Mike Vardy

Spinning Ben Folds’ What Matters Most on teal vinyl this afternoon and honestly? This is the most productive I’ve felt all week. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your work is step away from it for a side and a half.

(Also — teal vinyl. Come on. That’s just objectively great.)

There are three things pulling you away from your work... and they’re not the same thing.

Swipe to see the difference. ➡️

DISTRACTION interrupts your pattern. But once you recognize it, you have agency over it. You can name it, contain it, and stop it from pulling you off course again.

DISRUPTION is external. A fire alarm. Someone walking in. An unexpected event you didn’t invite and couldn’t predict. It shows up rarely — but it still takes you off track.

DIVERSION is what happens when neither gets resolved. When you don’t have a way back to focus and concentration, you drift — and suddenly you’re wondering how you ended up so far from where you started.

Knowing the difference is the first step to dealing with each one on its own terms.