The search for uninterrupted time
/There sure are a lot of distractions these days. I was interrupted at least 18 times while writing this post and another 9 while typing it (that’s 27 interruptions and points at which I had to refocus!)
The older I get, the harder I have to work at having uninterrupted time to myself. Having a baby means it’s even more of a challenge.
The distractors
Time can be very stop-start for many of us. With a newborn, I find myself starting on something, then feeding or settling R, then returning to what I was doing an hour or more later — having lost the flow of before.
Uninterrupted time isn’t just something parents struggle with. The always-on nature of technology, pinging notifications and emails can make it damn hard to concentrate for any length of time. We can self-sabotage too. Oh look, someone’s emailed me and I must get back to them right this second.
I’ve been using the iphone app ‘Screen time’ to try and cut the amount of time I spend on my phone. I’ve only improved 8% since last week (oops). I got a whopping 388 notifications; 55 per day on average. Some of these are welcome, as I discuss life with school friends via Whats App or send messages to family, but even so, that’s A LOT of distractions.
Creative pursuits and meaningful work
Getting in the flow of a creative pursuit, having a hobby, doing work you enjoy, are all made better by having a long stretch of time to delve into your thoughts and get in the zone. This article on the ability of women to have time for art and for writing, resonated with me. As caregivers of our kids, homemakers and emotional labourers, it’s often women who don’t have time to have their own hobbies or meaningful work while balancing the demands of family life. Perhaps that’s OK, in the early months or years of raising a child. But I think it affects us spiritually.
Often women sacrifice sleep to achieve their goals, like writer Toni Morrison, who would get up at 4am every day to write before going to her day job. Did I mention she was also a single mother, raising two children?
Why interruptions are bad
We all know those people who seem like they’re getting shit done, by being really good multi taskers. But interruptions are bad for our brains. They make us unfocussed, sluggish, trying to do too many things at once. A study on task interruption cites that workers spend less than 3 minutes on any single task, before switching to another one. “Generally, interruptions increase the task completion time, worsen decision making, and lead to more errors, frustration, annoyance, and anxiety.” (Lee and Duffy, Effects of Task Interruption on Human Performance). Can you relate?
Getting our time back
So, what can we do about the precious time we have? How do we chunk it up, break it down, use it as best we can — while being present in the moment and making the most of the time we have with our kids and our loved ones, and ourselves?
Focus.
Accept we can’t do everything, and we can’t do it all at once. This requires focus, doing one thing at a time. I find this pretty hard sometimes, as my mind jumps from one thing to the next. But it’s good to focus, and spend time on one thing only —whether it’s a hobby or hanging out with baby.
Set limits on phone and technology use.
Turn off all those notifications and commit to less screen time. I read that having designated times to check your phone (such as morning, lunch time and evening) can help, even if it’s just working towards that each day. Again, this can be difficult.
Let others help.
A big one for women, as it’s so engrained to do everything for others. Even if it’s not exactly as we’d like things to be done, it’s far better to have someone look after the kids, or have your partner pick up that piece of life admin, so you can latch onto time for you. Even if it’s doing nothing or going for a walk with the sun on your face, you have to savour that uninterrupted time to yourself.
What about you…
How do you achieve uninterrupted time? How much screen time are you getting through each week, and do you think it stops you from doing other things?
