write when people distract me. This is my own fault really; I use instant messengers throughout the day (such as Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk). I'm almost always marked as "available" - so why wouldn't people think I can't chat right now?I used to use the same instant messenger login at my day job (I work from home), as it was nice to say hello to people first thing in the morning, or catch up during lunchtime or while taking a break. But this didn't work too well when I had things to do. I've found that others aren't free when I am, and equally, I'm not free when they are. So, I set up a new login for my work colleagues only.
I stay signed into my email all day every day. It sits there in the background, checking my email every so often, but probably more than it needs to. Do I need to read emails that quickly, let alone reply? Probably not. Unless it's an urgent email or something quick and easy, I don't get back to people for a couple of days anyway. So why stay signed in all day long?
As I started writing this blog post, I didn't have any new emails nor did I have people wanting to chat. However, I kept glancing across at my various programs to see if anything new had come up. I feel like this has got so bad it's seriously threatening my ability to get anything done on my blog, or Injader for that matter.
Today I buckled down and did a lot of work on Injader, taking breaks for food and drink, and playing a bit of Peggle here and there. And before I got into this post, I signed out of instant messengers and email. Somehow I don't think the world is going to miss me for an hour!
Services such as Twitter and Plurk are great ways to network with other bloggers, but they're also a massive time drain. I find it very difficult to balance the time I spend on those two sites in particular. When you post something, you feel like you have to hang around and wait for the replies. Then you see some other comments and start replying to those. This is where you can rapidly lose track of time. You can't just sign on, say hello, and sign off. Both sites are fast-paced, but not as immediate as instant messengers, so you can get caught there for a long time... whereas on instant messengers you can just say "gotta go, see you later".
I feel more able to hop on and off instant messengers because people can see if you're online or not. But they drain my time too. I can sit and chat all day long. I always have something else to say. That might have a lot to do with why I've had difficulties writing content for my blog recently.
How about you? Do you use any instant messengers? How often do you check your email? Does the "always available" nature of certain software or websites disrupt your train of thought?
Related Content
Comments on Constant distractions will kill your focus
Been there done that. I used to experience exactly the same thing. I have changed my approach to researching and writing my blog articles completely.
When I do my research I copy any information I might need to a memory stick. When this is done I take this memory stick and a notebook, without an Internet connection, to a quiet place and do the actual writing. This helps me tremendously in that all the distractions you mentioned are gone.
I am also an amateur photographer. What I often do is to take my camera and the mentioned notebook to my local park and write there. Often I get some pretty nice photos of kids playing, flowers etc. all as a bonus. You should try writing outdoors, it is a nice change and for me, it gets those brain cells going.
Ben, I too love IM, but it does work it's way insidiously into your life. I spend entirely too much time on the computer. I do try to grab some alone time and write several posts and then set them for another date. Blogging takes up a lot of my time, but I would not change it for the world. I check my e mails many times a day, hoping for more comments. LOL
I don't have problems with IM, Tweeter, or Plunk distracting me because I don't subscribe to them. What I have problems with are of my own doing. I go drop my entrecards and end up reading all the posts and comments on the posts and then write my comments, like what I'm doing here right now. By the time I know it, it's time to do my chores, go to sleep, and go to work, without writing my own post. Have a great week.
Thanks for dropping me an entrecard
I'm a total instant message addict. I had to leave my AIM screenname behind because my buddy list was so long that I couldn't get ANYTHING done without a million interruptions. I'm currently a gchat addict, but I may have to abandon that soon as my buddy list grows!
I stay signed in to my office Outlook all day too. The email check is set to check every 2 minutes I think. Yet when an email comes in (there's an icon in the taskbar at the bottom right), I don't have the compulsion to check it immediately. I stay signed in because then I'd know someone emailed me.
Actually I don't really know why I stay signed in... everyone's doing it, and I'm expected to. That doesn't mean I have to reply immediately.
And Twitter? I actually do exactly what you say you don't do. I sign in, type the message I have to say, check out some updates if there are, and then sign off. Without checking if anyone replied. If it's worth replying, it can wait till I next sign in, which is probably the next day.
