Avoiding Rbbit Holes!

By Perry Rearick, Chief Editor, Follow Your Buyer

Last week’s thought was about the value of operating at a pace in both work and leisure that enables one’s senses to experience things that would otherwise go unnoticed and unlearned.

A good companion concept is avoiding rabbit holes, “ooh shiny” attractions that pull us off track and often waste time. And extricating ourselves from rabbit holes is challenging. Go ask Alice!

The origin of this meaning of rabbit holes is in Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. If you read it as a child, you would have enjoyed it as an amusing children’s story. As an adult, you may have gotten lost among all the symbolism and interpretations, feeling much like Alice did as she fell down the rabbit hole and entered a strange land. Who does that smiling cheshire cat really represent?

Rabbit holes are ever-present traps that can rob us of valuable time at work. They draw us away from our path and delay intended outcomes. The most obvious one is probably what you’re currently looking at, a laptop or smart phone, and perhaps you’re on a social media platform which is full of rabbit hole traps.

One of the best tools for avoiding rabbit holes is a to-do list. But as I mentioned in last week’s thought, you don’t want to be so wedded to your to-do list that you rush from one task to the next, feverishly ticking them off without any sense of quality or achieving desired outcomes.

One way to avoid rabbit holes and not be handcuffed to the idea of completing a to-do list, is to place a time limit or outcome on the things you do that present a higher risk of rabbit holes.

While social media communities offer great networking opportunities, hours can be wasted scrolling thought posts with nothing to show for it. Establish a specific amount of time on specific social media platforms each day. Or identify the ones that are most valuable in helping you succeed at work and go to those communities for insights, news, or tips that help.  

In the final words of the Jefferson Airplane hit song written by Grace Slick, feed your head and watch out for those rabbit holes.