Dylan Waugh

My bucket list was pretty short: Run a marathon and write a book. The book is a long way off—I'll need to come up with something to write about first—but for several years I've thought somewhat seriously about running a marathon. I kept putting it off because I didn't think I had the time to train. But finally, last summer, I signed up for my first marathon. I figured life was only going to get busier, so this was my shot. I set a goal of running the marathon in under 4 hours, which is a popular target for amateur runners. It's sufficiently difficult to be an impressive accomplishment, but it's also attainable. I knew that I'd only have one chance to run a marathon—at least until my kids were in college—so I was laser focused on breaking 4 hours in this race. I paced my training runs accordingly, and I told family and friends about my goal. I was confident I was capable of breaking 4 hours, but I didn't know whether I'd actually be able to do i...

Recently I've been reading and thinking about how difficult it is to focus today, and I wanted to share some things I've learned: It has never been easier to be distracted.  I think Morgan Housel is right on when he says that " technology has pushed the cost of distraction to zero. "  He  means that it takes virtually no time, effort, or money  to switch from whatever you're doing to a distraction .  Within  seconds, and without any added financial cost, you can use your phone, tablet, or computer  to chat  with friends , browse multiple social media sites, watch TV, shop, check email, etc.  And our phones don't wait for us to check them—they  serenade  us with dings and flashing alerts.   Housel  points out that in the past, in order to be distracted, you had to do something. You had to  call someone, turn on a TV, pick up a book, go somewhere, etc. Getting distracted took a little time, effort, or mo...