What Steals Your Attention?

“Well…that was 38 minutes of my day I won’t get back.”

I picked up my phone to look for one thing.

An email about a school field trip for my boys.

That’s all I needed.

But somewhere along the way, I got pulled in.

A post.
A story.
Another story.

Before I knew it, I was looking at someone else’s vacation.
Their interior decorating. Their kid’s birthday party. Their life lately.

And just like that, I wasn’t thinking about the field trip anymore.

My mind was going in a lot of different directions that I hadn’t consciously chosen.

Finally, I put my phone down…and shockingly, I didn’t feel any better.

Honestly, I felt a little discontent.
A little bit of jealousy.
And a little frustrated that I had just lost time in my day. Again.

Nothing about my life had changed in those 38 minutes.

But something inside me had.

The Shift We Don’t Always Notice

It’s easy to brush past moments like that.

To move on with the day.
To pick up the next task.
To not think too much about it.

But I’ve started noticing something.

A seed was planted. So small it’s barely noticeable…but it’s there.

A thought that wasn’t there before.
A feeling that lingers a little longer than it should.
A subtle sense of discontent that’s hard to name.

And the frustrating part is we unwillingly consented to introducing those thoughts and feelings into our day.

What Is This Producing In Me?

When it comes to what we consume, instead of asking, “Is this good or bad?”

I’ve been asking a different question:

What is this producing in me right now?

Not in a big, life-altering way.

Just in the moment.

Because that’s where we feel it first.

That moment of comparison.
That restlessness.
That slight dissatisfaction.

That’s the fruit.

The Fruit Of The Moment

I’m not talking about the fruit of your whole life.

Just the fruit of the moment.

What shows up in you after you take something in.

Because when I compare that 38 minutes of scrolling to other moments in my day…

The difference is clear.

A walk outside.
A meaningful conversation with my husband.
Sitting across from a friend with a cup of coffee.
Laughing with my boys.

That fruit feels different. It feels life-giving.

And scripture tells us of what kind of fruit nourishes us instead of drains us. The fruit of the Spirit is…

“Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
— Galatians 5:22–23

What We’re Taking In

To be clear, this isn’t about blaming technology. I’m not telling you to delete all your social media accounts and drop Netflix.

And it’s certainly not intended to invoke feelings of shame.

It’s coming from a softer place.

It’s truly just an invitation to notice what you’re consuming is doing.

It shapes how we think.
It shapes how we feel.
It shapes how we move through the rest of our day.

And most of the time, we don’t even realize it’s happening.

We’re constantly taking something in.

Voices.
Images.
Opinions.
Expectations.

And all of it is influencing us in some way.

An Invitation To Pay Attention

There’s a reason Scripture reminds us:

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - think about such things.”
— Philippians 4:8

Not as a rule.

But as an invitation.

Because what we think about…
What we dwell on…
What we fill our minds with…

Shapes what’s happening inside of us and then pours out to the people around us.

Take Inventory

So instead of trying to change everything all at once…

Just simply start with noticing. Approach it with a posture of curiosity.

What am I taking in most often?
How do I feel after I’ve consumed it?
What is it producing in me?

This is a practice I’ve been paying more attention to. I’ve noticed that I tend to consume more than I create and I don’t love the fruit that it’s producing.

So if you find yourself distracted and scrolling more times than you’d like in the day - you’re in good company friend.

The first step is to simply notice.

With you in the practice,

Melina

Melina is the founder of Melina Kane Coaching, a certified Christian Life Coach in Texas (servicing Austin, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Georgetown, and Pflugerville). She loves helping Christian women anchor their homes, hearts, and habits in God’s design for their life. She’s an Enneagram 2 + recovering perfectionist who’s never met a stranger, so come say Hi! on Instagram @melinakanecoaching.