Distracted-

Keep that Focus!

Wait, what were you saying? Distractions- the world is full 'em, and sometimes they make us feel like we're fighting tooth and nail to accomplish even the simplest of tasks. Writing is no exception when it comes to distractions and it is easy to find oneself interrupted in the process of writing a paper. There's a reason that "How to Write a College Paper" jokingly lists 36 distractions that might befall a college student before they actually start writing. (and this list isn't far from the truth I've found!) Distractions are no doubt the reason students bring long, long papers into consultations rather than sending them via email in advance, and the reason some consultations go awry.

We've seen how distractions have undermined the effectiveness of the consultation in many of the readings. Steve Sherwood for example in his "Apprenticed to Failure: Learning from the Students We Can't Help" noted that distractions might have been what doomed his consultations with the learning disabled Byron. He said, "But as I commented about particular aspects of his paper, Byron frequently stopped the tape, rewound it, and replayed my earlier remarks. These unpredictable interruptions were unnerving and derailed my train of thought. I would leave out points I'd intended to mention and lose touch with insights I'd had about his essays"(Sherwood, 1). Similarly he later quotes an excellent tutor who'd felt she had failed during a consultation recalling, "We got interrupted a few times by people needing help with their computers, so by the time we finally got to the end, I didn't even remember the beginning of the paper. Then he asked me if I had learned something from his paper. I just went blank. I couldn't even think of the last sentence I had read. It made me feel really bad, and like I hadn't been paying attention or didn't care. I just felt like I handled the whole tutorial wrong, and I could tell he was really disappointed"(Sherwood, 54). In fact I've seen this effect first-hand in a consultation that shadowed just this week. We were stuck in the waiting room because another consultation was taking place in the writing center room. As the consultant read the paper at least a handful of people stopped through the hallway and many tried to stop and chat with the consultant. Clearly distractions are something we need to pay better attention to (no irony intended!) since both of the former distracted consultations crop up in an article that so plainly deals with writing consultations that have been claimed as failures. 

The areas of the brain (prefrontal) that are necessary to resist distractions are exactly the same areas that are needed keeping information in mind. It looks like a direct competition. 

Amani, the consultant I shadow, dealt with these distractions in the only and best way possible: she acknowledged the people that came through but let them go like obstructive thoughts, focusing on what mattered at the moment- the student's paper. Not suprisingly her consultation was a success, and both she and the student left the consultation confident that good and helpful things had been accomplished. 


In yoga during Savasana (final relaxation) one is told to acknowledge thoughts, and let them pass on by like clouds. I believe this is the best way to treat distractions. Like yoga, focus takes practice but hopefully fall of next year my mind will be ready to power through consultations of any difficulty or length confidently, calmly and focused. 

"How to Write a College Paper"  http://asil.logicalinsanity.ca/300college%20paper.html