If you’re like everyone else in the world you occasionally get distracted. And yes, some of us get distracted more often than others. But I’d like to pose a thought for your consideration – is distraction always a bad thing?
If you haven’t already, check out the article I wrote on creative detours, which are one way that distractions can end up being more productive than whatever it was you were working on. However in this article I have another thought entirely.
For those creatives out there – you may find that while trying to focus on something, especially if it’s boring / mundane / analytical, your mind starts to wander quite often as your imagination takes over and explores the expanse of possibilities within your own head. While this is probably more fun than that spreadsheet or those financial reports, it’s also an avoidance of the necessary task and sometimes you really just need to focus on the boring stuff and try your best to shut off the creative bits. In that case, why not try to distract that part of your mind so the rest can work?
While this may sound like it’s either (a) impossible, (b) requires monk training, or (c) involves illicit substances, I have a different suggestion: music. Now, I will admit right off the bat that this probably won’t work for everyone, and that’s how it goes, but if you’ve never tried it I highly recommend giving it a go and seeing if it works for you. Back in high school I discovered that listening to music was the key to getting my most boring homework done because it would distract that part of my mind that reeeeaaalllly wanted to wander off into anywhere but reality. The main trick though was to listen to music that I was very familiar with, that I had essentially memorized, so that my brain could sing along with it on autopilot without triggering any intellectual curiosity of ‘what was that lyric?’ or ‘oh I wonder if that’s a reference to…’ etc. If I already knew the song really well, I wouldn’t be so focused on analyzing it and would instead hunker down and do my homework.
I still use this technique all these years later when my mind wants to rebel and escape from the task at hand.
Another time I use this is while driving. Some may say that they find music to be distracting while driving, but I purposely use it to, once again, occupy the nether-regions of my fantastical imagination. If left to its own devices, my mind tries to shut off my outward vision and show me instead what I’m coming up with in my head, which, if you haven’t already guessed, is a bit problematic when trying to watch the road while driving. This is especially prevalent on those long stretches of open road when things get really monotonous. Using music, however, has given me the ability to proactively distract this part of my brain so that I can concentrate on what is really important in that moment.
Has anyone out there had success with this sort of approach? Are there other ‘distractions’ you use besides music, or situations besides homework and driving? I find all this to be fascinating and would love to hear about your experiences with it!
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