Everyday Life · · 4 min read
What Happens When I Stop Following Every Distraction?
I tried a small experiment at work this morning.
I had one of my regular monthly pest-control jobs to do.
It normally takes me around 45 minutes.
And I've started noticing something that happens during normal or repetitive work.
I might be doing the job… but then a thought appears.
I should look that up.
Or an idea comes to me that I want to write down.
Maybe I put some music on.
None of it necessarily feels like a big distraction at the time.
But my attention keeps leaving what I was actually there to do.
So this morning I tried something different.
Before I started, I set a simple intention:
Focus my attention on this job until it's finished.
I worked at what felt like my normal pace.
Thoughts still appeared.
Ideas still appeared.
Urges to put my attention somewhere else still appeared.
But instead of automatically following them, I noticed them.
I didn't feed them with more attention.
And I returned to what I was doing.
Again and again.
I finished the job in 26 minutes.
A job that normally takes me around 45.
That's only one experiment, so I'm certainly not claiming that Notice it… don't feed it suddenly makes everyone 40% more productive.
But it really made me curious.
Because I noticed something similar a few nights ago when I had invoices, a quote, a certificate, bank reconciliation and emails to get through.
I chose one thing.
Made that the intention.
Noticed when my mind tried to take me somewhere else.
Didn't follow it.
Returned.
Finished it.
Then chose the next thing.
And I got through an amount of work that was unusual for me.
I'm starting to realise just how much of my distraction over the years may not have come from the outside world at all.
It came from inside.
Thoughts.
Ideas.
Things to look up.
Things to remember.
Things that suddenly felt more interesting or important than what I was already doing.
And because I followed them so automatically, I often didn't even recognise them as distractions.
Something is becoming clearer to me:
A thought can suggest a direction without having to become my direction.
I don't choose every thought that appears.
But I'm becoming more familiar with noticing them and choosing where I put my attention.
The intention becomes almost like a spotlight for the present moment.
This is what matters right now.
Something else appears.
Notice it.
Don't feed it.
Return.
And when thinking is actually needed for what I'm doing, I can use it deliberately.
I keep coming back to a line that has emerged while exploring all of this:
Thinking isn't the problem. Unnoticed, undirected thinking can be.
I used to feel as though my mind often chose the direction and I simply followed.
I'm beginning to experience something different.
The mind can be an incredibly useful tool.
It just doesn't always have to be the navigator.
I'm going to keep experimenting with this and see what I discover.
Notice it… don't feed it.