Losing Focus
I am a big proponent of deep reflective thinking. I believe critical thinking is essential to learning. My process for this has always been to read, think, read, converse, think again and then write. That is not happening lately I can’t seem to focus long enough on any part of the process. Back in December I wrote about removing digital clutter to help me focus that did not help much, I find I have even less of an ability to focus on any one thought now.
I struggle to follow a line of thought to its natural conclusion. That deep reflective satisfying process eludes me. I can’t seem to get out of research mode, I click here I click there and I get nowhere.
I feel like a puppy in a yard full of squirrels.
I rediscovered an article Is Google Making Us Stupid which describes the phenomena I am experiencing. It is well worth the read. I hate to admit that it took me a few tries to get through the article – I kept getting distracted.
One thought on “Losing Focus”
I feel you on this one! I know exactly what you are describing. I read the article by Nicholas Carr on “Is Google making Us Stupid” and I admit that I couldn’t finish it. Not for lack of time or interest, but just from lack of constant change. We need that now that we have had the Web for so long. I constantly find myself switching between different tabs on my computer: From homework, to Facebook, to blogging, to email, to iHeart Radio, to Pinterest… and the list goes on and on. You aren’t alone. As teachers we need to teach our selves and our students why putting the computer down sometimes is good for us. How often can we make it through a whole dinner with our friends without picking our cell phone up oncec to look for a text message? It’s getting sad.