Shiny Objects

Some shiny objects are worth being distracted by, don’t you think?

When I have my productivity hat on, I tell myself that I have to stare straight ahead at what ever it is that I am working on.

I hear my inner voice repeating over and over again: FOCUS.

Don’t get me wrong, it is an important mantra to have at certain times. For us curious folk, there are distractions aplenty. Ooh, look over there. That’s an interesting rabbit hole to dive down. I would never finish anything if I followed every desire to explore.

Sometimes though, there is gold in those distractions.

This week while finishing off a document for a client, I was distracted by an email message which popped up on my screen. It was a regular newsletter I receive and the title piqued my interest. So, I stopped my document to read the email. In it, the author linked to a video. Yes, of course, I watched the video. In the video, however, there was reference to an ideal example to use in my client document. BOOM. I went back to my document and finished it off.

The pendulum of focus vs exploration swings back and forth for me, and I continue to learn where the balance lies.

Fellow curiosity seekers, how do you balance the ever present tension between the two?