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This statement could not be more funny... and sadly... true:
Welcome to the 'joy' of entrepreneurship! *Actually as I think about this, it's ironic I'm writing something for you to read when it comes to this subject isn't it??? LOL* The misunderstood and unknown things that small business owners have to spend time and energy on, on a daily basis is very foreign for those who have never attempted owning/running a business. It's NOT a fun side of being a small business owner, that's for sure. It's maddening!
Exactly what this woman/business owner shared, is a statement that I guarantee has 100% of the entrepreurs out there nodding and saying "uh huh!" Our oldest daughter, who is also an enterpreneur, learned this very quickly in her business venture, and deals with this regularly as well. All business owners, I'm sure, do their best to respond in a professional and kind manner, but that's an energy sucking practice in itself at times.
~This is not a rant post. I could go on for days with stuff like this - but I won't. This post is a HEALTH post, and a reminder for all of us to SLOW DOWN and PRACTICE FOCUS.~
Although it's NEVER fun replying to messages, emails etc with answers that are completely available to the person asking the question (usually within the post or message), I truly believe this is not done on purpose. I truly believe it's a legitimate question, no matter how sad the situation may seem at times. I fully believe that WE (people) are becoming LESS capable of TAKING IN and RETAINING information, because we practice doing the complete opposite all too often.
I refer to this issue as a barrier, in a previous post and taking from Cal Newport's book, "Deep Work". We are in a world of ALL the information/knowledge (good and bad) we could ever want and/or need). Yet we are doing less and less with that knowledge. Rather than practicing taking things in, retaining and using information, we instead practice the art of MORE. Read something, maybe think "oh!" or "ah-ha" then quickly move on to the next bit of information.
We read SHORT, snippets of words. A few sentences or maybe a paragraph, then on to the next subject, picture, piece of info etc... In just a few minutes, we've already forgotten 50% or more of what we just took in.
I feel VERY strongly that this IS a HUGE ISSUE in our modern society. And as I often elude to, it comes down to what we practice most. In this case, many of us are reading, yes - but we're not reading with intention, focus or clarity even (because we don't practice reading in that way anymore).
If this is resonating with you and you're thinking "I do find myself not retaining things" or "I find it hard to read more than a paragraph at a time" here's a few quick ideas of practices you can begin to implement to improve that skill:
-Read a book DAILY. Ideally an old-school, physical book OR using an ereader device (not your phone or tablet - simply to avoid distraction). Read a chapter, 10 pages or for 10min or more... Just read. Nothing else.
-Limit your social media time each day to avoid practicing taking in "snippets" of information (good or bad).
-Slow down and take your time. We live in a rushed day to day world. Everything is quick and now. But that approach is impacting our ability to take in information. Conciously slow down and take your time when reading whatever you choose to read.
-Read 1-2 articles that are long form (3-5min or more to read).
-After you read a chapter or article, journal what you just read about. This can be done in sentences/paragraphs or point form. The exercise here is thinking about and processing what you just read rather than "how you're writing".
-If you're on social media and commenting or sending a question about the post you just read, make it a practice to take another 1-2min before sending anything to take a breath, and re-read what you just read to ensure you have the facts and information for what you're commenting on or asking.
-Incorporate more focused activities into your days, while eliminating distractions. Mental exercises such as puzzles, games, journaling, reading etc on a regular basis all help build your mental muscle to process and retain and stimulate creativity and imagination.