I leave North Classroom building and begin the humid walk back to my fraternity house which I'd moved into only three days prior. It is syllabus week of my freshman year and every class had ended early. I am looking forward to getting to know my roommates and the foreign town of Stillwater, Oklahoma that will be my home for the next four years.
As I pass each room in the house, I notice something bizarre. The TV in every room had be turned around to face the wall. I think to myself, "I know Oklahoma schools aren't the best in the country, but surely they know how TV's work." All jokes aside, I'm confused.
In my room, I ask my new roommate, "What's with the TV's? Makes it a little hard to watch." He laughs and then reminds me that tonight is groundbreaking, the kickoff to our universities homecoming celebration. For the next two and a half months we'll log at least 20 hours a week building our 60 foot long by forty foot tall house deck. Complete with mechanical moving parts and thousands of 1x1 inch colored tissue paper plugged into chicken wire and arranged to look like a mural, it's quite the task.
The philosophy our fraternity employs is "If you can watch TV, you can work on homecoming." Turning the TV's around simply eliminates the distraction.
When we struggle to make positive progress on a goal, it may be time to eliminate distractions. Want to eat healthier? Eliminate unhealthy options. Need to get work done? Leave your phone in another room.
Often making progress is not about what we're trying to accomplish, it's about what is distracting us from accomplishing it.
Action
Look at the screen time report on your phone. Decrease your usage per day by 30 minutes next week.
Question
What is your most consistent "time regret?"
Quote
"There are always distractions, if you allow them." - Tony La Russa