I’ve been into personal development for many years. When I started work in corporate America, I read Getting Things Done by David Allen. His techniques were amazing. They helped me get so organized at work. I was always on top of my email, I was proactive with getting projects done, I left the office with my to do list done every day. Since then, I’ve probably read 20 plus books on how to get more done with less time.
But that was when life was much simpler. Because since then, a lot has changed…
Now we get way more email than we used to. My iPhone alerts me to new notifications all day every day. I just checked my Screen Time report, and last week’s average daily notifications was 125. If you check your own Screen Time report, I bet it looks similar.
But I can’t play the victim here. Because I also had 175 daily pick ups. Meaning, aside from 125 daily interruptions, on average, I checked my phone 175 times. Every day.
That’s 300 times a day I’m either getting a notification or checking to see if I got a notification. Again, if you think that’s crazy (and I certainly do), you should look at your stats, too. Because I think nowadays we’re all living in a constant state of distraction.
We live in a noisy world. And the place seems to get louder with each passing moment.
***
Last year, I started doing something different. Something to combat the busyness of life. I started choosing a word for the year. For 2021, I chose the word ‘focus,’ because I believed if I just tried hard enough, if I really gave it my all, I’d be able to drown out the ever increasing noise. I could fight through distractions and get important things done.
And it worked. Kind of. I ignored the digital noise that kept getting louder. I pressed on, working harder to get everything done, feeling like I was swimming with baggy clothes but determined to make it to the shore and finish the big important things, like my last novel. With just a few hours to spare to achieve my writing goal for the year, my new book launched on New Year’s Eve. I pulled it off. I hit the deadline. I did it. I was happy.
Then I woke up on January first with the dread of knowing I had to do it all over again.
***
I’ve made some progress on the next book in my series. I’ve written about half of the first act. A good start. To my credit, I’ve had a lot going on this year. It’s one of the busiest ever. Not to mention the noise factor has over modulated and is stuck on the crazy setting. But in all of the busyness, I’ve realized I never chose a word for this year.
Which got me thinking about how I feel the complete opposite of being focused. I feel distracted which shouldn’t be my word for the year but defines the first few months of it.
We’re all addicted to being distracted. We need the dopamine hit of something ‘new.’ And if it doesn’t find us, we’ll go out and find it. For creative people, that’s a problem. We don’t get bored anymore. I don’t know about you, but when I’m bored, that’s when I’m the most creative. Boredom is part of the secret sauce of creating something new.
But what’s interesting is this: the opposite of distraction isn’t focus.
The opposite of distraction is traction.
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I once heard a football analyst talking about the losing team. He said, “The problem with these guys is they’re not running north/south. Every time they get the ball, they look busy, there’s a lot of motion, but they’re not gaining any traction. Run north/south!”
That’s always stuck with me. Maybe because there’s a lot of wisdom in that. Think about it. How many times have you seen a running back take the ball and run toward the sideline… only to run the clock and waste a down and have nothing to show for it?
Are you gaining any traction with the big important things you want to do this year?
Are you running north/south with a relentless pursuit of getting another first down?
Are you letting yourself be distracted by things that won’t get you to the end zone?
It took five months but I finally figured out what my word for the year is. It’s traction. Because consistent action is the best way to gain traction for the dreams you’re after.
Back when I managed people, when my teams would struggle with being distracted I’d tell them this: slow down so you can speed up. I think it’s time I took my own advice.