I know it’s not just me. I know there are plenty of folks out there who are easily distracted. One moment you’re focused on a task, then all of the sudden, “SQUIRREL!” If you’ve seen the Disney film, Up, you know exactly what I’m referring to.  There are many great lessons in this movie, however seeing squirrel is one aspect of the film that rings true with me on a daily basis.  The dog in the film is able to talk due to a device on his collar that a mad genius invented and placed on him. No matter what the dog is doing, no matter how important the task, anytime a he sees a squirrel, he hollers “SQUIRREL!” and his focus shifts completely.  Now, this is funny, but the point here, is that he is easily distracted. 

How many of us have daily ‘squirrels’ or daily distractions that keep us from any given task at hand? I mean, a squirrel could be an email, a text, an employee, a woman, ANYTHING that we see out of the corner of our eye that easily gets to us…good or bad.  I’m not saying that all squirrels are bad.  Some squirrels give us inspiration. We need the squirrels in our life, but we have to keep them in check. Ultimately, we don’t want the squirrels to cause dis-coordination, because dis-coordination can wreak havoc on the goals we set out to accomplish.

So, what if squirrels are not the issue? What if you deal with folks who thrive on tunnel vision, the extreme opposite? The place where they are so entirely closed off, almost too focused on the task at hand to really hear any outside input. People who are prone to this end of the spectrum can easily miss out on an opportunity to learn and grow that could actually help IMPROVE the task. I know I have dealt with people like this. They can be very frustrating to talk to. Perhaps they even ignore you altogether. Are there people like this in your life?

What I have found over the years, even in dealing with all my distractions, is there is a fine line to draw between chasing squirrels and developing tunnel vision. Seeing squirrels can create value. Recognition of the right squirrel at the right time is the key.