Little distractions

I’ve been go go go-ing for the last couple of months with work and haven’t had much time to truly pause. This morning I walked slowly to a coffee shop to read only to find myself barely able to concentrate on doing so for longer than few minutes at a time. I realized that my jumping around at work the last couple of weeks filtering through pings, emails, tickets, notifications, texts, etc. made me lose my hyperfocusing abilities. I started getting agitated with myself when I realized part of the problem: my phone was visible on the table. It was a physical item representing a wide range of distractions and stressors. It was in my view calling my name like a siren.

It’s in moments like this that I realize little things in my surroundings can impact me in a big way. Trying to focus while my phone, the epitome of distraction, was sitting right there felt like trying to eat healthier while a giant chocolate cake sits nearby.

I tucked my phone away into my bag out of view, took a deep breathe, and lost track of time reading.