Tortoises retreat into their shell to protect themselves from the elements and what they perceive as predators.

I walked along the Folsom Parkway this evening and saw a tortoise emerging from the grasslands. Since he looked to be wearing a gold necklace, I named him Mr. T.

Mr. T slowly retreated from me as I stood above him.

Tortoise in Retreat

I squatted down to take his picture and observed his perfect shell and admired his elastic ability to retreat into its protective environment.

I later thought about the day and decompressed from the week … This is my 7th day of my personal Tour de Blogging. I’ve been working incredibly long hours to meet some deadlines and remain active in the search industry while rebranding and running my business offering in-house SEO consulting and training. I’ve been incredibly productive recently, even if a little off-balance at times.

I realized that lately I had been practicing the art of retreat. I shut down email for periods, turn off Skype, Twitter and FaceBook more often. It has become a necessity to protect myself from the predators of distraction.

It’s too easy to stick one’s head out into the Twitter stream or Facebook share and realize 30 minutes are gone.

I shall continue to follow Mr. T’s lead, as needed, and retreat into my shell of productivity and protection.

How about you? Do you practice the art of retreat?

Thoughts about Optimizing Life: Dana Lookadoo

Practicing the Art of Retreat

Are we living in a society of distraction?

How many of us are paying attention to the moment?

Costs of not being in the moment are huge and can be disasterous.

“Oh my God! We started a fire!”

Four girls ran off screaming after playing with fireworks today near the American River.

Fire started by girls distracted by fireworks

An attentive couple heard the popping, crackling and the scream. They immediately ran up the hill from the river to see the girls running down the bike path – flames spreading in dry grass.

The couple immediate called 911. People nearby pitched in to put water and sand on the rapidly spreading flames. We rode by on our bikes and stopped to help.

You may say, “oh, they were just girls.” That’s no excuse. Their actions and reactions represent a bigger societal issue.

Costs & Consequences

There are costs and consequences resulting from not thinking about what one is doing, about not being in the moment.

How much does our distraction affect others?

Okay, we all screw up, but your response to a mistake, your reaction, can mean life or death. Fortunately, in the case of the fire, it turned out to be a non-event.

The cost of the girls’ not paying attention was negligible, this time, but the city did have to dispatch 4 fire trucks and 1 helicopter.

1 of 4 fire trucks & helicopter that responded

Instant Access to Distraction

This was one of a few recent incidents that reminded me that we are in a society of instant access to distraction.

• Watch people driving their cars.
• Watch as they walk down the street.
• Watch as they ride their bikes down the bike path.

People are distracted by texting, music, iPods, iPhones, iThis and iThat.

Few are paying attention to what’s going on around them.

We almost got hit by a gal parking her car AS SHE WAS TEXTING on her phone. She didn’t look in front of her to see we were standing there by our bikes.

My husband exclaimed,

“Society is coming apart at the seams while texting!”

uh, um, oo, ah …

Just minutes earlier I was checking Twitter and looking at Tour de France #tdf updates – while stopped, that is.

Wait!

Was he inadvertently referring to me as well?

Why was I mentally distracted by Twitter while on a bike ride?

Was it the  availability to plug into thoughts around the world with technology right in my pocket?

It was a light bulb moment! I resolved that I, too, needed to be more “in the moment.” It’s too easy to be distracted by Twitter, FaceBook, iThis and iThat.

Last year, I wrote The Story of a Social Media Addict. I’m wondering if such addictions are affecting our psyche, causing society to come apart at the seams …

What are the costs and consequences of being distracted, not paying attention?

Thoughts about Optimizing Life: Dana Lookadoo

Society of Distraction

It’s Easter weekend as I write. My 40 Days of Focus for Lent is coming to an end. It’s been enlightening. Life-changing? In some ways. Was I totally successful? No. I did, however, interact less in social media overall. I also developed some new habits.

I’m not really into Lent as a tradition; actually I don’t totally get it. (I’m into Jesus but not religious rituals or liturgical formalities.) However, productivity is one of my top values, so Lent was a good opportunity to see how productive I could be when I shut down distractions. The idea was to:

• Limit use of social media;
• Sacrifice the urge to constantly be part of the conversation;
• Spend more time offline with friends and family (and on my bike);
• Develop new habits;
• Get stuff done!

Social Media Candy

Don't Feed the Social Media Monkey Candy

Some people give up candy for Lent. For many, social media is just like candy. If one sucks on it constantly, it’s a time suck.

Can a constant social media diet cause mental cavities?

Are we like the monkey shown in this picture?

Social media candy can kill productivity!

Eating social media candy hours each day will absolutely kill your productivity. You’ll kill your financial bottom line if you work off billable hours, UNLESS you’re there for marketing purposes. If social media candy is your hourly diet, you may also be sacrificing and possibly killing healthy relationships.

There is a time for candy in one’s social diet.

Social media candy, admittedly, can also provide a boost of energy. It satisfies many social needs according to Maslow’s hierarchy. For online marketers, it is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for keeping up with latest trends in search, networking, and connecting with communities. One must, however, find a balance and not get distracted by the lure of the candy outside those activities.

Experiment Results

The following are results of my little “4o Days of Focus” experiment:

• When I shut down Twitter, Facebook, instant messaging and email, I got a heck of a lot done. I felt very satisfied – productivity soared!
• When I kept multiple windows open, my brain misfired. I felt dissatisfied and unproductive.
• When I determined to “be in the social mode” and scheduled time for social media with a marketing or socializing purpose, I learned a lot and strengthened friendships.
• When I got on my bike, I rode longer, enjoyed the time with my co-cyclists without feeling like I had to get back to the computer – more friendships strengthened.
• I also spent a lot more time interfacing with people in-person and on-the-phone – hearts bonded closer.
• I also started reading books again!

I drew a number of conclusions about the value of online and offline friendships and the effects of social media.

CONCLUSION: I learned I’m like the monkey. Don’t give me too much candy!

The following tweet by Dave Rohrer, an Online Marketer, is thought-provoking.

Melting your brain in 140 characters or less every day

Is social media melting our brains ?

Balance. Just like a daily diet, all intake must be in balance.

There is a season for being social and a season for getting things done (aka GTD).

40 Days of Focus Ends. Now What?

I am taking lessons learned from this little experiment to make some changes.

• New habits were developed.
• I’m blocking off time for focus in which I’m closing windows of distraction.

When you see me online, it’s because I’ve scheduled that time to be there, to enjoy its social sweetness. When I’m not socializing, I’m optimizing another aspect of life.

Photo Credit – Monkey: http://www.flickr.com/photos/horsager/ / CC BY 2.0

Thoughts about Optimizing Life: Dana Lookadoo

Conclusion to “40 Days of Focus”