[Currently writing to a window swap in rainy, gloomy Detroit with steam rising out of buildings, chorus of the rain and traffic]

“A difficult lesson to learn: Your most persistent distractions will seem justified to you.” - James Clear

I’m heeding his warning and taking stock of my most persistent distractions now. Because for sure I will have some, and I will justify them somehow as providing value. But if you don’t know what you don’t know, how do you tell? How does one tell the difference between genuine curiosity versus persistent distraction? 

So it was to be 1) persistent, and 2) distracting but counterintuitively, 3) justified. I listed out some persistent yet seemingly justifiable things that constantly distracted me from my work:

Social media

Distraction: iPhone screen time analytics show a daily average of 3h 44m that I spend on the phone, mostly on the social media blackholes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Telegram (I now count chat as social media as most of my chat feeds are in interest groups now).

‘Justification’: It’s an important part of getting quality input and inspiration. Especially Maker Twitter, which had been giving value all this while. Facebook, not so sure (maybe not). 

Resolution: OK there’s some truth to getting quality input, only that it comes at a huge trade-off of high distraction exposure. But I think spending up to almost 4h a day is nonsense. I can do better. Maybe I can use it for what’s valuable, but limit screen time just during my meal breaks. So I get proper work done during work time, and not get distracted constant pinging.

Sleeping late

Distraction: I don’t get enough sleep, and it affects my productivity. Sleeping earlier definitely helps, as evidently demonstrated by a few early nights recently. I really need to wind down even before 11pm.  

‘Justification’: Staying up scrolling through the phone, or doing other entertainment stuff, is relax time. I need downtime too to deload from working hard the whole day.

Resolution: Sure it does feel nice occasionally to stay up. But with regular staying up late, is it really worth the trade-off with good rest, sleep and health? Not forgetting to mention, chronic sleep deprivation leads to hyperinsulinemia as well – not the health condition I would want. So, no resolution, just sleep early. My earlier schedule was to shutdown by 1030pm, and sleep by 1130pm, but I think I can try shifting everything back by an hour now! 

Over-work

Distraction: I don’t exercise much these days, do runs or workouts, nor take breaks during the day or week. I keep working and working and working. It’s strange because this sounds like focus, almost like the opposite of a “distraction”. But it’s really a persistent distraction because I perceive that I get more done, but in fact, in the long run, I’m worse off.

‘Justification’: Because there isn’t enough time in the day already to finish my work. I need to hustle (in order to reach my goal)! I can get more done this way. Revenue sources have dried up, so I need to work harder to survive!

Resolution: I really need to stop glorifying productivity, and aim to be more balanced in my approach. It’s really better for my health, and sustainability of my maker journey. So, get those runs and workouts in! And 20/20/20 water breaks, with rest days every week too! 

What might be your most persistent yet justifiable distractions?