Solitary Confinement

I need some alone time.
How's the Week of Productivity going for you?  My tasks seem easy, and my motivation is really high.  But I can't seem to resist the temptations around me to not work.  People to chat with, intrawebs to surf, distances to stare out into...  What are we to do?  Answer: run away and hide.

In other words, sometimes we have to physically remove ourselves from all the distractions.  The closer and more in-our-face our triggers, the more likely we will give in to temptation.  Just like the distant future seems fuzzy, unimportant and distant, the objects feeding our impulsiveness seem more important when they are right in front of us.  Sooo, the theme for today's DMG is "Out of sight, out of mind."

Solitary Confinement

Task: Work in a place free of distractions and temptations.

Info: When you procrastinate, what do you do instead of working?  Do you compulsively check email? Facebook? Watch TV? Chat with co-workers?  Whatever it is, your job today is to put yourself in a position that is away from your main distractions and get some work done.  If your main distractions are online, try to bring work with you that is not computer-related.  If you must use your computer, do not open any programs (including a browser) that could trigger procrastination.  Do what it takes, but hide from temptation!

Goal: Work for 2 solid hours in solitary confinement.

What do you think?  Does this strategy work for you?  Post your thoughts in the comments!

2 comments:

Heidi Smith Luedtke said...

I work in solitary confinement every day, because my little kids (with the babysitter) are just outside my office door, begging for my attention. Today I had to force myself to go down the hall to the bathroom, because I'd sequestered myself so long I simply couldn't wait anymore! Turning off digital distractions (like tweetdeck and facebook) is also imperative. If I left them open, I'd never work.

vpanzano said...

Wow! You're the poster-child for these impulse-control techniques, Heidi. I can barely concentrate when I only have myself to worry about, let alone a bunch of little kiddies! Nice work :)

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