September 16, 2019 0 Comments Advice, Featured

Take Your Time…

Whatever You Think is Urgent Can Wait!

In 2019, we’re distracted more than ever. Whether it’s by commercials, refreshing your IG feed, or seeing the latest meme on Twitter, distractions come in many forms & fashions. But why?

Answer: We live in a culture where we feel that we need to do everything now, and it can’t wait. We need to reply to that email, watch that show, or respond to that text the second we read it. While nothing is wrong with being on top of these things, they all have one thing in common: There’s a time and a place.

Replying to that email quickly isn’t a problem (just make sure to check for errors). Watching your favorite TV show immediately as it becomes available? I’m definitely guilty of binging a series the weekend it becomes available on Netflix. However, calls/text messages? Now that’s where you have to be careful. Returning calls/text messages the moment you get them can be dangerous for a few reasons. Consequences of responding TOO quickly: 1) Being too eager is not attractive, and 2) You might type/say the wrong thing, and then she’ll never call you back and you have to start with someone new from square one. (Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.)

All of these actions require the utmost attention, and unfortunately many try to do this while driving which is a dangerous situation. Driving requires 100% of our attention, as do accurately completing the aforementioned tasks. Solution? Don’t do them at the same time!

Driving is hard enough with everything and everyone on the road, but when you add a distracted driver to the equation? That equals trouble for a disaster.

Social media has always forced us to try to look for “content” to post on our channels, and unfortunately many try to do this while driving as well. Most of us Millennials think that we’re invincible (I’d be lying if I didn’t have that thought before) but obviously this is far from the truth. If we’re doing anything other than focusing on the road when our hands are at ten & two, we’re distracted.

Companies have tried to put all the safety measures they can in place to help you remain undistracted while driving through auto responses, or the “Do Not Disturb” function. Life Hack: Make your co-pilot do the work; they’re not doing anything! I’m sure they can change the radio, or respond to that urgent text in your place! Trust me, if I’m going to chauffeur someone around, the least they can do is be my assistant so I can make sure we arrive to our destination unharmed. My tips for undistracted driving? 1) Put your phone on silent, 2) Put it out of sight so you’re not tempted, or my personal favorite 3) Make your co-pilot your personal secretary for the duration of the drive.

What role do you play? Don’t contribute to the problem! Over 83% of people admit to driving distracted. Keyword: ADMIT. (Given the drivers in downtown Chicago, it could easily be higher than this.) Just know whatever notification, song change, or breakup threat text you receive isn’t the end of the world, it can wait. I encourage you to take the pledge and speak up! Repeat after me: “I will not drive distracted.” Plus spoiler alert: Bossing your co-pilot around is kinda awesome, I suggest you try it out 😉 Take the pledge here: http://bit.ly/2kaKplr