Distractions

Are you easily distracted?  Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation, and hear a noise or see something move out of the corner of your eye, and forget what your talking about?  Did your mind jump the tracks while reading previous sentence?

I find that I am easily distracted, and usually not in a good way.  Can we be distracted in a good way? Yes, let's say you're in day four of a pity party about something in your life you wish was different.  Just as you are on the verge of submitting to defeat, you get a phone call from a friend who is have a terrible time.  They need you to comfort them, to encourage them.  While you tend to their needs, you become less concerned with your problems.  This is a case of good distraction.  Good distractions permit you the opportunity of realigning your priorities in a positive way.

My struggles with distraction are usually more negative.  I find that I get overwhelmed easily.  I never really figured out the art of completing a task.  I struggle with perfectionistic tendencies that drive me to procrastination.  I can't get it perfect, so I'll wait until the last possible minute.  Then I'm force to just do what I can.  So discovering a book that needs to be read, leads to the formation of a stack of books that need to read, that develops into a mountain of books to be read, that turns into a weekend long rerun marathon and no books being read.

Part of my problem is a lack of self-discipline.  Let me return to trying to read a book.  If I were to say this book has 187 pages and I have to complete it in the next two weeks, all I would have to do is divide 187 by 14.  Then I would know that I would have to read about 14 pages a day.  All that would be left is to work the plan.

When you couple a lack of self-discipline with being easily distracted, plans often fall apart.  I can be reading in one book, and run across something that makes me set it down and pick up another book to read.  Before  I know it, I working through six or seven books.  Eventually the tasks break down, and I stall out. 

So, how do we overcome being easily distracted?

• Know your priorities.  Our priorities are the sources of our motivation.  If we know what we believe it is important, it will help us to say, "no," in all the right places.

• Determine what needs to be done.  If honoring God with your life is your top priority, then ask yourself, "How can I honor God with my life?."  

• Develop a plan.  The next step is developing some goals. For example, I will read this 187 page book over the next two weeks.

• Work the plan.  Once you have a plan, follow it.  Following the previous example, that would mean we take time to read 14 pages a day.

• Take time to reflect on progress.  When your done following the plan reflect on what you did well, what didn't go so well, and what could be done better in the future.

• Repeat the process.