When Distraction is Good

Distraction is getting a bad name.

This past month, I've been heads down on a few projects and noticing something I'd not been very conscious of before now. When I get "stuck" or when I reach a natural break point on a piece of work, the menu of potential distracters includes everything from email and telephone calls to getting food, socializing and more.

I did an informal audit. Sometimes I would check email. Other times, I would pace, get a glass of iced-tea, or walk outside for a few minutes. When I did the latter -- any activity that was quiet, reflective and receptive, I would feel refreshed. I was open to receiving an insight and to being in the moment. When I returned to the project that had momentarily stumped me, I would enjoy new energy. I started calling this receptive distraction. Receptive distraction is any sort of distraction that creates mental space.

When I went to email, however, I would "spin out." That is, I would completely lose track of what I had been working on and get immersed in all sorts of other issues. I started calling this deceptive distraction. I thought I could take a short break and crank out a few emails, but it took longer to do the emails than I thought, and longer to get back into my project afterward.

I asked friends about their experiences with receptive distraction.

Don, a retired judge, related that he had always had a shower available in his chambers. On one occasion, during a twenty-minute recess at a custody case, Don took a five-minute shower. "I let the water roll over me and let my mind go. Things that were subtle, that I'd heard but that had not sunk in -- body language and other impressions -- drifted through my mind, and surfaced. When I got out of the shower, I had a decision."

Receptive distraction. "It's like a palate cleanser," commented Walt, a journalist.

Are your distracters receptive or deceptive?

Comments

[j0j]

Always interesting to hear how people get through brain block!

I find it much better to just go work on a different part of the project and then come back to the stuck part...or do the stuck part even if it is done badly.  At least doing something gives me something to fix.   When I do something (anything) the stress level goes down a bit, and then I can consider other ways of doing it.

If I take a distraction break with the work left undone, it actually increases the stress for me somewhat.   Basically, now I have less time to get something done and the anxiety of a blank page awaits!

I totally agree that answering email is a very brain jumbling and time warping thing to do when working on a project.