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Let’s catch some sound waves!
Overland Park, Kan. – June 21, 2018 – Time is a construct. It’s flexible. It’s emotional. Time can fly by, or it can stand still. When you get zoned into your work, it can seem like no time has passed, but you look up and the sun is setting. Or, if you’re in a meeting where the most-used term is click-thru rate, it can feel like you’re in all the slow motion parts in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
No matter how long or short time may feel, we still only have 24 hours in a day. Eight to 16 hours in a work day (depending on the day). And no matter what, in that amount of time you are going to be tempted to get distracted. Sometimes distractions can be good. A quick walk around the building can clear your mind or give you new perspective on a project. Some distractions are bad. Arguing over what year in the 90’s was better for movies for 50 minutes before lunch may not be the most productive way to spend your time. Besides, there’s no point in arguing about it, it was ‘93. Jurassic Park, Super Mario Bros., Dazed and Confused, Schindler’s List, Sandlot, Tombstone, Gilbert Grape, Hocus Pocus, ETC ETC ETC.
Another huge distraction in the workplace is March Madness. There’s the two weeks of pre-bracket talk. Then one or two days of talking about how everyone else’s bracket is so terrible and there’s no way Ohio State is going to win, Megan, but keep picking them. Then all the weeks after where everyone is talking about how busted their bracket is. Then there’s the watching of the games, whether it’s sanctioned game watching on community TVs or it’s no-one’s-around-unhide-my-internet-window watching that everyone thinks they are really good at but is always pretty obvious. Think about it, you stop typing. That’s the giveaway. Someone walks up behind you and they know you aren’t typing. What do you think they think you’re doing? Just sitting there thinking about how many times you saw Addams Family Values, Demolition Man or Carlito’s Way?
Here are some ways to avoid distractions in the workplace.
- Put your cellphone in your pocket. You don’t have to check it every time you get a text or feel a new email or snap come in. It’s too tempting to get lost in.
- Put headphones on when you need to zone-in. There doesn’t even need to be music playing, they are more so others won’t randomly ask your opinion on conversations. Sure, someone may be wrongly stating that ‘99 was the best year for films because “The Matrix” changed everything, but Max knows he’s wrong. I guess you are the only human who didn’t enjoy Cool Runnings, The Firm, and Philadelphia.
- Set aside designated times to discuss things and goof off. That way you don’t go accidentally over.
- Most importantly, don’t say anything to Alex or Tom, or any other creative writer about anything ever. They are a distraction vortex ready to suck you in.
And yes, distractions will happen, and sometimes they are a time-suck and negative. Just like when the pilot was distracted and caused a soccer team to become cannibals (Alive, ‘93). But sometimes great ideas come from times of distraction. Great ideas like when a kid heading down the wrong path was distracted at school, got in trouble, and then met a whale whom he later freed into the ocean (Free Willy, ‘93). Or when a father found himself too distracted by having a good time to be a responsible partner to his wife, leading to a divorce and elaborate scheme to get close to his children again (Mrs. Doubtfire, ‘93). Even great blog posts can come from distractions, just like this one was supposed to be about sound editing in film, until we started debating the best year for movies in the ‘90s.
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Written by Steven Ringel, Videographer/Editor
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