Attention Deficit

Not to make light of people who really do have the disorder, but I think that many of us suffer from an attention deficit. This is likely brought on by the technology that is available and the fast pace of the flow of information. How many of you will be dining out with your family and will sneak a look at your smart phone? Admit it! And for what? Is there such an urgent need to be caught up on your email and the stautus of your Facebook friends that you can't put the phone away for even an hour? I thought about it today as I was working at my desk. For the first time in awhile I actually had over an hour to get caught up on the mound of paperwork sitting in my inbox (a real box/tray, not an email inbox). So I tackled it with gusto... for about 10 minutes. Then I had to take a break to check my email, and my client phone worklist, and Facebook, and... well, you know. I am pretty certain that I did not have this pressing need to switch gears every 10 minutes before the internet became so popular.

I still feel like I get a lot done, but I would probably be much more productive if I would just stay on task for awhile. Even an hour. I remember in college I would hole myself up in a little cubicle in the library for hours on end during finals week. I would only take occasional breaks to walk around. And maybe I would have my Walkman on for distraction while studying. But that's it! There was no email to check, no cell phone to answer, no Words with Friends game waiting for my move.

Do I long for those days? I am not sure. I guess in a way I do, because I have lately had this pressing desire to just go to the library for 8 hours to study or work on my case reports that are due in September. However, I think that desire comes from having 4 loud kids around at home, and my inability to actually have a large chunk of time at work to study. I suspect that at the library in the year 2011 I would still be sneaking a look at my email every once in awhile.

I am pretty sure that there have been studies documenting how being so fragmented actually affects your brain and its ability to process - ....  OK, I'm back from a quick check of my Facebook account. See? I can't even blog about being unable to focus without losing focus! I am also pretty sure that I could re-train my brain to stay on task. The question is, should I? How important is it? How much is the quality of my work suffering from me flitting from on task to another so routinely?

I do feel guilty about not giving my undivided attention to my clients and staff. And at home I should probably put the iPad away until the kids are in bed. My practice manager will get frustrated with me because I don't hear half of what she says because I am looking at the computer while she is talking to me. And my kids get into all sorts of trouble when they know I'm not paying enough attention to what they're doing. Hmmm. Maybe I will try, just try, to do one thing at a time. For a day. We'll see how it goes.