I Think Technology Has Given Me Attention Issues

Do you remember the good old days when you could get through a whole meal without hearing a notification chiming from someones cell phone? Or when the whole family actually sat down to watch a TV show together because it only came on that one time a year? My brother and I used to get so excited for that one night each year that The Sound of Music or The Wizard of Oz (though I must admit that movie has always scared me) would be shown. Back then I could sit still without fidgeting and twitching with the need to be doing something else.

Fast forward to now and I can hardly sit down for more than a minute. I have every intention of watching that whole TV show or even just relaxing for a couple of minutes. But I find myself drawn to doing one more thing on the computer. Or checking my cell phone every time I hear a notification. Even when I try to ignore the urge I can't keep myself from the need to constantly be in touch with everything that is going on everywhere.

The need for constant stimulation seems to cross over into my daily life as well. When I try to take a moment to myself my mind immediately reminds me of all the other things I could and should be doing. I should be painting signs. Or the dishwasher hasn't been emptied yet. Never mind the load of laundry I started 4 hours ago but got too distracted to switch to the dryer. Day after day I go go go with the hope of catching up and getting everything done so that I can finally take a break. But even if that were to happen, would I able to enjoy it or would I find myself checking just one more thing on my phone. Or working on that final tweak for a new sign design.

I truly feel that this is because of the over stimulation that technology provides. My mind is always racing around things I've posted or seen on Facebook or Twitter. Will someone comment or like what I've said? Will we get positive feedback on that new item for The Little Giraffe? I can't even go to bed at night without working on blog posts in my head as I lay trying to fall asleep.

Does this realization mean that I will turn my phone and computer off every now and then and take a moment of pure silence to breathe and clear my head? I don't know, but I think I'll try because it would be nice to step back into the good old days for a few minutes every now and then.