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We live in the age of distraction. Distracted driving. Mindless eating. Three screens going at once: the latest Netflix series, checking Instagram on the phone, and editing photos on a tablet.<\/p>\nWe live in the age of distraction. Distracted driving. Mindless eating. Three screens going at once: the latest Netflix series, checking Instagram on the phone, and editing photos on a tablet.<\/p>\n
I used to be immune to digital distractions. Except for Facebook. Looking for thumb stoppers was my guilty distracted pleasure.<\/p>\n
But then my youngest got me into playing Pok\u00e9mon Go.<\/p>\n
Hold up while I fan your flushed face as you come out of that faint\u2014if you know me IRL, you know I have spent a lifetime not just not liking but actually hating on video games.<\/p>\n
Ok, you\u2019re back.<\/p>\n
Pok\u00e9mon Go is fun because it gets you outside and walking around.<\/p>\n
At least theoretically, I’ve seen adults playing it in their cars. As wholesome as the walking-around-outside-getting-sunlight-on-your-skin sounds, though, like probably every other video game on the planet, it\u2019s highly highly addictive<\/a>.<\/p>\n And yet another distraction.<\/p>\n Add in all of the world’s other distractions\u2014reading this blog post, checking out my Substack<\/a> (hint, hint, nudge, nudge, subscribe already, will ya?), checking email, texting, listening to podcasts, watching television<\/a>, feeling bad about your thighs as you look at your friend’s perfect legs on social media, other video games\u2014and you\u2019ve got a recipe for \u2026 being distracted all the time.<\/p>\n So what?<\/p>\n Say what?<\/p>\n Wait a sec, I just gotta spin this Pok\u00e9Stop and use one of these balls to catch a Wailmer with my Pinap Berry.<\/p>\n Um. Where was I?<\/p>\n The problem with all this technology (yes yes it\u2019s amazing, yada yada yada) is that it turns you into a CONSUMER instead of a CREATOR.<\/p>\n You consume other people’s genius, spend money on making other people wealthy, and suppress all of your original ideas, art, and creativity<\/a>.<\/p>\n IDK about you, but I want to create. I don\u2019t want to buy, buy, buy and use, use, use and waste, waste, waste. No way, Jos\u00e9. I want to build, build, build, and do, do, do, and help, help, help.<\/p>\n I also know I\u2019m not my best self for my family or my friends when half my mind is on that 10-kilometer egg that\u2019s incubating, wondering if the Pok\u00e9mon that will hatch from it is one I don’t already have in my Pok\u00e9dex.<\/p>\n F**k if I know.<\/p>\n JK.<\/p>\n Well, kinda.<\/p>\n I\u2019d love for you to tell me your best ideas. I\u2019m all ears. In the meantime, here are my best suggestions:<\/p>\n Time limits aren’t just for tweens and teens. We grown-ups can benefit from them as well. Best if you have someone else put the limits on for you. Then make them write a contract in ink made from their own blood that they will not\u2014ever\u2014divulge to you the password.<\/p>\n Or in the car, especially when you’re going out with friends or family members.<\/p>\n If you just can’t leave it behind, go ahead and carry it but turn the damn thing off (ha ha, do you even remember how?).<\/p>\n Can’t bring yourself to turn it off?<\/p>\n At the very least, turn down the ringer and make the phone hard to get to. That means putting it in a deep pocket inside your backpack instead of within reach.<\/p>\n One of ours is \u201cno phones at the table\u201d<\/strong> (a rule that the grown-ups are especially good at breaking).<\/p>\n Another used to be that the cells phones and iPods needed to be docked outside our kids’ rooms before they went to bed.<\/p>\n One of the best ways to deal with distraction is to focus on the things you love to do\u2014the non-addictive creative things that is.<\/p>\n In other words, be sure you’re setting aside time to do the creative things you love every day.<\/p>\n Two of my favorite creative activities are journaling and drawing. I\u2019d like to be doing more of each\u2014journaling every day (even if it\u2019s just writing one or two sentences) and drawing as often as possible. My goal is to paint, draw, or do a fun craft<\/a> at least three times a week with a longer session on the weekends. Even if I’m just making silly little doodles, I find so much focus and joy in doing any kind of art.<\/p>\n It’s hard for me to make time for these endeavors though. I get so focused on the daily grind of making a living<\/a>\u00a0(don’t click on this link, I’m not taking on anymore clients right now as my dance card is full), cooking healthy meals<\/a>, cleaning up the house, that I tend to put more pleasurable, less practical activities on the back burner.<\/p>\n In the past, I\u2019ve countered this by doing \u201cbets\u201d with family members and also with writing colleagues. We put money in a kitty and each commit to doing the creative work we love. Then we have daily check-ins.<\/p>\n These creativity challenges last a week or two. At the end of the time period, the person who stuck to their creative commitments gets all the cold hard cash<\/a>. Or it rolls over into another round.<\/p>\n This game is a win for everyone. Because even when I \u201close,\u201d I end up doing lots more creative and soul-nurturing activities than I otherwise would. Plus the money feels well spent\u2014paying to play.<\/p>\n A distraction and addiction-busting creativity challenge is all the honor system. It’s easy to cheat, of course, but cheating’s no fun.<\/p>\nBe a creator, not a consumer<\/h3>\n
So how DO you deal with distraction?<\/h3>\n
1. Put time limits on addictive apps that cause distraction<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Leave your phone at home<\/h3>\n
3. Implement house rules to avoid distraction at the dinner table<\/h3>\n
4. Set aside time to do creative things you love<\/h3>\n
5. Meditate<\/h3>\n