Things have come a long way from then and there are stories that fill the decade of time before, but ultimately we have become a society of multi-taskers. We multi-task almost every minute of every day. Well, maybe I should speak for me as opposed to everyone. But, I do know that I always have multiple projects on my desk (and desktop) every moment of every day.

Invariably, the struggle ensues when the deadline approaches. There have been a number of posts here relating to this particular phenomenon. Deadlines have a way of creating a clearer lens for us, they force us to "Hunker down," "Put our nose to the grindstone;" pick your favorite cliche.

Sometimes it is good to turn it all off for a while. Remember the last time you lost electrical power? Now, for the first few minutes, it's really annoying and you are scrambling to save anything that could be lost and shutdown programs before your battery backup runs out of juice. But then there we are left in this almost complete silence. The really cool and fascinating thing about that silence is that is when the ideas start rolling in. That's when the pad and pencil come out and you sit next to a window for light and you calmly and clearly scratch out ideas. It's in that silence where creation is born.

I know exactly how you feel when you know you should be focusing on something and aren't.

Is it called procrastination? I think that it's the way we are wired.

I know for example that if I had to do something which I normally thoroughly enjoy when I do it spontaneously, it would instantly become a chore.

And the e-mail thing is a problem for me too and most people that I know. I guess we want to know at all times if there is something new in our mailbox.

More often than not, at least for me it is a junk mail. But the possibility of an anticipated e-mail which can come at any time is irresistible.

I also work more in bursts and then I don't know when to stop.

Can we ever achieve the right balance?

Perhaps not but I'll keep on trying.

Vance

In ten years… you're right, the distractions are going to be monument. Scary.

At least you got the blog post done, and that contributes to your objectives too.

The main thing is to keep going and consider your time well used if it advances one of your many important objectives.

I read on doshdosh.com that she uses an egg timer and seriously manages her time in increments. I tried that but am too damn stubborn to stop in the middle of something when it goes off…which leads to another 30 minutes or more on that activity.

FML – hate to see how unproductive I'll be in 10 years….

Or maybe the digital natives just have a different standard for productivity. I mean seriously, who else in that coffee shop is doing anything productive?