My Google document is blank and has shut down after too much neglect. An hour has passed since I sat down to write. I often lose precious writing time because of too many distractions throughout the day.
My Go-To Distractions
- Text messages (family and friends come first)
- Internet searches (while checking for a more descriptive word or research in general)
Both of these seemingly innocent “quick checks” with my phone often lead to a trail of internet searches: browsing Facebook, wishing a friend a Happy Birthday, responding to a post, investigating an item of interest for sale, checking an email response or a reminder to send one, somehow finding myself watching YouTube videos, reading an online blog post, articles, stories, anything of interest, and a frequent offense of remembering something I needed to buy and signing into Amazon. I can be there for a while.
- Phone calls (If I know who is calling, I always answer. I prefer using text messages to allow recipients to respond in their own time without immediate interruption. My family and friends share the same preference. However, if you need to talk about something in detail, just give me a call instead of writing about it. Thankfully, I don’t get calls too often because it is hard or impossible to return to the computer afterward. I continuously pace, walking around the house when talking on the phone, so if it is a lengthy call, I might be too tired to write afterward. I make up for all the years I could only go as far as the phone cord would allow.
- Household chores and management (This is another big distraction for me: Should I take the clothes out of the dryer now or check on something? Do I need to water the plants? Do I have any appointments tomorrow? Did I take the hamburger out of the freezer?) I also don’t do well sitting for long periods, so every hour or so, my body tells me I must get up and walk around the house, which inevitably leads to finding something that needs to be handled, cleaned, or put away. It could be an hour or later in the day when I return to my desk, if ever.
I imagine those of you working full—or part-time jobs (or both!) are thinking, “Poor me, overwhelmed with household chores and duties.” The truth is that when I was working, my life was in neat little boxes. I knew how much time I had for home, work, and play, and I didn’t take on extra unless I could find the hours to do so. As a working girl, extracurriculars simply weren’t an option.
Now that I am “retired,” I am busier than ever.
The boxes of scheduled time have all been broken down and thrown out. Between quality time with family and activities (such as exercise and my writer’s group) that I want and need to accomplish, there is plenty of “extra” that I like to do, and managing to fit that all in isn’t always easy. The to-do lists are much more extensive because they often have to be.
- New Ideas (This is my BIGGEST distraction and the most time-consuming. I have a lot of thoughts every day, and from them, I come up with many ideas. Some are do-able, some are crazy, some are everyday daydreams, and some lead me down long, dark rabbit holes.
For instance, yesterday, I thought about what it would be like to live close enough to Disney World so that it would be an easy drive. Having this thought led me to look at what towns surround the theme park, the demographics of each, nearby lakes and the considerable time killer, what the houses were like in the area, the average cost, the neighborhoods, etc. I could spend the entire day, night, and likely week on Realtor.com and never be bored. I love to look at houses for sale. However, this hobby doesn’t get me any further with my writing or anything else on my to-do list.
That critical voice in my head tells me, “You’ll never finish writing your book.
Why devote any hours to the project at all? You are just wasting more time. Do something productive.”
I call my critical voice Prudence in remembrance of a supervisor I had years ago who, let’s just say, wasn’t a “people person.” I do my best to ignore her now, as I tried to then. Still, I can’t always drown her out.
Nonetheless, I will finish the book.
It may not happen as quickly as I’d like, but I see the steps to get there, have outside support, and can visualize a finished draft. Often in the mornings, or in the middle of the night, before I’m fully awake, my mind traces different scenarios that follow the theme of my story. I revisit memories, remember a funny event, find irony in unexpected experiences, or simply uncover the words to begin the next paragraph.
So, it’s great to have ideas and generate them frequently. I just need to narrow my focus and stay on the path that gets me where I want to go, at least more often. There is nothing wrong with having a hobby as long as it does steer you entirely off course, right?
(Speaking of distractions, the Disney song, “There’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” just popped into my head! I love that.)
Anyway, I believe the answer is to work with my distractions, not to try to block them out, somewhat like meditation.
I can’t stop having thoughts (or distractions) like clouds floating by, but I don’t have to follow them and spend significant time with each one. I need to notice each time I’m distracted and return to the keyboard, like returning to my mantra. I will go back to my original task, my writing discipline, until I’ve completed what I set out to do that day.
Yes. That sounds like a good plan.
“Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life’s hard.” —-John Bytheway
It’s the same with writing. I work best when I write a little, consistently, every day, and that’s what I intend to do. If I set clear writing goals and achieve them each day (I use Pacemaker Press to track my progress), I might even have extra time to check out a house or two.
Do you often feel distracted? How do you handle the inevitable frustration of not achieving your goals on any given day? Do you write or complete tasks at a particular time of day or only when you have a free moment? Do you use software tools, such as Todoist, to motivate you to write or achieve other goals?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic in the comments.
As always, thank you for reading!
Keep smiling! (and crushing your dreams!)
xx
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