Every Friday I join a community of bloggers for Five Minute Friday. One word prompt, five minutes. The prompt this week is … Distraction.
Under ordinary circumstances, I would not consider myself a person who is easily distracted. I have been known to be so involved in reading, or paying bills, or some other activity and won’t even realize if someone were to begin talking to me.
But then, we aren’t living with ordinary circumstances these days. The battle with distraction has been one I find myself fighting every day.
I listen for the local press conferences.
Wait for the daily number update.
In walking from one room to another, see something that needs to get done or washed, and never return to the task at hand. I lose sight of what I even was heading in the room to do.
Multiple tabs are open in doing work on the computer as I try to keep up with several things at once.
Distraction has become a major annoyance for me. It all has become overwhelming at times, causing me to feel more exhausted.
Over the last week, I have become intentional to sideline distraction. In order to create more space for myself, my phone has been silenced at times to messages and notices.
Creating social distance between myself and my laptop for stretches of time has been the best solution during the course of the day. To better concentrate, working with as few tabs open as possible has helped to minimize being scattered over several tasks at the same time.
It’s been said that outlook determines outcome. To be productive in these days of distractions, it would be wisest to follow the advice given to us in Proverbs:
“ Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. “ (Proverbs 4:25, MSG)
Today I am joining …
Jo’ – I hear you sister. I love when we’re neighbors at FMF!!! I believe you will enjoy my essay!
I have the same struggles with my laptop. Too many windows open and not enough social distancing! Sums it up. Thank you a fellow fmfer – I am counting my blessings of still working though x
We are definitely in a battle with all the noise of all kinds that can easily derail us from our purpose. Thanks for sharing your own struggle. I think we all need to be honest about it and fight in company!
Joanne, I sincerely hope that none of you or yours work for Microsoft, , for when I real ‘outlook is outcome’, I just couldn’t resist.
It is said that outlook
makes what comes about,
but, my friend, here in my book,
this merits a mad shout,
for Outlook comes from Microsoft,
and it’s full of bugs
developed in a dingy loft
by a bunch of hairy thugs
who think every man and his dog
thinks as they do, all day long,
and so we get the Micro-fog,
and this little song:
“No ‘failure option’ is their object;
failure’s packed with every product.”
I struggle with distractions, especially on my laptop. My sister sent me a link to an osprey cam since she knows I like birds. Now I obsessively check the camera focused on the osprey nest to see how the 3 little babies are doing!
I like the verse from Proverbs you used for the post. I just received the Message version of the Bible. I am excited to begin reading it – I have never read this version before.
I’ve gotten addicted to video game apps the last few weeks. I literally have stopped reading my Bible because another “life” became available in my game! I deleted the app the next day to instead focus on the real life I already have!
I hear ya! I can’t watch the press conferences every day. It’s all too much.