Sometimes it feels like the work to keep writing really is akin to combat.
I do not suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), or any other diagnosable of that nature. Yet I still often must fight to keep my attention.
I stole this from a friend many years ago – but I refer to my problem as Attention Deficit Oooooooo-Shiny Syndrome.
Something shiny will catch my attention and draw me away from my creative work. It can be the internet, my cat, a trip to the bathroom, a call, or worst-case scenario – good ‘ole self-sabotage.
Before I get into this further – a very important note. I am in no way lessening, disregarding, nor otherwise speaking ill of those with diagnosable disorders of this ilk. If you suffer ADD or ADHD, or any other similar issue, I am not trying to appropriate nor dismiss your struggles. What you must deal with is far more difficult than my self-inflicted attention span issues.
That written – I’d like to share my perspective, because I know I am not alone in having this problem.
Distractions are everywhere
One of the best things about social media is how it connects us all.
Between Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and the like – we can know what each other is doing instantly.
One of the worst things about social media is how it connects us all.
Some people I know have their phones blowing up constantly with notifications. They are seldom not online and post frequently to social media outlets – so much so that their absence of only a few hours is often questioned.
Smartphones are some of the best tech ever created.
I cannot believe how easy it is to find information, connect with people across the globe without paying long-distance fees, and check email, messenger, and social media from virtually anywhere at any time.
Smartphones are some of the worst tech ever created.
I know people who cannot be away from their phones for more than a moment. They seldom put them down, silence them, or put them somewhere they need to take a moment to get at. The instant connectivity they give us has made us far less personal when we’re in-person than we used to be.
The majority of my distractions are directly related to my smartphone and social media. I will inadvertently start doomscrolling Facebook or Twitter, look at images on Pinterest, or get distracted by a conversation on Facebook Messenger or Telegram (though the latter is exclusively work-related – but still distracting at times).
And working from home – I will get distracted by my occasionally attention-demanding cat, getting up to get in some steps – and then doing dishes or scooping the litter boxes – and other distractions.
But then there’s the primary reason behind my ADOS.
Self-sabotage when I should keep writing
As I have been diving deeper into the why and how of my self-sabotage, I can tie ADOS to that. Specifically – letting myself be distracted rather than keep writing.
I’ve been reading Gary John Bishop’s Stop Doing that Sh*t: End Self-Sabotage and Demand Your Life Back.And it’s proving to be a real eye-opener to me.
The reason behind this is because Mr. Bishop offers 3 main saboteurs involved in self-sabotage. As I have begun to get to know mine more closely – so that I might better accept them (this is complex, and the best explanation I can suggest is that you read this book yourself – it’s amazing). My distractions – recognizing and acknowledging them – that don’t allow me to keep writing – are part of this.
But the other matter is not focusing on them. Like an itch that you know scratching will only make worse – giving these things more attention makes them stronger. The goal instead is redirection.
Redirection – keep writing
First and foremost – I need to say this. I am a writer. This is not something I am striving to be, it’s not a goal of mine that I am working on. It is the path I’ve chosen and what I do.
For a long time, this is what I’ve been trying to do. But as Yoda pointed out, trying is too soft.
“Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”
When I get distracted – it’s easy to get annoyed with myself. Recrimination, lament, and all sorts of reactions pop up when I find that I’ve allowed my ADOS to distract me. But what good does that do for the situation? None whatsoever.
Rather than work out how I allowed myself to “oooh-shiny!” and stop doing the work isn’t important. It happened. Done. What is important is to remove the distraction and redirect myself back to my work.
As I read my way through Mr. Bishop’s book, I am seeing that using the past to build the future just keeps the past going. So instead, it’s time to redirect – and take a new approach.
This is going to take some time and effort – because while I have made attempts at this before, I need to forget them.
This is not about the past. It’s about the now and the future.
When I find myself allowing distractions to steal away my attention – I need to recognize them. Then, acknowledge them. That done, I need to set them aside – and keep writing.
Nothing that has come before can be redone, undone, or altered. It’s done. It is very easy to pay this lip service. But working with it – and looking from here to there without looking back – is a wholly new concept and shift in thinking.
Redirection. Literally.
Mindfulness to gain control
The only thing any of us have control over is ourselves. When we make the most of this – and work from within to be, have, and do without – we empower ourselves.
Whatever art or creative work we do – we can choose when, how, and on what to focus.
I know that I get distracted easily sometimes. With that knowledge, I get to choose to take control and redirect myself when I recognize this.
Mindfulness is conscious awareness of this moment. That opens us up to recognizing and acknowledging what we are thinking, what we are feeling, how we are feeling, what actions we’re doing, and the intent behind them. And if they do not align with who, what, where, and how we desire to be, we can choose to change them.
For me, that means I need to keep writing and not allow distractions to prevent that. I believe now the way to do this is not by redoing a past action – but redirecting myself from the now to how I desire the future to be.
This requires self-reprogramming. Mindfulness is the password to get into the system and take charge of change.
While I know ADOS is a self-inflicted problem – that knowledge is the first step in redirecting it.
I know that sometimes it feels like the work to keep writing really is akin to combat. But that’s okay – I’m not unarmed. Let’s do this.
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