Being a stay-at-home mother now who is trying to figure out my place in the world, I can honestly say that I have contracted the syndrome, known as Shiny Object Syndrome, or “SOS”! While I was not planning on it, was not looking for it, but even then, it happened…it is hard to avoid.

Shiny Object Syndrome

Shiny object syndrome, or “SOS”, is akin to a child getting distracted by shiny objects. Now, when it is a kid, it makes sense and they can get away with it at times, but as an adult who should be more productive, we cannot always slide.

Although, if you are a teacher and have ever tried to get the whole class’ attention at one time to teach them something, you know what I am talking about.

The name does not sound too bad. After all, who does not like a shiny object, right?

But then another shiny object catches your attention…and another…and another!

The next thing you know, hours have passed…days have passed…months have passed…and you are nowhere near the goals you had set for yourself.

Such as maybe getting a blog post out in a timely matter, from a personal point of view, to begin with.

Is there any hope?

Is there any cure?

Do I even want a cure? (insert creepy music here)

I have always been a procrastinator. My college roommate called me lackadaisical. Thanks, Wendy, I still remember that after all these years. Not sure if she does though.

After all, I would usually write my papers last minute and just sit down at my typewriter (yes, a typewriter, which for all you millennials was the precursor to Microsoft Word, except you did every edit yourself, but anyway, I digress).

See? Shiny object! Might be more than that in my case. I am just saying.

A procrastinator by nature with time on my hands after spending the last thirty years running from place to place, job to job, activity to activity, I have fought it when I needed to.

Even now, as I write this post about this, I am getting texts from a friend who is trying to get me to hang out with him, but I am going to resist it. I need to get better, to overcome this.

There are goals I have wanted to achieve. And I have sat at my computer many days throughout many weeks over many months’ time, and I do not feel anywhere near some of these goals that I had envisioned last year when I started out on this venture.

So, shiny object syndrome, or not, I must get better at these goals. There is a lot of time I have wasted on social media, that is for sure. It has its purpose, but it is so easy to click on whatever video to make you cry, or laugh, or think.

And my email box gets fuller each day. I signed up for a lot of “free” information that leads to emails in my box each day. But again, I need to resist. They have their purpose, but I need to allot the time.

The Solution for Me

I guess that what it comes down to is…discipline. It needs to come from me. If I was working full-time, I would not have a choice of visiting with a friend, scrolling on my phone, or reading marketing emails. I would be busy working.

That is where it gets easy to be distracted. What is the solution?

1. Set time aside for the frivolous things. If you try to avoid social media at all or binge-watching a show, odds are that it could lead to feelings of disappointment. If you set aside a certain amount of time, you would not feel deprived.
2. Allow yourself a certain amount of frivolous time. Set the timer on your phone to remind you to get off the phone.
3. Make a to-do list. I know it sounds simplistic but when I make a list with even three goals for the day, it helps me to at least work on each for a while. Do I achieve each one? Not all the time. But I work towards something instead of not doing anything.
4. Set short term goals. There are so many facets that I still need to learn about, in terms of blogging. In this past year, I have delved into some of them, but there are many more left to discover. I have achieved some of them, like designing my website and launching my blog.

*That was a huge goal and it took a long time. It started out as a short-term goal, but I was way behind on the technology curve.   

5. Take it one day at a time. Cliché’? Maybe, but it is still good advice. It can feel overwhelming at times when there are many projects that need to get done. It can lead to letting those shiny objects distract you.
6. There is a time and place for everything. Paraphrased a little from the Bible and the Byrds 1965 song, “Turn, Turn, Turn” but it still works, in this case. Driving yourself crazy with anxiety about finishing a project will not make you finish said project any faster.

The Big Finish

Sometimes, we need to give ourselves a break, physically, mentally and emotionally. I am not where I thought I would be at this point. I can blame Shiny Object Syndrome on some of it. I am easily distracted but it is on me if I have not reached my goals.

And my goals have changed along the way, as well. Life is changeable. One thing may lead to another (another song reference), but there are other times that one thing leads to another, and another, and another. It does not always go in a straight line, there are lots of tangents in life, and they may start out straight and end up in a star shape. Who knows?

And now I will allow myself 15 minutes to scroll mindlessly for finishing this post.

Oh wait, I need a picture first…and an email to my subscribers…and a post for my Facebook page…and to switch out the wash…ooh, was that a squirrel that just ran by…what to make for dinner…and the dog just threw up on the rug (unfortunately for me, that last one was real and did just happen). Yuck!

How about you? Any shiny objects distracting you from your goals? Any tips that have worked for you? Feel free to share what works for you. Comment below.