Introduction
Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you'll hear part 4 of my conversation with Kyla. Up until now we've been talking about the book Daily Rituals by Mason Currey. But in this part of the conversation we digress [go off topic] and talk about dealing with distractions and interruptions when we're trying to work. That's one of the fun things about conversations: you never know where they are going to go!

What kind of things do you find distracting when you are trying to work or study? How do you feel when you get interrupted when you're trying to concentrate? Do you think you have anything in common with Kyla and me? Listen to the conversation and find out!

If you want to read along as you listen, you can download the full transcript, including a bonus vocabulary lesson at betteratenglish.com/transcripts.

After the conversation I'll be back with three questions you can use for speaking practice.

OK, let's get on with the conversation!


Conversation transcript

Lori: Yeah, it's, I think, really important. I found that it kind of made me feel a little bit better about myself because I find that if I'm going to sit down and do something, maybe not necessarily– necessarily creative, but that really requires my full attention and concentration, I cannot handle distractions and interruptions...

Kyla: Yeah, yeah.

Lori: ...at all.

Kyla: They've even done studies where, I think when you're trying to do something, every distraction, it takes you about 15 minutes to get back...

Lori: Right.

Kyla: ...to what you were doing? Like, that's the amount of time it takes your brain to handle, "There's been a distraction! What was I doing before? Where was I? Oh yes, here we are..."

Lori: Yeah. It's –

Kyla: "...now we're going again." And so that, having that sort of place to make sure that no distractions bother you.

Lori: Yeah, it's really important. And I think nowadays, you know, people with families, and not to mention just our little devices going off and pinging us all the time. You know, it's– it's getting harder and harder to create that– that block of undisturbed, focused, uninterrupted time for yourself, I think.

Kyla: It is. It– it really is. And I was, you know – Google just had their...just released their news on their, sort of their new gadgets; the new Android, the new apps they're coming up with.

Lori: Okay.

Kyla: And one of the things they're doing is they're trying to integrate all of your electronic devices so that if somebody calls you on your phone, it will alert you on your laptop.

Lori: Nooo!

Kyla: And I was just like, "That's a terrible idea!" [laughs]

Lori: It's...I think it's a horrible idea.

Kyla: Like, in order to get anything done, you pretty much have to disconnect from the internet if it's not required for what you're doing. [laughs]

Image courtesy of Wilengebroed on flickr.comLori: Yeah, totally. And you know, I've really come full circle when it comes to things like the internet and being connected in social media. I mean, in the beginning back in, well let's say, 10 years ago when it was still fresh and new and people were talking about web 2.0., it was this fantastic thing.

And now I find, oh my god, I just, I don't want all that distraction and all those little tiny calls to my attention throughout the day that I've almost become anti- [laughs] internet. Which is, I mean, there's some kind of irony there because I also am running a website, and of course I want people to look at my website and listen to the podcasts. So it's kind of a, um – yeah, almost hypocritical but...

Kyla: No, I'm the same. I mean, for...and I'm sort of like, I'm not a...I'm a great– I'm a great social person in person but I'm not– I'm not entirely sold on this social networking business. But I'm a musician! [laughs] So...

Lori: Yeah.