What’s stopping you working?
Okay, time to ’fess up.
While sat staring at whatever it is on your computer that you really need to do right now, what is it in the room or in your head that gets in the way of doing it?
For me, it’s the peril of iTunes. I’ve got, let’s see... 16,404 songs (that’s 48.9 days) of music safely tucked away for my auditory wallowing. While typing this, dear readers, the song Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm by the Crash Test Dummies has come round on Shuffle. Thought you’d like to know.
This wouldn’t be quite as enormous a distraction if I also didn’t have this in the room:
Not that I’m complaining or anything (and there are more of them over the other side of the room), but it doesn’t take much for me to hear something inspirational, take one of them from the rack and start noodling away for an hour or so.And I wonder why certain jobs take so long! ;-)
So, for me, it’s the combination of unexpected music coming up on iTunes’ Shuffle setting and a pile of musical instruments looking at me as if I don’t love them. Over to you...
shouted by Riddley Walker @ 8:44 am
7 squeals from the cheap seats
7 Comments:
Damn you! There are few songs in the world I detest as much as that bloody Crash Test Dummies song, and now I've got it running through my head and won't stop! ARGH!
I'm tempted to start randomly naming as many crappy, catchy songs as I can now in the hope of sending an ear worm your way, but in the spirit of playing nice, I won't.
Yes, iTunes is a distraction, as is the internet, as is the fact that the front room needs hoovering, or I need to go to the post office or... I could go on. And on. I'm easily distracted. However, since Sunday I've been using Adrian Mead's five minute writing technique and working long hand which is a great help, because if I'm not at the computer I've eliminated the iTunes and internet distractions, so that's good. No good for re-writing of course, but it helps get the stuff down in black and white in the first place.
You're all wimps, wimps I tell you. My daughter makes the noise of a phone and wees in the wardrobe, but I get more done than the lot of ya put together. So there!!!
My piano is a great distraction--but I think it's all good. Wakes up my soul.
You got a nice axe rack, man.
Lianne - huge apologies. You obviously still bear the mental scars. ;-)
Lucy - I didn’t say I wasn’t getting anything done at all, just that toys slow me down. A lot... :-D Plus, I do actually have an album to write, so I can always kid myself that it’s “work”.
Pillock - I couldn’t agree more about it recharging your soul. If I had a decent piano here (I’ve got an okay Korg digital one, but it’s had to be packed away for reasons of space for a while), I’d be even less likely to get anything done. Cheers for the compliment on the toy pile. The girls all say hi to your piano. ;-)
I always wanted to take piano lessons and my mother wouldn't let me ... she didn't think I was musical. It's on "the list" because I really do find it soothing.
What distracts me? You lot! Riddley, Will Dixon, Denis McGrath, Yakkin' Diane, Bill Cunningham, Jim Henshaw ... all of you who blog and who's wise pearls I feel I must read daily.
That and the pets. They really are attention seeking sometimes.
I have to side with Caroline. Reading Blogs kills most of my time. But then again, I'm very easily distracted anyway. (Did you know they called ADD 'Minimal Brain Damage' before it became fashionable to give your kids Ritalin for breakfast?)
Books, stray thoughts, snippets of colleagues' conversations. It all keeps me from doing my work at some point during the day.
But the Internet is the biggest one. Point in case: I should be writing Tutorial Dialogue right now, but instead I'm commenting on this...
Blogs, internet tubes, and kids...but love the gui-tars, man. That's an acceptable distraction in my book.
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