“It is not enough to be busy (the ants are busy). We must ask: What are we busy about?”
~ Henry David Thoreau
As I continue to think about how I’m going to tackle my big creative project, I see that establishing a secondary routine with associative triggers is going to be crucial. After I finish writing this morning post and eating breakfast, I’m going to need to a separate space – away from all of the distractions on my everyday computer and interruptions by my partner – just to write it! I must commit to some type of goal (ie. 90 minutes, a thousand words, one recipe, etc.) and stick to it each day … “Come hell or high water” …
The question asked in the next chapter of finding our creative focus is: At what time do I first check my email and engage in social media …. The reactive work ??
How many of us superficially commit to focused work while leaving email or social media sites open in the background? All it takes is a whistle from one of these apps offering the thrill of unexpected communication, and bam, we’re off course …
A study at Microsoft showed that replying to messages diverted workers for an average of 10 minutes. And more often than not, once email was open, workers tended to use the break as a chance to cycle through a range of other applications, meaning 10-15 more minutes went by before they resumed their primary task. Sometimes the diversion lasted for hours! Down the rabbit hole they went !!!!
In order for the vast majority of artists to focus on our creative work, we’ll need to establish a place of true isolation, away from all online, computer distractions.
Take author Jonathan Franzen as an example. In order to focus on writing his novel, he locked himself away in a sparsely furnished office. He even went as far as to remove the wifi card from his laptop, and surgically destroyed his ethernet port with superglue and a saw. With internet temptation removed, he proceeded to block out any remaining distractions with earplugs and noise cancelling headphones.
I have read that blogger and author, Leo Babauta of Zen Habits, locks himself in a home office, with a “Do not Disturb – Creativity in Progress” sign on the door, as a reminder to his family that he is working, and not available unless it’s a true emergency.
Single minded focus is essential.
As I ponder this question of how easily distracted I become via email and social media, I had an interesting dilemma present itself yesterday. Trying to re-establish positive creative habits, I did not check my email first thing in the morning. And it almost ended up in a catastrophe for me! A repeat guest and I had different check-in dates at the villa!! I had his group scheduled to arrive on Sunday (this afternoon), and as a repeat guest, I never did get him to forward me his rental contract. Imagine my surprise when he called at 9AM yesterday to say they were on there way !!!! Fortunately, I had prepped the villa on Friday, just to get ahead, and only had an hour of finish-up work to do. After my mad scramble to put things in order, I read my email. And there was a note from him at 6AM, which he had sent prior to the 9AM phone call.
It’s truly a challenge to always put creativity before “business” ….. Will I be able to quickly check email for emergencies without becoming reactive and going down the rabbit hole ?
“Amid the constant surge of information, attention has become our most precious asset. To spend it wisely, we must develop a better understanding of how temptation works, cultivate new strategies for enhancing self control, and carve out time to truly focus on big, creative tasks. Whatever the future of technology may hold, the greatest leaders will be those most capable of tuning in to themselves and harnessing the full power of their own minds.”
We are the stewards of our own potential.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you control technology “creep” … Happy Sunday!
