What are your top 5 distractions? What keeps you from doing what you need to be doing? What steals your time, energy, thoughts, and most productive hours from you?

Will and I recently visited with his grandparents, whom I have affectionally adopted as my very own since all my g-parents are dancing in heaven. I adore them. They are in their 80's, they love one another, and they live such a simple life. While we were in their sweet home (that they have owned for somewhere around 40-50 years, by the way), I purposefully left my iPhone in the other room. I feel that it's rude to pick up your iPhone and look at it every 30 seconds when you are trying to truly spend time with them. Unfortunately, I find myself doing that out of habit anyway, even when I don't want to.

Anyway, we sat at their kitchen table, talking, for over 3 hours. Pure conversation!  I began to miss my iPhone and my "connectedness" to the outside world. Shameful, I know. And then I got to thinking... what was it like for them?  The only "computer" they had access to growing up was a calculator. The only phone they had access to what their home phone. The way they stayed connected was through dinner parties, occasional phone calls, and written letters. They lived such rich lives.

Then I began to think about how our current tech-savvy culture has really cheapened our lives. We sacrifice real relationships for "online communities."   Sure, it's convenient. Sure, we can keep in touch with a bajillion people who we don't really care about. Sure, I can answer emails on the fly and post photos of my life instantly. But am I taking time to do the things that matter?

Really, Nancy. Are you?

I said this statement at Making Things Happen NC, and I'm thankful to know that it has resonated not only in my spirit, but also in the hearts and minds of others.

"I want more face-to-face, less screen-to-screen." 

I'm ready for that. I want it. I crave it. But how do I get to that point?  You have to name your distractions. Those things, those apps, those habits that distract you from focused intensity. From work. From people who matter. We did this exercise in Making Things Happen, and it really opened my eyes to see the Top 5 things that distract me the most.

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Nancy's Top 5 Distractions:

1. My iPhone

2. Emails (I'm an insta-checker!)

3. Social Media (Instagram, FB & Twitter)

4. Pinterest

5. The need to organize / clean before I can work

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Once I identified the things that eat my time, that slow me down - it has been much easier for me to say NO to them more often. I happily leave my iPhone in another room while I focus on a project, or while we eat dinner. I only allow myself to check Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter twice a day. And, well, I'm OCD when it comes to organization, so I still have to organize :]. However, I do it once in the morning and once at night, rather than creating more projects for myself throughout the day.

Even still, I'm ready to take this to the next level. I want more from this life than an iPhone life. I want to read books, to take walks, to spend face-to-face time with people I love. I want to work, and work hard. I want to work effectively. I want to hustle when I'm supposed to, and really rest when I'm not hustling.

With that said, I am stepping it up. For the next 2 weeks, I'm putting myself through distraction bootcamp in order to achieve some balance. I am going to...

- Take emails off of my phone, and only check emails twice a day.
- Only allow myself to really look at Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram twice a day. I will have a dedicated time to do this, and once my alarm goes off, I will STOP looking at them! (I will allow myself to post to these medias more than twice a day, but very limited amounts, using Buffer.)
- Purchase a traditional alarm clock, so that I do not have to wake up looking at my phone. That way, I can break my snoozing habit, and I can also wake up without work being the first thing on my mind due to instant emails.
- Read more.
- Plan a dinner party!

What are your top distractions, and what are you doing to keep them from stealing your precious time from you?

Today I am so excited to introduce Callie, our new Studio Assistant!  She has been an amazing addition to the NRP team, and I am so thankful for her. Callie has already been working for me for 1 month, which is hard to believe!  I felt like she just began working yesterday, yet I feel like I've known her forever.  She is easy to talk to, a hard worker, diligent, driven, stylish, fun, and Winston absolutely loves her!  She has great taste in books and music, and is wonderful company in the Studio. She LOVES weddings, she loves her high school young life girls, and she loves Jesus. Callie has already made this wedding season so enjoyable for me (thanks, Callie!), and she is a fast learner. I am proud to call her part of this team.

Now, I'll let her do the talking :].  Meet Callie!

Tell us a little bit about you!

Born and raised in different parts of both North and South Carolina, I have learned that I am a true southern girl who loves the South. I have lived in Raleigh for the past ten years and I love it here, which is why it only made sense for me to join the Wolfpack family. I am junior at North Carolina State University and I am studying business marketing and art + design.

Outside of school, Young Life takes up most of my free time. I am a leader at Cary High School and love spending time out in Cary with my high school friends! I am confident that I have been given a true passion for loving high school girls and they definitely keep me crazy.

I love being around people, its one thing that makes me feel alive. My friends and family mean the world to me. We may look a little crazy on the outside but we really love each other and I am thankful for every minute that I am able to spend with them. I have a boyfriend, Jamie, who I have been dating for almost three years (I can't believe that!) and he is absolutely wonderful. I don't know who I would be or what my life would look like without him.

[Above photo: assisting Nancy at my first NRP wedding]

What are a few of your favorite blogs?

Southern Weddings Magazine

Green Wedding Shoes

Sincerely Jules

Your favorite food?

Bang Bang shrimp from Bonefish Grill and a Chicken Taco with chips and queso from Armadillo Grill

Your hobbies?

I first fell in love with photography at a very young age. Growing up, I loved disposable cameras. The way it felt to take pictures and then patiently wait for them to be developed to see your results empowered me. It wasn’t until two years ago that I began to put my photography passion into practice.

I love to read. I have been tempted many times to buy a kindle or begin reading books on my iPad but I can't make myself do it. There is just something about a book that you can hold in your hands and pass on to others that I absolutely love. Give me a good book to read on a back porch and I will disappear for hours. Lastly, I love to travel. Whether to the coast for the weekend or to different country, traveling makes me feel alive! I love the feeling of returning to a familiar place or discovering somewhere new.

[Above photos: 1. First day of work at the NRP Studio! 2 & 3. Me and my new bff 4. The studio trio]

Your 3 favorite photographers to follow?

Other than Nancy Ray of course :) Millie Holloman, Jose Villa and Kelly Moore

What does the perfect day for you look like?

The perfect day for me is one that would be spent on the coast with my friends and family. I love the sun, being on the water and good seafood.

Your favorite treat? 

Peanut Butter M&Ms

If you could trade lives with someone for a day, who would it be and why?

Ten years of my life were spent as a gymnast competing at competitions all over the country and countless hours of practice. So, every four years when it’s time for the summer olympics, of course I am glued to the TV. If I could trade lives with someone for a day it would be the olympic gymnast, Nastia Liukin on the day that she won the gold medal for the individual all around at the 2008 olympics.

Where would we find you on a Friday night?

On a Friday night, you could find me in a couple different places; on a date with my boyfriend Jamie, hanging out in Cary with some of my Young Life girls, or spending time with my family or friends cooking a delicious dinner and watching a good movie.

Who is your favorite musician / band?

This answer changes very frequently but currently I would say Needtobreathe. I just saw them in concert and it was amazing!

So far, working with Nancy has been a dream come true, and I am so thankful for this opportunity I have been given. I hop out of bed every morning excited that I not only get to spend my day with her but I get to learn and pursue my dream as a wedding photographer with her by my side guiding and teaching me. So please, don’t be shy! I love meeting new people and can’t wait for y’all to get to know me!

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Leave Callie some comment love! You can follow her on Twitter here : @CSPitts