The Enemy of Contemplation

Studying feels much harder than when I was a kid because of all of the internet distractions. Huge chunks of time can disappear while I check in on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.

The internet feels at odds with my mission.

To really study for the SAT, I need long stretches of quiet time, and I must force myself to push through those challenging periods that make my brain hurt. (Critical Reading passage anyone?)

I've learned all too well that "let me take a little break and see what's happening on Twitter," can turn into hours down a rabbit hole.

Those who know me might be surprised to hear that I identified with Bill Keller's New York Times 'Twitter Trap' article, in which he describes social media as:

.....the enemy of contemplation.....

....aggressive distractions......

.....the epitome of in-one-ear-and-out-the-other.....

As a result, I've started looking into new ways to manage my how I get work done. Here are a few methods I've found helpful for focus:

1. I've been using "The Pomodoro Technique," for the last few months, which is basically a timer that goes for 25 minutes, then another 5 minutes for a break, and you keep repeating these cycles. Eventually you get a 15-minute break.
2. Here's is the key part of the method (which by the way, isn't part of the official Pomodoro Technique): I write down everything that I do for each half hour of the day in Bob's Your Uncle 8-Day Planner -- after I do it. Not before, because my intentions are often far from reality. I realize this might seem extreme (at least according to my daughter), but I'm telling you, the accountability helps me enormously. There is no way I'm going to write down "Surfed the web for 3 hours."
3. I built an office in a semi-successful attempt to isolate myself.

The learning part is easy, it's the remembering part that's hard.

Illustration by Jennifer Orkin Lewis