This afternoon, I was really in the mood to read, work and learn. I am a student, after all. But that's hard to do when you're wildly popular and have a phone that's connected to e-mail. Check out the times in the screen grab of my inbox above. As you can see, my phone buzzes or meeps pretty constantly. A couple (maybe two or three) of these messages were mass communications; most, though, required attention and a response, often quickly or somewhat soon.
So imgaine me, on the couch. Books and papers to my left and on my lap. Highlighter and pen in hand. Calculator on the table. Spreadsheet open on my laptop. Phone next to me. I read a sentence, and hear a buzz and a meep. I read another sentence, hear a buzz and a meep. I start jotting a note, and hear a buzz and a meep. Clearly, not I'm walking the most direct path toward learning. So I closed Outlook and turned off my phone, dedicating myself to at least one hour of no communiction. It was a productive and enjoyable hour; of course, then my future self had to deal with an hour's worth of e-mails. But I think this was a better arrangement than my previous strategy, which was like watching a ping-pong tournament.
Guess it took me long enough to figure this out. So if you try to reach me and I don't respond right away, know that I'm studying. That's it, studying.
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