The second I wrote down the idea for a blog posts on Distractions, I knew there had to be two examples I would be using. A McCartney song, and another from the movie UP. In this movie there is a dog who can talk to people using a device he wears around his neck. One of the things he says frequently is the absolutely perfect example of distractions ever. “Squirrel!” If you are in need of a distraction, just watch this song about it.

No matter who you are, what you do, or where you work; the way the dog is distracted mid sentence by a squirrel mirrors something that happens to the best of us. There are so many little distractions that take you out of the headspace you really want to be in.

It should also be noted that what I am going to discuss does not apply to every profession out there. I want to talk mainly to the IT professional type people (and a little bit to the people who write about them!), though it truly applies to most anyone whose work includes thinking as much as performing tasks.

None of this would directly apply if you work in a service type industry where people are waiting on you to do a specific, repeated task.

Distractions are negatives, right?

When you are working, distractions are never good. right? It very much depends. The thing about jobs which require a great deal of thought, is that they often need concentration. Putting together a blog takes thought to come up with the idea, but once I know what is going in it, I start pounding the keys. It isn’t that much different from when I was writing code to solve a problem. I would spend time on a white board, charting and graphing what I was trying to do. Then…eureka, let’s go.

During those times of concentration, unexpected distractions will make you lose that stream of creation. There are lots of possible distractions, but the mostly boil down to other people and other interests. This Business News Daily article lists 10 workplace distractions, and they mostly all fit into those two buckets. Distractions I cause, or someone else does. To me, “other people” distractions are generally always harmful to the creative process.

One of the biggest distractions listed in that post, and this one from framery.com is noise. I am am going to be a lot more positive about distractions in a moment, but I will be the first to admit that other people actually can be a bad distraction. And it doesn’t have to be something they are doing wrong. They could be in a meeting with the biggest potential customer. Or with a child that is in need. It definitely distracts me (but a good pair of headphones typically covers most of those kinds of distractions.

One of the most interesting things this article links to, is another article on “employee time theft‘, which really hammers it home that we are talking about something truly negative. Some things noted are truly theft (like clocking in and out when you aren’t really working, for example), but the same distractions like reading the news and social media are included.

Interestingly, one of the distractions from the first post referenced was “sitting in a cubicle”. As much as I prefer telecommuting, I never minded the cubicle as a thing, it was everything I could hear around me that starts to distract me when I need to be in concentration mode. Noise cancelling headphones do wonders, as long as I see people before they tap me on the shoulder. Then I basically turn into a victim in a horror movie.

Are there positives?

To me, the question of whether or not a distraction is positive of negative comes down to control and purpose. As mentioned before, the “other interests” distractions are where it gets complicated. If you can control your use, and not get into a case where you care committing time theft, distractions can be positive.

I know that nothing helps my productivity more than to distract myself from working for a few minutes pretty regularly. When I come back, I check the work I have been doing. Like I read these blogs I write and edit again (and again) and find things I need to changed. This article on Healthline backs this up by noting that a quick, break can help your recharge you. I tend to check email, slack, discord, etc, when I am stuck, even for a minute.

In an ongoing manner, as I wrote a last year for SQL Server Central, I listen to music when I work. I have an Apple TV device on my desk connected to a couple of Sonos speakers that right now are blasting “Episode of Blonde” by Elvis Costello and the Metropole Orkest. I almost always have something playing when I am working, and in that article I have logic about what I listen to when.

If you have a flexible schedule, sometimes going outside and taking a walk can really reset you and possibly give you more ideas. Doing some exercise in my office or getting a snack, perhaps running down to the store. Just like any distractions, control is important. If I take a 45 minute walk, I work 45 minutes later (never earlier, I am not a morning person!)

In conclusion: control

“Distractions, like butterflies are buzzing ’round my head. When I’m alone, I think of you. And the life we’d lead if we could only be free, from these distractions” Paul McCarney song Distractions.

The trick to using distractions properly is to control them. It is easy to get carried away and daydream when you should be working. All of the positive distractions can easily spin off into negatives if you aren’t careful. And if you work in an office with a bunch of other, distractable people. Watch out!