Finding Balanced In A Distracted World
Introduction
Another productively occupied week, as we finally kicked off a three-month project in San Angelo and Brownwood. I was recently accused of being OCD, which to a degree, is true, as I am definitely very particular about how I want things done and organized. But as I spent time thinking about this, I realized I am, in general, simply a person who is very single-minded, and I generally find that when I put my mind to something, I can become obsessive with completing the task or if I find I have a question about something I will often dig through dozens of books or scourge the internet to find the answer.
I have found that this obsessive characteristic is something that is both a strength and a weakness and learning to see the opportunity for both in any given situation is a lesson I am trying to learn. What I mean by this is often, if I am given a task at work, I will find a way to meet the goal of the task I have been given. I will search for answers and find a way to resolve the problem I have been given. I am someone who can find joy in the most tedious and mundane task if I know it is achieving the aspiring goal.
The problem I have found in this mindset is that it is very easy for me to get tunnel vision. Where I will continue to do the same thing over and over, working toward my desired result, even when there is another option or another path available to me that would allow me to reach the same goal I am aspiring to. Often I find I can get so fixated on the ONE thing that I can no longer see the big picture because I have become too focused on this single thing.
So for me in this season I am trying to be self-aware enough to know when I am hyper fixated on something to my detriment. I am trying to learn to let go of things that I have become obsessed/fixated with and let it go and allow myself to back up and see the bigger picture.
What I Learned this Week
Amusing Ourselves To Death
This week I found yet another free book with my audible subscription that caught my eye. I’m not quite finished with it yet, but I have very much enjoyed it. The book's first half spends a great deal of time building the case for an argument I have never considered before. An argument and a deep dive into the consequences of how our communication medium has evolved from a once oratory to written and now the television screen.
In this book, Neil Postman shares a historical account of how once books and the contents of books were consumed as ravenously as our modern-day adolescent consumes TikTok or some other form of social media. Neil recounts stories of a culture now long forgotten, of a time when men and women would gather together to hear someone speak for hours on end, where there would be public debate stages that would last for hours upon hours, and these events were attended voluntarily and with great vigor and excitement. Beyond this fact, those in attendance would be informed and often self-motivated enough to educate themselves to allow them to follow along in the details and complexities of the debate.
Today we are lucky to hold someone’s attention for more than thirty seconds. We live in a distraction-saturated culture. We have bred a generation of young people who are seemingly incapable of giving attention to anything beyond a few seconds. Beyond this, we see a generation that is, in general, uninterested in educating themselves through reading books any longer. So many today are educated by the screens in their pockets or the televisions in their rooms that are never turned off.
Today the god of the American people has become the god of entertainment. We are a people obsessed with being entertained. We are constantly suffused by it. It plays in our ears at all hours, and it lies next to us as we go to bed. We have made for ourselves a little pocket god; it holds all our attention with every ding and chime; it beckons us for another minute of our attention, and so bit by bit, it robs us of our lives and thoughts.
Adults: According to a survey conducted by Nielsen in the second quarter of 2021, American adults (aged 18 and older) spent an average of about 13 hours and 21 minutes per day with screens, including television, smartphones, tablets, and computers.
Teenagers: In 2019, a Common Sense Media report indicated that teenagers in the United States (ages 13 to 18) spent an average of 7 hours and 22 minutes per day using entertainment media, including screen-based activities like watching TV, using social media, playing video games, and streaming content.
We, as a people, not only in America but globally, have given so much of our precious and so very finite lives to the infinite appetite of this god of entertainment. This has been a growing conviction of mine. Learning to spend less time impulsively scrolling on entertainment, as well as learning to get better at spending time in silence.
I look forward to finishing this book and hearing Neil Postman’s closing thoughts on this subject. Expect to hear more from me next week on this, as I hope to finish it!
The Man Who Tracks Every Second Of His Life
Very much in a similar vain of not wasting time, this podcast episode spoke to the idea of learning to be more intentional with how to spend time. Rob Dyrdek digs into this idea of learning how he learned to plan not only daily and weekly schedules but also how he became someone who tries to live every moment intentionally. Planning time with his wife and children and making sure that these things hold priority in his life.
To many, the idea of planning out one’s life to such a meticulous degree may sound restrictive and unappealing, but for me, the idea of being very deliberate with each day and having a focused goal and priorities, and scheduled plans each day to create a life of discipline is something that very much appeals to me. Creating order and structure and building habits that will reinforce a healthy life are extremely appealing to me. The problem is often not that we don’t WANT to do such things. It’s often that we don’t create an environment where such habits are able to be developed.
So the goal, in many ways, should be to simply make sure that we create windows of time dedicated to the formation of a habit. If you want to become someone who goes to the gym every day, then pick a time when you will do that every day and then restrict yourself and commit to saying that YOU will not allow yourself any social media until you have completed this goal.
I recently started really tracking my phone screen time, and through this, I found dozens of hours that were being wasted on mindless scrolling and so by identifying this, I was able to reclaim that time by restricting myself, allowing me more free time to read, and spend my time in a way that was both educational and productive.
What Did I Do This Week
Having spent all week in San Angelo and Brownwood, I spent a significant amount of time committing to the work project there. One thing I did find myself wrestling with was the tension of managing a healthy sleep schedule and spending time developing relationships with my Co-Workers, who all keep much later bedtimes than I do.
So I found myself constantly asking the question of priority, I know that long-term health is found by keeping a healthy sleep schedule, but then also there is the relational development that I would miss out on if I always went to bed early. So I found myself staying up late a few days for the sake of relational development.
Working through developing a training curriculum
49 days without any Alcohol
Spiritually trying to really spend more and more time on the idea of TRUST and focusing not on where I want to be but on seeking peace and trusting that there is a reason for this season of my life and learning to be joyful within that season.
Screen time
Deleted Instagram from my phone again after seeing this screentime report. Because as I looked back, there was not a single moment of value that was added to my life for having had it on my phone; all it did was allow me to distract myself meaninglessly.
Thank you all for joining me once more. I hope you have enjoyed catching up and reading this week's update! I hope you all have a blessed week!
