Distraction.
I don't know about you, but I can turn any small task into a full-scale project. Some under-used part of my brain must crave adventure and novelty in the tedium of my daily life, so I seem to satisfy that need by making simple tasks into convoluted expeditions. The internet has made this tendency so much worse.
(frickin' blogger. I had written more than this, but when I went back to it, this was all that was left. Argh.)
The other day, I needed to know some fact about something or other. All I had to do was pick up the phone and call one of my friends. But why do that, says another part of my brain, when you can go look it up on the internet. Who knows what fun and interesting tidbits of information you might find along the way. Oh, OK, you're right, replies the other part of my brain. (That part of my brain is kind of a pushover, truth be told.)
Calling my friend only involves picking up the phone, well, and probably finding it first. I think I even have her number memorized. Besides, the phone is something that you can easily use with a toddler around by holding it above their reach. Well, if you can ignore their screeching every time you get on the phone. And hear the other person over the screeching . . .
Anyway, I went for the laptop. Why even try to find the exact website I am looking for when I can do a google search and see what other kinds of things pop-up. Maybe I don't know the exact web address anyway, so I'll just do a search first.
Inevitably, this leads me off on many tangents. How many other things can I look at before I really need to find what I was originally looking for? What's around that next corner? I don't know, let's see. Oh, and I should check my e-mail real quick, too. An hour later, I still haven't gotten to the site that might have the one tiny piece of info that I'm looking for, but I've had so much fun along the way (while fending the toddler off all the while) and learned so many new things! (I'm being a little facetious, here. Heh.)
Oh yeah, what was that I was looking for? An hour of distraction maybe? Yeah, that's it.
(frickin' blogger. I had written more than this, but when I went back to it, this was all that was left. Argh.)
The other day, I needed to know some fact about something or other. All I had to do was pick up the phone and call one of my friends. But why do that, says another part of my brain, when you can go look it up on the internet. Who knows what fun and interesting tidbits of information you might find along the way. Oh, OK, you're right, replies the other part of my brain. (That part of my brain is kind of a pushover, truth be told.)
Calling my friend only involves picking up the phone, well, and probably finding it first. I think I even have her number memorized. Besides, the phone is something that you can easily use with a toddler around by holding it above their reach. Well, if you can ignore their screeching every time you get on the phone. And hear the other person over the screeching . . .
Anyway, I went for the laptop. Why even try to find the exact website I am looking for when I can do a google search and see what other kinds of things pop-up. Maybe I don't know the exact web address anyway, so I'll just do a search first.
Inevitably, this leads me off on many tangents. How many other things can I look at before I really need to find what I was originally looking for? What's around that next corner? I don't know, let's see. Oh, and I should check my e-mail real quick, too. An hour later, I still haven't gotten to the site that might have the one tiny piece of info that I'm looking for, but I've had so much fun along the way (while fending the toddler off all the while) and learned so many new things! (I'm being a little facetious, here. Heh.)
Oh yeah, what was that I was looking for? An hour of distraction maybe? Yeah, that's it.
posted by suze @ 7:18 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Oh, that is more true than I would like to admit! I hate calling anywhere if I can avoid it, and always opt for the internet. There have been way too many times I have done that same thing, and never even gotten what I went for....much less thought of it after about thirty seconds on the computer!
Exactly, Christi! lol
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