I have to admit that I've had a really hard time focusing today. I often have trouble focusing, especially when I have to do some writing. Don't get me wrong - I love writing, even when, like today, it's all about writing Performance Appraisals for my employees (faithful minions, all). I just have a hard time getting all of the distractions of daily life out of the way so I can get down to writing.
When I was in college, I would clean my room and organize my desk before writing a paper or studying for a test. Now I don't always have the luxury of having the time to get my desk cleaned and organized before I have to write, so I have to find other ways of reigning in my thoughts. Sometimes I am successful. Today, however, I was not. Much of what was distracting me was still work . . . schedule stuff, staffing, budget, customers (bless them), projects, and my own required time on the public service desk, Caldecott and Newbery winners, email clean-up, to name a few. I also let myself become distracted by other things . . . hunger, stretching stiff muscles, news from Haiti, stuff I should have done over the weekend and is now on my mind. You know how it is, right?
So - everyone deals with distractions - how do you handle them at work? Do you work better with tight deadlines (like me) or long-range deadlines? Do you have any tips for me so I can have more success as the week progresses?
1 comment:
I have to admit I am still like you were in college - I like to have an organized space. I've read an organized space = an organized mind - as well as being less stressed - which I assume helps with letting thoughts flow more freely. I do like deadlines though - tight are better for me, but either work.
This isn't helping you though. Maybe if you don't have time to clean off your desk, you can just clear it. Put everything in a box that is distracting so you have a clean surface to go from? Good luck!
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