Taking Control

Image Credit: pixabay.com

“I don’t have a ctrl key on my keyboard because I’m always in control.”

 - Unknown

There used to be a hotel downtown that houses homeless folks, you’d see them around, some with mental problems, muttering to themselves, or yelling at people passing by. 

It was disconcerting at minimum; intimidating or depressing at times.

Nowadays, these people seem to have gone away, replaced by a new group of people who are well-dressed yet just addled...they walk through the streets, talking, seemingly to no one. 

This population has expanded from city streets to public transportation, even to public bathrooms. 

Occasionally I don’t realize they are talking on their phones using headsets and I think they are talking to me and I respond. 

People are now tuned in non-stop, texting, checking emails, iPod in one ear. (Some women putting on making up on their way to work while doing all of the above, which is truly disturbing to me). 

They think it’s more productive. It is not.

I watched a lady bumping into the car in front her as she’s parking on the street while texting as I sat across the street and having lunch with my colleagues. 

It’s less productive simply because people are less in control. Less in control of their time, their priorities, their thoughts, the environment when they communicate. 

There are a few occasions that I heard people talking on the phone in a public bathroom..ugh...if you ever hear a water fountain noise in the background when you talk to them, they’re in a bathroom. 

Though my phone is still Galaxy I, I’m not anti-technology. I enjoy using technology to make my life easier and increase productivity. 

But that’s not what’s happening to most of the “walking dead”. 

At work, many people are turned into “human network router" unconsciously, which I’m guilty of from time to time. Just think about the amount of time you spend moving around information (processing emails, responses to chats, etc.) instead of performing the tasks you are hired to do. 

“Time management” is still a hot topic, probably more than ever. And we understand time is money...conceptually. 

No doubt it’s getting harder and harder to control the environment we live/work in. 

And you really want to pay close attention to who (or what) is in control of or interfering with your control of your time…your energy, your thoughts, your opportunity to perform whatever functions you perform at peak performance.

Bill Gates had a “think week” ritual twice a year in a secluded location, he spent time alone - Family, friends and Microsoft employees were banned. It’s during these unplugged time he came up with thoughts that would shape the future of Microsoft and technology. 

Personally, I try to work in 60-90 minutes blocks of uninterrupted time at home, no cell phones, no Facebook, no 10 browser tabs open. Even then, my mind wanders off from time to time, distracted by birds or squirrels in my yard. 

We have to fight, constantly, to regain control we let slip out of our grasp.