I'm setting a standard where I reply/answer/respond to anyone asking for advice or commenting as soon as I can. But I don't stay there waiting for them to do so.
I guess I have stronger self restraint than you do, Ben... or you're just working much harder than me...
I get enough interruptions from my 3 cats, 1 is Diabetic, and my 11yr old Son. I never use the instant messengers ever! I already have concentration issues...so I don't stress my self out needlessly.
ps thanks for the drop
I do find it quite difficult as well... but usually as long as the person doesn't mind waiting for my response then I don't mind chatting - even when I'm 'busy' mode.
Nothing annoys me more than when I'm on busy mode, and someone complains that I'm taking long to respond. That very much angers me. :D
I don't use IM's at all. For the same reason I don't like the damned phone either. I am not available. I don't want anyone to think I am going to jump up, drop everything and be available at any moment.
I love email and regular mail. I can pick up those when I want to and take some time to respond or just delete/ recycle the trash. I don't understand how people have fallen in love with cell phones. I don't answer the regular phone, just let it take a message so I can call anyone back who isn't trying to sell me junk I don't want.
I don't check email every two minutes. My ex had one of those programs to notify him each time a new email came in. I thought that was crazy. I check mine a few times a day when I'm in front of the computer. To me it seems silly to attach a leash to yourself and feel you have to check email each time a new spam is sent to you.
I once had a guy go ballistic at me (through email luckily) cause I did not reply to his email the same day. It was someone I met through an online dating site. Glad I waited rather than meeting such a psychotic mess. What is wrong with people!
Edited: June 24, 2008 13:46
Oh yeah, I know exactly where you are coming from.
I got the e-mail up all the time and the instant messenger right next to it... complete inability to concentrate.
Lately I've noticed the important stuff I'm waiting for comes when I turn it all off. Good post!
Thanks for all the comments, and a warm welcome to all the new commenters: Tasha, SpinachNPeace, LauraLee and Lou G.
Sailor, writing outdoors might work better if it wasn't winter and if I didn't use going outside as a break from my blog. ;) I may give it a try when the weather's nice, though.
Vincent, maybe it's a bit of both. I like to chat, and I do it a lot. I also do lots of different things every week. Not all of it is work, but then again, the real work doesn't always feel like I'm working because I enjoy what I do.
I wouldn't say that I hate instant messengers, but I do find them very distracting. Is there a way to use them effectively for short periods of time? Perhaps if you have set times when you're available for a chat? But is that possible when many of your contacts could live in completely different timezones?
Interesting post. I use windows messenger but i don't log on often. There are pros and cons of using it.
True, it is a distraction, but it serves as the tool which our generation interacts and socialize with each other in this computer age.
Not logging on for too long a period makes one "left out" of the group.
I don't like instant messaging. It's too... instant.
(This may seem like a somewhat inane comment but it is true and it also has an ulterior motive, ie. to confirm that your commenting on your own comments does not necessarily end the comment stream)
I very rarely use instant messaging anymore. I had some very odd experiences with users with some serious mental problems that soured me on them something fierce. If I do use them, I go and first thing check that I am unavailable so I have control over the software.
I know, Paranoia big destroya. Ok maybe not, thats old school.
Beamer
Welcome, Wenbin and Beamer.
Too late Ken! Now someone else needs to follow up...
Sometimes, it is better to disconnect from the internet while writing a post. One can do a lot in an hour of focus. But most of the time, my hand will automatically click on the browser.
I haven' logged in to my YM for many days now. I used to be addicted to it.
Forums are my most effective time waster :D
I really should start my daily plans (and follow it)
I have IM on my (part time) work supplied laptop and make occassional use of it to msg roaming collegues. I don't have it at all on *my* lappy though, and don't touch the "work" PC when I am working from home (if that makes any sense).
Of email, twitter/plurk, and social networks I find IM the most invasive... there seems to be an "obligation" to respond immediately to IMs while anything else can wait.
As to phones, I have "phone-free" times, where I set my mobile to vibrate mode and generally don't answer calls immediately (unless I think there's a good reason to), and I'll phone people back once I have free time.