Distracted

I know just how the writer feels. Well, Maggie Jackson, author of Distracted, The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age, may not actually feel distracted, but she makes me feel like she does. Wall Street Journal reviewer, David Robinson, writes,

Ms. Jackson reports researchers have found that workers 'typically change tasks every three minutes' and 'take about twenty-five minutes to return to an interrupted task. . . usually plugging into two other work projects in the interim.' By one estimate, 'interruptions take up to 2.1 hours of average worker's day.' Many distractions turn out to be self-inititiated. . . .

by checking out blogs, email, online discussions. This defines my day -- 2 hours lost each one. No wonder I feel behind by Friday.

Families suffer similarly,

when a TV is running in the background, parents interact with their children 20% less than they otherwise would and are likelier to give passive responses to whatever their children are doing or saying.

The answer? Self-discipline. For example, the level of a kid's self control in deferring gratification is twice as predictive as IQ in terms of grades.