Customer Reviews

Defeating the 8 Demons of Distraction

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Geraldine Markel, Ph.D. gets right to the point in "Defeating the 8 Demons of Distraction" by identifying them all right in the introduction to the book. The first chapter follows with a summary of each one and the remainder of the book focuses a sharp eye on each one individually.

The layout of the text is visually pleasing and the natural speaking tone of the text enables the reader to focus on the content of the words without being distracted by a stuffy style. At 155 pages, the concepts are concentrated rather than watered down with unnecessary verbiage. Markel clearly edited carefully to allow the reader to absorb the strategies and think about how to apply them personally. Using lists and bullets facilitates remembering the points associated with each distraction demon and the detailed Resources section leads the reader to sources to study a particular demon of interest in more detail.

Some of the demons are as familiar as a bowl of Cheerios in the morning: stress, fatigue, procrastination. Others I hadn't thought of as distractions until reading Markel's book. Defeating the Technology Demon is a good example. I hadn't realized how the tools of technology can actually hinder rather than help until I read this book. My ignorance of how much time I spend searching through cluttered computer files and locating forgotten logins/passwords wasn't bliss. A gift that comes with a USB connection delights me but learning how to use the gadget can certainly be a distraction. Markel gives me some sensible tips on taming this demon.

Another chapter addresses distractions that come from others. I think this demon is the largest of the bunch and the most difficult to tame. The author says "Many people know what they need to do to decrease distractions, increase attention, and improve performance at work, home, or school. Almost in the same breath, however, they give you a laundry list of excuses regarding why they can't change." How true! Markel casts a tough eye on how to deal with the "others" distraction.

Dealing with illness and medication is another under-realized distraction and the author offers some very practical strategies for managing both personal illness and the effects of caring for others who are ill. A common theme throughout the book is that every distraction directly impacts a person's productivity in some way or other. Multiple distractions contribute significantly to an individual's stress level and learning to deal appropriately with them yields immediate results in lowering that stress level.

I didn't realize that hyper focus, what I think of as tunnel vision, could be a distraction. Markel does a good job of raising awareness of how this demon impacts others as well as the individual who favors this demon. The "racing mind", as she terms it, has kept many of us awake at night, thus feeding yet another demon, the demon of fatigue. Bookmark the demon buster list for frequent reference.

Defeating the 8 Demons of Distraction is a practical reference guide in an easy to read and digest style. It is however, more of a primer than a deep study of each of these energy interrupters so reader beware that you will need resources beyond this one to fully explore the distractions you are most interested in dispelling.

Review by Paula Buermele, a reviewer for Bookpleasures and author of the fictional novel, "The Dream Catcher Tour".

All of us get distracted at times. However, when the distractions become one too many and thus disrupt our work, our homes, our live style etc., stress is the result. Our jobs and our family life get affected adversely. All of us would have wished at some time or other that we had a good mentor and coach to guide us how to deal with the battle against the demons of distraction. This book is an answer to our wishes.

In a short space of 10 Chapters spread over 138 pages, Geraldine Markel takes us through a seminar on the 8 Demons of Distraction and successful strategies to fight and defeat the demons. The book can be read in about a day of say 8 to 10 hours with short breaks for tea and lunch. Thus it is like attending a 1-day seminar. However, you need not travel and spend money on hotels etc. In the comfort of your home, you can read and reread the book and thus save a lot of time, energy and money!

If the above sounds like a sales pitch, I may be forgiven but I was really impressed with the simple, lucid and reader-friendly style of the book. I was delighted with the case studies presented by the author and was inspired by the success stories when the people practiced the strategies presented in the book. So, if you practice what you read, you too are sure to succeed. Here are a few chapter titles: The 8 Demons of Distraction, Your Attention Reservoir and Arsenal, Defeating the Technology Demon, Defeating the Others Demon etc. Chapter 10 is a good summary of the strategies. Check the excerpts from the book or check it at a near by brick and mortar bookstore.

Normally management and self-help books are not easy to read, especially since I have a rather short attention span! However, the highly readable style of this book held my attention sufficiently so that I could read it in the space of a few days after going home from a long day's work.

This book would make a good present to any one (employee, home maker, business man, student), who finds that distractions are affecting their lives adversely. So, buy it for yourself and or some one you care for.

I would have preferred the book to be hard-bound to withstand multiple reading sessions.

We are all much too busy managing our work, home and public service duties, but Geri Markel's book is there to help us get through the rough spots. Markel's insight into what causes us to be much less efficient (even more than we realize) and how to get over those hurdles is a must read. Just when you think you've got your day all planned out, and your about to accomplish some very important tasks along comes one of those `demons' that makes you say, "Where did all the time go?" Now you'll be able to recognize when you're losing it and just how to stop the loss before your day is shot. Thanks Geri for this great guide to better management