Harvard Publications - Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life

“Smith Fiddles with BlackBerry While Senate Burns!” read one headline.

“Blame it on the BlackBerry!” crowed another.

Wrong—blame it on distraction. What cost Smith dearly, and plunged one of the largest states in America into one of the worst constitutional crises in its nearly 235-year history, was (besides maybe some bad manners) a lack of focus, divided attention.

The problem isn’t limited to the United States, either. One of the biggest scandals in the British tabloids in 2010—right up there with Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson’s admission that she accepted bribes to give business officials access to her influential ex-husband—involved a union official who, during emergency meeting negotiations with British Airway officials hoping to avoid a strike, sent Twitter messages—some at the rate of three or four an hour. When airline officials found out he was tweeting while they were supposed to be talking, they were furious; the negotiations broke down and the strike was on, disrupting travel plans for thousands of people on one of the world’s biggest airlines. “Twitter Blamed for Wrecking British Airway Peace Talks,” screamed London’s Daily Telegraph on its front page. Again, the wrong culprit: Twitter is not to blame. Rather, it’s a brain unable to stay focused even in a critical meeting that demonstrates an inability to put down a handheld device and look another human in the eye.

Still, at least, Malcolm Smith and the British union official weren’t behind the wheel of a car. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that at least 25 percent of all auto crashes involve some sort of driver distraction—and there are those who believe this number is steadily climbing as those distractions multiply with the addition of each new mobile communications device, every cell phone feature, every new satellite radio station, every new sign on the road.

But are the signs, the phones and the stations themselves really the problem? Once again, no.

The problem is that we can’t deal with them. The problem is that we can’t focus. The problem is that we’re overwhelmed and disorganized, and the net effect of the Distraction Crisis can be felt in the workplace, at home and in our individual health.

Some other distressing distraction-related statistics:

Forty-three percent of Americans categorize themselves as disorganized, and 21 percent have missed vital work deadlines. Nearly half say disorganization causes them to work late at least two times each week. 1 Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

A lack of time management and discipline while working toward [financial] planners’ professional goals contributes to 63 percent of those surveyed facing obstacles regarding their health. There is a direct correlation between too much stress, deteriorating health and poor practice management. 2 Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

Forty-eight percent of Americans feel that their lives have become more stressful in the past five years. About one-half of Americans say that stress has a negative impact on both their personal and professional lives. About one-third (31 percent) of employed adults have difficulty managing work and family responsibilities. And over one third (35 percent) cite jobs interfering with their family or personal time as a significant source of stress. 3 Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

In a Gallup poll, 80 percent of workers said they feel stress on the job, nearly half said they need help in learning how to manage stress and 42 percent said their coworkers need help coping with stress. Job stress can lead to several problems, including illness and injury for employees, as well as higher insurance costs and lost productivity for employers. 4 Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80 percent of our medical expenditures are now stress-related. 5 Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

Seventy percent of employees work beyond scheduled time and on weekends; more than half cited “self-imposed pressure” as the reason. 6 Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.