What we let in
Distraction can be a good thing. Even relaxing.
Lately I’ve had a lot of kitten distraction. I swear my kitten [pic above] is possessed but when she sleeps — she’s the image of an angel. A distraction from the norm. Good input for the mind.
I recently read a blog post by one of my favorite author’s, Austin Kleon.
One thing that stood out for me was this by writer Ted Gioia…
Your output depends on your input
“ I think the most important skill anyone can develop is time management skills. How you use your day. But there is one principle I want to stress because this is very important to me. When people ask me for advice — and once again, this cuts across all fields — but this is the advice I give:
In your life, you will be evaluated on your output. Your boss will evaluate you on your output. If you’re a writer like me, the audience will evaluate you on your output. But your input is just as important. If you don’t have good input, you cannot maintain good output.
The problem is no one manages your input. The boss never cares about your input. The boss doesn’t care about what books you read. Your boss doesn’t ask you what newspapers you read. The boss doesn’t ask you what movies you saw or what TV shows or what ideas you consume.
But I know for a fact I could not do what I do if I was not zealous in managing high-quality inputs into my mind every day of my life. That’s why I spend maybe two hours a day writing. I’m a writer. I spend two hours a day writing, but I spend three to four hours a day reading and two to three hours a day listening to music.”
I never thought about input this way. What we allow into our minds is what influences our output. What we do day-to-day influences our output. It sounds logical and obvious, but until someone or something switches on that thought, one doesn’t really take note of the things we let in.
Letting in time to switch off from the norm. Just for a few minutes a day can influence your output for life. Reading other stories, unrelated to your work can influence or inspire a different perspective to your work.
Take note of what you let in.
