Tag Archives: distraction

While you were sleeping…

doing-things-is-not-the-same-as-getting-things-done

I get a ridiculous amount of crap done while everyone is in bed. No brag, just fact. I am not by nature what one might call a “morning person.” In fact, I am unlikely to be able to respond in a civil tone or in human language before I’ve had at least two cups of coffee and the sun has passed the yard arm. I will communicate when I must, but I prefer to avoid all interaction that might require civility.

That being said, I am usually awake and conscious at what might be considered a very early hour. I usually wake up before my alarm (which is set for 6:00AM on work days). My eyes will generally fly open around 5:00AM or 5:30AM. While a part of me is significantly resentful of my internal clock that insists upon robbing me of 30 minutes to a full hour of time that I might otherwise have spent slumbering away before being dragged from somnolence by the blaring klaxon of my alarm (yes, it actually does sound like that), I’ve gotten used to it. Instead of resentment or anger, I have chosen to approach this particular facet of my biology with resignation and use the time accordingly.

So, up I am at the butt-crack of dawn. If I am feeling more tired or irritable, I may use the additional moments before the alarm to meditate (either on my own or using my guided meditation app). More frequently as of late, I have chosen to go ahead and remove myself from the bed clothes and get kitted out for my gym time and run. I take some additional moments to drink a cup of coffee and boot up the computer. Then, I go ahead and get in the workout. Returning home, I shower, get more coffee and maybe something to eat, and I dive into my day.

For weekdays, this involves going through email (reading and responding), reading up on various reports, news stories, and starting to run the productivity and affordability reports for which I am responsible. On weekends, the routine is similar but often includes writing projects, bill paying, and any correspondence not involved with job #1. Some days during the weekend, there may be clients, and some weekends, there are other activities like camping. However, between the hours of approximately 7:00AM and 10:30 or 11:00AM are the most productive of even my very long days.

I usually feel very accomplished during these early morning hours. The rest of my day whether during the week or the weekend, I feel as though I spin my wheels but find absolutely no purchase. Why?

Well, it seems that I have something that many parents have found to be true. The only time to get anything done is when the rest of the world is asleep. From the moment that others in my life become conscious and aware of my own presence (this includes the demonic feline that shares my living space), I am besieged with questions, comments, pleas, and requests. I spend the majority of the time putting out seemingly unending numbers of metaphorical fires (although there have been some actual ones as well) with the equivalent of a tiny kitchen extinguisher. I run hither and thither virtually or actually trying to patch and stitch the many levels of my responsibilities together, and by the end of the day, any projects or things that needed doing that did not get done before someone noticed I was there… well, there they sit at the end of the day waiting for me to have the quiet and repose to address the myriad of tasks.

I cannot blame it entirely upon the pings, rings, and meetings. I have to take some responsibility for the productivity variants myself. I am a victim of the “But First…” disorder as well. So, despite my best efforts, I do get distracted by the shiny squirrels dancing in my workspace and sometimes find it incredibly difficult to finish a sentence, let alone an actual task or project. You would think that the shiny squirrels would not necessarily be constrained by the time schedules of my daily routine, but for some reason, it seems they are not early risers. So, from the real and the imaginary distractions, I am free to pursue my list of things that must be done without distracting escapades so long as I do so while I am alone and in the early hours of the day.

Why wouldn’t this be the same with perhaps the hours after people go to sleep? I honestly do not know. It is possible that I could be as productive post bedtime routine as I am in the pre-dawn glow of day. I know that for many parents of toddlers and even older children, this is true. However, it does not work that way for me. The late night is not as productive as the early morning because my brain wants to shut down. After a full day of corralling the shiny squirrels and putting out the metaphorical (or literal) fires of the day, my brain often decides that it has had enough of the productivity and deserts me entirely. Thus, trying to stay up late (as I once did during my higher education days) to accomplish tasks that were pushed off during the day generally results in poor progress towards my productivity goals.

I suppose the title of this rambling examination of my activity and attempts to be productive is a misnomer. I suspect that there are many other humans out there who are, in fact, not asleep during my more productive hours. They, like me, may also be less than happy to interact without sufficient time to caffeinate or participate in morning rituals. For whatever reason, I am remarkably grateful for the time (regardless the cause) when others appear to be still in hibernation so that I have opportunity to attack my mental and physical agendas for the day. If it were not for that window of opportunity each day, it is likely I would never get anything done.

