Little Thieves

You barely notice them. And they're oh, so polite.
We don't even know they are thieves because they're dressed as colleagues and usually ask nicely.
But they're asking for the most precious resources you have:

time, energy, and attention.

They have the ability to place events on your calendar.
They ask you to attend this meeting and to assist on this project, and saying "no" is never easy these days.
They come to your office for a chat, or, worse, insist on your immediate availability on Zoom, email, or Slack.
Answer the phone. Keep checking the inbox. I'll send you another email about this in an hour.
In the meantime, it's almost impossible to get real work done. Work that demands time, energy, and attention.
Polite little thieves have taken them away.

Yet, we can't complain too much.

Because we also willingly hand over our most precious and valuable commodities every time we randomly stop focussing and doom-scroll the doomsday feeds.
We live in constant distraction. We need to take it back.

Intentionality is never easy.

Put systems into place to discourage the thieves.
Put habits into place to so you don't just hand over the goods.
Let focus be your default and distraction be the exception.
I like Cal Newport's advise here.

“Don’t take breaks from distraction. Instead take breaks from focus.” Cal Newport