Distractibility
Our modern day world is one of immense distraction.
And most everyone carries around the ultimate form of distraction everywhere they go — their smart phones (which ironically seem to be dumbing us down).
Being constantly distracted with notifications for calls, texts, emails and social media means that our ability to concentrate for any significant length of time has been greatly diminished.
When I was learning to make YouTube videos, for example, I was told that the average human’s attention span is less than that of a goldfish, which is 9 seconds. In the research study they found that the human attention span was 8 seconds.
There are squabbles all over the internet arguing over whether that statistic is true or not, but, as a video creator, I’ve learned that in order to keep someone's attention, you have to constantly keep the scene changing or moving.
Humans no longer have any capacity whatsoever for boredom, which is unfortunate, because when I was bored when I was younger, it was motivation for me to explore my inner world and get creative, or get outside, or to expand my mind by reading a book.
Nowadays if you look around, you'll notice that most people can't stand in line, or sit in a waiting room, or even sit quietly between sets at the gym without looking at their phones.
Smart phones have become like pacifiers to the masses.
I too have been drawn to my phone in these situations, typically because I feel socially awkward or uncomfortable in most social settings, unless I'm gathering with friends or family.
Another habit that's diminished our ability to concentrate is the unhealthy coping mechanism of mindlessly scrolling social media, when bored with a task that needs to be completed.
I unfortunately know that habit very well, as I've turned to it many times over the years while working on an uninspiring work project or two.
Recently all of this addiction to distraction has really started bothering me though.
I quit Instagram and Facebook three years ago, so those are no longer a problem. And if you're curious, I'm very happy that I made that decision.
I also, just this past week, stopped regularly watching YouTube — I know, that's funny, because I make YouTube videos.
I'm allowing myself to watch videos from two channels that I love, that always uplift and inspire me, and other than that, I'm only using it if I'm looking for something specific. No more mindless scrolling allowed.
For a while now, I've also been intentionally stopping myself when I feel compelled to grab my phone while in public. I simply force myself to pretend like it is 20 years ago, back when we all had to sit with our discomfort or boredom, unless we had a book or magazine with us.
My recent concern over my addiction to distraction inspired me to revisit a book that I attempted to read when it first came out: "Deep Work" by Cal Newport. Unfortunately, back when it was released, I was hopelessly addicted to Instagram, so at the time I thought "this book just isn't for me."
But I did actually need that book back then, I just wasn't ready for it yet.
Cal's intention with the book is to illustrate the importance of deep, uninterrupted focus while completing your work. And I've just starting reading the second half of the book where he gives different examples of how one can go about accomplishing that.
As of writing this, this is only my second day starting to apply his principles, but two days in a row now I've written two new blog posts and for me, that's a really lovely accomplishment.
The biggest reason for my concern over my distraction addiction is that I feel like my life is slipping past me without really making very much of my time.
Sure, over the years I've successfully accomplished many work projects, but I've never had a job that I was actually passionate about, so those accomplishments don't really mean much of anything to me.
Although I don't currently receive an income from my writing and video making, producing work like this feels way more satisfying to me. It's 100% me — I'm writing in my own style, discussing topics that I truly care about, and I get to make these small projects pretty, as well, with beautiful images in my videos, or photos in each blog post.
At the end of my life, my personal creative endeavors are likely going to be the only accomplishments I truly care about. I'm not gonna give the tiniest little crap about a project that I finished for one of the companies or organizations I worked for.
So I'm doing this for me, and for no one else.
I'm working on retraining my ability to focus, solely to provide myself with something to be proud of in my future. A collection of works that I can look back on fondly and be grateful to myself for undertaking.
Eventually I want to put together a video on this topic, but for now I'm going to leave it here.
This is only my second day working deeply, so I'm sure I'll learn a lot more as time passes and I'll share it here with you.
Hi, I’m Kristen!
I envision a world where you and I rediscover what it is to be human, through connection with ourselves, each other and the natural world around us.