Screaming Hairy Armadillos… and other deep conversations

screaming-hairy-dillo

I get into some of the most random conversations, on Fridays especially. I attribute it to lack of sleep and possible hangovers from Thursday evening festivities… or possibly just because all of our collective brain cells have given up after a long week of travail. Whatever the reason, some of the topics are entirely alien. In fact, I’m pretty sure that it was literally aliens one time… or possibly just Giorgio Tsoukalos’ hair.

Friday a couple of weeks ago was especially vexing to anyone that needed me to stay on a logical train of thought. I blame this on the whole Friday phenomenon and the surgery that prevented me going to the gym for my usual routines leaving my brain with way too many tabs open.

So, what could possibly be wrong with too many tabs open? Well, have you used a web browser lately? On a computer that possibly may be deficient in working memory (RAM)? or possibly processor speed? or… well, haven’t run an antivirus, spam filter, or malware clean up of the drives in a decade or so…? Now you are getting the idea. It’s the mental equivalent to searching for information on quantum computing and having every few seconds a window pop up with “NOW, CLICK TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN SAVE ON ELECTRONICS!” or “LATEST WOMEN’S FASHIONS THAT YOU WON’T BELIEVE!” or possibly “FIVE FOODS TO EAT TO LOSE BELLY FAT!” and of course “PORN!!!” After reading the same sentence for the fifth time, you remember something you forgot in a different room, decide to get some more coffee while you are at it, become distracted by the call of the restroom, and totally forget whatever it was you were originally going to the other room to get.

And that, my friends, is what I call Shiny Squirrels Dancing in my office… or as others better know it, Friday.

So, as usual I was having the Friday with all it’s accompanying attention deficits when the most amazing and fabulous idea came into my head about organization, focus, and channeling the energy of my mental channel surfing into something more applicable to success in a material or at least professional capacity. Whereupon, the squirrels began to dance, and off I spiraled into a world of free associations and flight of ideas involving a conga line of storm troopers and ultimately ending up with some creature called a screaming hairy armadillo. Yes, it is a real thing. Look it up. Really. Google it. While you are finding it, you may find something that is called a pink pixie armadillo (or maybe just pixie armadillo), which looks like nothing more than an ambulatory lobster tail… with eyes.

Anyhow, as you can see, at any given time, my train of thought might jump on a different track, miss the left turn at Albuquerque and end up on a different planet or at least a different topic than originally planned.

I suppose the upshot of this entire post was to note that my brain occasionally needs a day to clear out all the underlying clutter and general detritus of trivial information that flows in and out of my senses throughout the week. Fridays seem to be the unfortunate recipients of this mental housecleaning. And for that, we will thank the universe for random topics and screaming hairy armadillos.

Diagnostic Evaluation of ‘But First’ Disorder: The Epidemic

It was a joke between my father and me. It was a collection of observations we made over the years. Many of our family members actually praised the organizational skills of my father. My mother frequently noted wistfully how much more disciplined I am that she. Dad and I knew what it was. It was the ‘but first’ disease.

The ‘But First’ disease is a remarkably prevalent disorder in the general human population. There are acute and chronic versions. It is a degenerative disorder and can become more chronic and severe with age. Here is a general case study of the criteria for this common disorder as described by an anonymous sufferer and disseminated to the internet in the early BBS days:

“I call it ‘But First’ Syndrome.  You know.  It’s when you decide to do the laundry.  So you start down the stairs with the laundry, but then see the newspapers on the table.  OK, you’ll do the laundry.

BUT FIRST you decide to put the newspapers away.  So on your way in to put the newspapers away, you notice the mail on the table.  OK, you’ll put the newspapers away.

BUT FIRST you’ll pay that bill that needs to be paid.  So you look for the checkbook.  Oops…there’s the baby’s bottle from yesterday on the floor. OK, you’ll pay the bill.

BUT FIRST you need to put the bottle in the sink.  You head for the kitchen.  Darn it, there’s the remote for the TV.  What’s it doing here? Okay, you’ll put the bottle in the sink.

BUT FIRST you need to put the remote away.  Head for the TV room.

Aaagh!  Stepped on the cat.  Cat needs to be fed.  Okay, you’ll put the remote away.

BUT FIRST you need to feed the cat…

So, here’s what happens at the end of the day: Laundry is not done, newspapers are still on the floor, bottle is on the table, bills are unpaid, checkbook is still lost, and the cat ate the remote control …

And, when you try to figure out how come nothing got done all day, you are baffled because …..you KNOW you were BUSY ALL DAY!!

