Something I've realized recently is that when I catch myself unable to work, and desperately grabbing at distractions (e.g., online shopping, crosswords, blog reading) to avoid turning back to work, 75% of the time it's because I'm physically uncomfortable in some way. (The other 25% of the time I chalk up to pure mental laziness.) Sometimes all I need is to take a minute and stretch, put on/take off a warm sweater, drink some water, eat a handful of snack, go to the bathroom, and/or take a short nap under my desk. Then it seems much easier to turn to the task at hand. I try to remind myself of this often.
Today, though, falls under that 25%.
Interesting! "Desperately grabbing at distractions" definitely describes how I feel too. Maybe next time I'll try getting up and doing something active instead. (But I fear that your 25% is my 75%.)
ReplyDeleteYes, for some reason the things I especially don't notice at work are when (1) I'm cold, and/or (2) I have to pee. So now I try throwing on a sweater and going to the bathroom, and usually that helps a lot. But I've also heard that people just need a break every so often (every twenty minutes, I think?) to maintain maximum work productivity, so it's possible that it doesn't really matter what you do as long as you get up and do something.
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