Time in a Bottle

Here's a suggestion. Make a list of all the digital devices, products, and services you use every day. Even if you don't use a smart phone--I don't--your list is still a long one.  Laptop, cell phone, GPS, Facebook, PDA, Gmail, Skype, iTunes, Twitter, pocket video camera, YouTube, GoogleDocs. . . and the list goes on. And on. And on.  The Age of Digital Distraction is here!  And from the looks of things, it's here to stay.

It's ironic that a lot of that digitalization was actually intended to save our time, not zap it.  How many people do  you know who set a timer in their cell phones as a reminder? How many people buy postage online to avoid standing in lines at the post office? Would you agree that sending an email or posting on Facebook is a faster way to communicate?  But the constant use of these otherwise helpful devices, products, and services has changed the way we view our time.  It has become blatantly evident that we are engaged in a battle for time.  This battle is waged every day in my classroom, and it is a battle that must be managed at all costs.

The battle for time is actually a battle for attention.  Even at my bank, a sign hangs in the window that reads Do not use cell phones while in line, please.  That's a direct request.  It's appalling that it's even necessary to remind people to be attentive to the task at hand.  So the battlefield for the attention of others is waged on many fronts.  The workplace, the medical facility, the highways.  Even my most intimate friends are more likely to interrupt our time together in order to answer a cellphone.  I've grown tired of having my time with that person intruded upon, often multiple times during a single meeting.

If I sound too dramatic, it's because the problem is a large and complicated one.  This problem is complicated because it adds a dimension, a new mindset, for the way people view time.  And by that I mean the way they view the anticipation of time passing, the concept of estimating time required to complete a goal, and the belief that attention can be diverted during the completion of a task with the expectation that the same results will be achieved.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not about to give up my laptop or email or GoogleDocs, or anything else I use.  But I have been affected by the overuse of these things just like my students are affected.  I know it's a real problem.  So what is the solution?  Or should I say solutions?

I recently read a book called the Pomodoro Technique.  It's a short book, available from the website, that can be read in about an hour.  After reading it, I decided to give it a try.  On Monday, I will begin to use the Pomodoro Techinique in my ninth-grade classroom.  We start a new semester on that day.  It's like having a new slate, a new start, a new opportunity.  Stay tuned.  The battle begins.