That’s the ‘BUT FIRST’ Syndrome.”

~author unknown

I have for years blithely watched as various family members struggled with deadlines and due dates and arrivals and departures. There was always the last minute scrambling that occurred before heading out to any planned event. I always marveled at the frantic actions that accompanied any scheduled departure. I was baffled at the inability of so many to actually have a “To Do” list and yet fail miserable to get any item on it “Ta Done”. I believed myself to be immune to the plague from which so many suffer.

And then it hit. I’ve never really known whether it was age or stress or various life events that activates the “but first” disease, but it has hit me… with a vengeance. Along with the described progress of the disorder above, there is an accompanying cognitive disruption that culminates in a glorious confusion that prevents you from remembering exactly what you were even supposed to be doing or where you might be on the vaunted “To Do” list. I now find myself in the mortifying circumstance of mirroring the behaviors and symptoms previously regaled. I will share with all of you, my dear readers the criteria for this sad epidemic in our midst.

“But First” Disorder Diagnostic Criteria

Category

Cognitive Disorders vs Stress Induction Disorder

Etiology

Many theories have been introduced to explain this disorder, however at this time there is much controversy whether this disorder is a biological result of the progression of aging or whether environmental contributions have an impact. Additionally, there has been some speculation about the genetic contribution to the manifestation of symptoms. The increased occurrence with chronological age has led to it also being referred to as Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder (AAADD). Further research is needed.

Symptoms

The symptoms of But First Disorder generally present at some point during adulthood. There is a broad range of ages in victims of this disorder; however parenthood appears to contribute somewhat to early onset of the illness.

Criteria

Two or more symptoms, each present for a significant portion of time during acute attack periods

  • Highly distractible even with specific purpose, intent, and initiation of action (source of disorder name, “but first…”)
  • Tangential communication resulting derailed train of thought, often in the middle of the sentence resulting in frequent inquiry of “What the @#$% was I just saying?”
  • Motor function devoid of active cognition, as evidenced by walking purposefully into another room of the house and finding that no conscious reason for said journey is evident
  • Memory reengagement function creating unnecessary physical movement, as evidenced by returning to previous room in house and sitting down only to remember why the previous journey was made
  • Finding at the end of any given day five or more open tasks/projects with no significant progress or action accompanied by significant physical fatigue

Modifiers

  • Acute
    • This is generally an onset that accompanies a day planner/activity calendar that has no empty spaces
  • Chronic
    • BFD that occurs periodically with some regularity, usually when there is a large amount of tasks to accomplish and only a short duration in which to accomplish them (see paid time off deficiency)

‘But First’ Subtypes

External Distraction Type

  • Often found in (but not restricted to) new parents or parents of young children
  • Inability to finish sentences due to phones ringing, children requesting attention, pet challenges, text messages, instant messages, etc.
  • Appearance and nutrition frequently impaired due to interruptions in normal routines in these areas sometimes resulting in arrival to work with shoes of different colors or un-brushed hair, or possibly forgetting whether any food has been consumed during the day

Hyperactive Type

  • Designated by frantic activity and larger numbers of initiated tasks generally with no evidence of completion after several attempted initiations

Procrastination Type

  • Designated by long lists of tasks to be completed that have no decrease over time accompanied by other initiated activities
  • Designated task days derailed by the irresistible urge to watch the entire Netflix collection of Murder She Wrote

Treatment

The most important part of treatment is allowing time and environmental cues to clear the mind of the sufferer, a reset, if you will. This can best be accomplished with a relaxing night out with an enjoyable companion. Spa treatments and massages are also beneficial. For extreme cases, more intense treatment is required. Oceanic cruises or at least a long weekend by a large body of water or other peaceful environment and application of appropriate beverages and nourishment can often significantly improve symptomology almost to complete remission. However, if symptoms re-present, repeat the aforementioned treatment.

Prognosis

There is currently no permanent cure for BFD. However, with proper alleviation of environmental factors and regular treatment, as above, the individual can learn to cope and improve social functioning. Additionally, appropriate treatment can prevent exacerbation of the disorder into full-blown CRS (Can’t Remember $#!%).

More research is needed to fully understand the condition and fully explore the most effective treatments… Actually, I think I’ll get on that exploration. *Hey, barkeep!…*

But First Syndrome http://www.funpages.com/butfirst

Daily Dose of “The Funnies” http://kcbx.net/~tellswor/butfirst.htm