Last week my time was usurped in an unexpected, burdensome event. How did that happen? Could that have been avoided. In many ways it felt like a multi-day tug-of-war between the time suck and what I had planned for those days. Overall, the time-suck won, and the tasks planned for the days were thwarted.
How can I resist such an unpleasant assault on my time in the future?
First, the time suck occurred unexpectedly. The event took me by surprise. I didn't see it coming and it came on strong. Now I know that it's important to avoid that source of struggle, and that no matter how I try to diffuse the time suck from that source, it probably won't work. Avoidance is the best direction in this regard.
Also, looking back, when met with confusion about the situation, I probably should have taken a break from trying to understand what was going on and given myself a change of scenery--that may have shortened the time lost.
Probably, more than almost anything else, I love time--I love having the time to do what I choose and value, and when my time is stolen for unpleasant, unnecessary and confounding tasks, that frustrates me and takes me back.
So today marks a new start, and hopefully I'll be able to avoid this time suck when it happens again. Lesson learned.