Here I am, no job, no kids, no house payment, living in a garage....
I need to spend this time updating my skills so I can resume some sort of income stream.
However, I am easily distracted by shiny trinkets and things that make me say, "huh?"

How about some advice from you out there with experience past college, and past years of work, or whatever your experience may be, on staying focused when trying to learn linux 'stuff'. I can start reading a chapter in whatever book and before the first two or three paragraphs I usually hit a spot where I say, WTF?, and trail off down some tangent before I can move on. So I always seem to be on wild goose chases and find it hard to get back to where I was to begin with. I start surfing the web for answers and then start going through the forums and get off track and then it's midnight.

And usually, when I start feeling stressed out, I disconnect all 7 of my computers, move them to the other side of the room, rearrange the furniture, and then move them all back and put them in different spots. I really find that therapeutic. Maybe it's time for them to put me in the 'home'.

I guess it's just a matter of time and sticking with it, but if you have any techniques or devices that you use to facilitate the process of staying focused when dealing with this phenomenon we call linux then fire away. It's been 13 years since I was in college, not that I had good study habits back then either.

Constructive replies welcome.

Thanks...

:}

Well, it's all in your power. You might have
to "weight" the importance of the links that you
follow, and make a decision on how much time
you're willing to waste "mucking around" ... a
simple device like a tea-timer or a count-down
clock for boiling eggs might be a practical
appliance to get you back on track.

If you decide the link is HIGHLY important, put
it in some sort of to-do list (will take no longer
than 30 seconds). Your brain will certainly allow
you to catch-up on why you came there in
the first place later on.

Buy a book on time-management. Give up the idea
that getting side-tracked is innate and you can't do
anything about it, it's just a bad habbit, really. ;}

Cheers,
Tink