Time Spent Eavesdropping

Over the past few months I’ve told y’all about my struggle to focus on different tasks. When I began to , I researched several ways to stay focused.

I bought an iPod nano to record GMAT vocabulary. I limited my TV watching time to the morning news, at night when I’m going to sleep (I get jumpy when I don’t have it on and start hearing stuff) and Wednesday nights for

I also started listening to my music on my laptop when I work from

It was Tuesday when I had blown through my to-do list by 11 a.m. that I realized: I spend far too much time eavesdropping.

Without the conversations around me, I was able to focus. With the music coming from my laptop, I wasn’t going nuts from silence.

How do you stay focused?

I can’t help but wonder what I’m missing, though.

The lady next to me with the same haircut I have but styled better might be talking on the phone about how she fixes it. The barista might be talking about how to make the perfect coffee.

How many story ideas am I missing?

Quite frankly, my life is boring. I do my job, keep my house clean, follow all the rules, follow all the instructions, eat healthy, get eight hours of sleep each night and exercise regularly. It’s almost painfully boring. , but I’m waiting to see if the basset my parents rescued is pregnant. Take my word: Nothing is cuter than a basset hound puppy.

I need those little nuggets of gossip, the good stories I hear, the drama that goes on. And yet, I’m burning a hole in my to-do list without them.

I know it’s wrong, but I love eavesdropping.

Yesterday, this girl and her daddy were sitting next to me, and she said she wanted this jacket but couldn’t afford it. Her dad said, “Just tell me where I can get it.”

That’s what my daddy does.

Plus, you can almost always jump into a Bible study at Starbucks.

Then the other day I was next to this sweet little old lady who talked like she was from Harlem. I swear, it was so hard for me not to laugh at her. She was adorable.

How am I supposed to give that up?