Our life is being assaulted on every side by interruptions. You do not have enough time in the day for everything that presents itself to you. We live in a world of constant stimulation and breaking news. There is a battle for your time and attention. An army is breaching the gates of our minds daily. Once we get one wall repaired, another invader is tearing down another. Welcome to planet Earth soldier, you are in the Army now. There are two scenarios in this battle. Fight or die. You have no help, there is no band of brothers or sisters. Even the people you love will show you no mercy.
Have you ever tried to have a conversation with a friend who has a young child who will not allow the parent to speak without demanding their attention? There is no hope of ever speaking without interruption. It is an exercise in futility. This kind of terrorism may be common, but it is never enjoyable for either party. This is not a lesson in parenting, or maybe it is. It is definitely an anti-terrorism stand. Those terrorists of interruption will hold your life hostage unless dealt with. I don't think duct tape is the answer, I'm open to suggestions. Anyway, being interrupted during a conversation is not enjoyable.
I've always been a guy that once I know what I am supposed to do, I want to be left alone. We have all had a boss or work partners that will constantly make things harder than they need to be. Nothing is worse than having to stop what you are doing to do something else. Regaining the thought process and motivation after interruption is not easy. It will add unnecessary time to things being accomplished.
Author Cal Newport in his book Deep Work explains how constant interruptions stifles and stops productivity. He has a schedule of blocks of hours where he can concentrate and complete tasks that require deep thinking and focus. He presents a pretty solid case for time management and limited distractions. Email, phone calls and communication of every kind are put in their place and not allowed to interrupt his work flow. He is also the guy who has never been on social media.
I understand we may not all need the focus of a college professor or MIT graduate who is doing in-depth work and maybe changing the world. You do need moments of uninterrupted time to figure out just who you are, what you are all about and and what you believe. We could all be more productive if we are honest, and we all fall victim to the war of information assaulting our minds daily.
Being disorganized is a time killer. It will cause you to give up on things if there is a disorganized mess to sort through before you can get something done. We have all seen an episode of Hoarders or a show similar where somebody can't function in life because of disorganization and chaotic habits. In the physical realm it is easy to see, in your mind, the constant thoughts, interruptions and mental chaos look just as bad. I will never forget one episode when while cleaning a home and they found a dead cat wedged between stuff shoved into a room in the house. Long dead little fluffy deserved better. We deserve better.
The assault is to keep you off balance. The saying is if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything. Many of us are giving in to confused ideas and fuzzy math like a punch drunk fighter. The bell sounds and we stumble to the middle of the ring over and over again. Taking our beatings daily. Soon we don't care. Out of sheer exhaustion we tolerate almost anything.
Fight or die. Those are the choices. The fight will end when you die or throw in the towel. Round after round the fight never ends. When one opponent is weary, a new one enters the ring. You never sit and rest. Between rounds you run in place. You answer your phone. You read headlines. You never disengage and strategize. Training takes over when you are exhausted, but if you never train you will never win.
It is in the quiet moments of life you can study your opponent. You can measure your own capabilities. You can restore your mental clarity. It is amazing how a few minutes of quiet deep breathing can calm me down and restart my mind with clarity. I am sure some know the restorative power of prayer and meditation. Combating the constant assault of interruptions is a losing battle without the antidote of quiet.
When your mind feels like an episode of Hoarders, shut off the noise. When you don't know who you are, where you are or what you believe, sit in the corner and don't get up until you can punch that noise in the face. Fight for your life. Fight for your sanity. Continually repair the walls that protect your brain from assault. Embrace the quiet in a noisy world. It is a war for your mind. We didn't start the fire. It was always burning, since the world was turning. Yes, I am ending with a Billy Joel quote.
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