CHAPTER 1

Your Demons of Distraction

Bill and his officemates are engaged in teasing banter and hearty laughterover drinks and dinner. The egg rolls and fried wontons taste delicious,despite being rather greasy. Reveling in food, friends, and fun, Billgrabs a cloth napkin and wipes his mouth with gusto. When his friendssuddenly whoop and point, he realizes that he's used his new designersilk tie as his napkin. Oops!

Does this story represent a silly incident or a more serious problem? Bill's expensivecleaning bills attest to his frequent carelessness at social occasions. How much dodistractions like this foster a messy work style and tarnish Bill's professional image—whichcould cost him dearly?

How about you? Have you been embarrassed by similar performance slippages? Ifyou experience work/life distractions that diminish your best efforts, it's time to payattention. You don't want occasional incidents to develop into nasty habits that posesignificant barriers to attaining your work/life goals.

It's time to ask these questions:

• Am I suffering constant and irritating distractions?

• To what degree do distractions lead to inattention, forgetfulness, anddisorganization?

• What are the costs and consequences of distractions at work or home?

• How do distractions undermine my attempts to live a life aligned with mydeepest values?

This chapter addresses these questions and provides self-checks, activities, anddaily logs to identify your demons and their costs and to set preliminary goals.

Define the Consequences of Your Distraction

Charlie Ponte, my dad, built a musical instrument business in midtownManhattan. On one hand, he loved selling, and he enjoyed the camaraderieof other musicians. On the other hand, he was inattentive to managementresponsibilities like signing insurance policies and leases. When theRockefellers bought the block of buildings on Forty-Eighth Street, allthe storeowners who had signed their leases received a million dollars tovacate. Because Mr. Ponte hadn't signed his lease, not only did he not geta million dollars, he suffered a lawsuit because he didn't vacate before theChristmas season sales.

Like Charlie Ponte, many Americans don't complete their important financialresponsibilities. For example, putting off filing their taxes costs Americans a collective$400 million dollars a year in penalties (Steele, 2007).

Financial consequences can be critical but aren't fatal. Yet many stories in thenews report the serious and even deadly results of inattention and distraction. Forexample, pilots' social interaction and inattention appear to contribute to plane crashes(Kavanagh, 2009). Add that to reports about drivers killing themselves (and others)due to distractions like texting or cell phone use while driving.

Wherever inattention and distraction occur, their consequences warrant yourimmediate review. In the chart that follows, check any of the items that apply to you.Be sure to jot down any other consequences that apply.

Self-Check: Negative Consequences of Distractions

Work Life

____ Performance. Allowing performance to falter due to forgetfulness oroverlooked details

____ Organization. Losing and misplacing papers or dealing with constantclutter

____ Planning. Responding reactively rather than proactively to opportunities

____ Communication. Neglecting team or supervisor responsibilities, providingincomplete directions, frequently changing your mind or second-guessingothers

____ Career Path. Struggling on a slow career track or moving from job to job

____ Other. __________________________________________________________________

Personal Life

____ Finance. Incurring unnecessary finance charges, losing invoices, misplacingtax receipts, or overspending

____ Time Management. Arriving late for meetings, procrastinating, or takingtoo long to complete chores

____ Health. Postponing medical and dental checkups, arriving late or missingappointments, or forgetting to comply with medical routines

____ Legal. Ignoring requests for information from tax or insurance agencies,losing or not paying traffic tickets, or not signing important papers, suchas wills, taxes, or leases

____ Stress. Lacking awareness of your emotional needs and vulnerabilities orsuccumbing to needless irritability, frustration, or stress

____ Home Maintenance. Neglecting the upkeep of your car, home, or personalitems or allowing excessive clutter in your closets, attic, garage, and/orbasement

____ Other. _______________________________________________________________

Social Life

____ Personal Relationships. Lacking sensitivity to social cues and not adjustingyour behavior; lacking sensitivity about when to stop teasing or when tobe empathetic

____ Communication. Being inattentive when listening and lax about keepingin touch with others; forgetting to reply to phone calls, correspondence,invitations, or e-mail

____ Commitment. Failing to follow through on obligations and promises,despite your good intentions

____ Stability. Behaving in an absentminded, inconsistent, or unpredictableway due to a loss of focus on your cherished values or goals

____ Responsibility and Respect. Lapsing into disorganization or messinesswithout regard to its effect on others

____ Other:...