Why it makes sense to throw away your Smartphone

On the wireless today I listened to how an architect had enough of being addicted to his £500 smartphone and just threw it in the bin.

He said it was affecting his attention span and causing him to constantly check emails, even when in conversation with a group of friends.

I absolutely have had the same desire, although I am not addicted to my iPhone, I do have the constant distant thought that I am always connected, always being tracked. I’m also way too stingy to through away my very expensive communication device.

What I would miss most is my bar code reader which scans barcodes and then searches the Internet for the same product and compares pricing. It’s amazing the price differential these days and makes buying on the Internet a more likely thing.

There is of course the slow movement, who I’m sure would give a free hug to anyone throwing their smartphone in the bin. But I see such an act more as an art form, or a form of expression. Something to highlight the absurdity of smartphones and social media.

After all, we did get to the Moon and back without one.

The Pain of being offered a Choice

The agony of looking out of one window, when you know could be looking out of another.

The Problem of Infinite Information Fatigue

What is it about focus that is so important? Why must we be so concerned if focus is something we lack?

I know that I am more successful at a task when I focus. Concentrating like a laser beam on the task in hand increases the chances of completing the task. Probably more than any one thing. [Read more...]

The Truth about Time Management

It’s hard to keep a focus most of the time, but if you start loading your plate with important, interesting work which all has to be done at the same time it’s a problem.

The saying is, “man who chases two rabbits catches none”.

So then you have to chose which rabbit to chase. If both rabbits go at the same speed and look the same, how do you chose. Which is what time management is all about, choosing which rabbit to chase.

You have to chose one, and chase it till you catch it. Everything else should be secondary to your choice.

When you work for yourself, like I do no one is looking over your shoulder and the beach is 15 mins away it needs a clarity and focus that you don’t need if you work for someone else. Which is why when a freelancer does get down to the work it tends to be more intense than a staffer.

You have to stare it in the face, not for one second back down. Lock your eyeballs and do not break the gaze, because you know as soon as you do it’s time to grab the boogie board and hit the surf.

Not that I surf, or have the boogie board, I am more likely to hit a coffee shop with a book and notebook, but it’s all the same effect. Work doesn’t get done.

You have to practice that hard stare, or at least I do. It feels much more natural and comfortable to follow that slow moving river into the sun. One hand trailing in the water and everything is right with the world.

But it’s not, work to be done, choices to be made.

Cutting down on the choices to be made sounds like a good thing.
Just like knowing exactly what I have to do when I sit down at the computer int he morning.

Thinking about time management and writing about time management – which is why I’m writing this – is to me the best way to get me to improve my time management, which has been deemed awful in the extreme.

It’s nice to be blogging here again, I think I will keep it up and make it more personal.

The Ultimate guide to keeping focussed

What is it about focus that is so important? Why must we be so concerned if focus is something we lack?

I know that I am more successful at a task when I focus. Concentrating like a laser beam on the task in hand increases the chances of completing the task. Probably more than any one thing.

If we want to improve our ability to complete tasks we must improve our focus. [Read more...]

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