ISOLATION AS ART

Working alone, in isolation might be the greatest separator that distinguishes average from exceptional. Take note that I tend to laud my latest insights as “the greatest this or that”… You’ve been warned. I got a little “Captain Obvious” in me.

At any rate, I’ve always struggled with working alone even when the work has to do with my most invigorating activities. It’s hard for me to concentrate and before you blame it on the ADHD for which I’ve never been tested, you must know that my mind races before sleep, upon waking, even with the glimpse of a pictures that rouses nostalgic sentiments. The sound indicator that informs me of an incoming email or an instant message can be akin to a mild earthquake that shifts my entire focus from the necessary quadrant of work to the urgent but unimportant realm. And so the natural remedy would be quiet and yet the silence can be deafening for me as my mind creates that noise. You know how it is. There’s the tumultuous internal monologue of figuring what should be done first, last or at all…

“I didn’t write today’s blog post, but what about the Bible you meant to read this morning, Dude is your business plan done, oh…you told that client you’d call her back, should I do P90X today or go to the gym and rehab my knee, how’s the summer work lookin’, how in the world are you going to finally get the curriculum and book done…”

Mental mayhem is a euphemism. Then there are those moments of peace where the chair feels just right, the silence has turned from foe to friend and the thoughts are fluid. And just at that moment, my wife arrives home from work assuming I’ve been working hard all day when in fact I’ve been working hard just to clear the debris that impedes an orderly procession of ideas and activity. The upside is tremendous if you get this working for yourself and by yourself thing figured out. What works for you?