Month: January 2020

January 20, 2020

What are your top three distractions and how do you deal with them?

Did I get a new email? What’s the latest reddit post? Are the clothes ready to move to the dryer yet? And what’s for supper? Oh, did I remember to set the alarm so I get to work on time tomorrow? What’s that? My daughter wants to video-chat?

Distractions! They’re everywhere!

Which explains why my most productive time is later at night when all the interruptions of the day can be set aside. No phone calls, email done and done, social media satisfied. Nothing but music in my headset and words on the screen.

But what are my top three?

First off, family. As they should be. They are my priority. Their needs come before my writing. Their wants are negotiable. My wants come first sometimes, and that’s okay. Whether things like laundry and cleaning are needs or wants is up for discussion, and may depend upon how well my writing is going.

How to I deal with this distraction? Honestly? It depends. Sometimes with a smile, other times with a sigh. It’s not one I can avoid. Nor do I want to. Avoid it, that is. 

Second distraction. Work. Is that considered a distraction or an obligation?  I am getting paid well, and it supports my writing, but wouldn’t it be great if I didn’t have to plan my life around it? But until I write that million-copy bestseller, work is part of my life. Thankfully, my boss understands if I occasionally take a moment to deal with writing “stuff” while I’m on the job. (From his point of view, my writing is the distraction!)

Last and probably the worst on my list of distraction. Social media. Any of it. All of you knew that was coming, right? It’s a necessary evil for an indie author, but man, it can be a time-killer. I love seeing all the cool pictures other authors post; but that doesn’t get a book written. Reading reddit forums can generate new book ideas, or just waste time. There are a lot of good podcasts out there, but it’s like mining for gold to get useful information from many of them.

But out of all three distractions on the list, this is the one I can actually control. I can disconnect from the wifi, or unplug the network cable. Chances are, I won’t do that.

I can use self-control. You know, only visit the pages I need for research. And only until I find what I needed to know. It’s possible, but hard. 

And the winner is, I use surfing as a reward. I get so many paragraphs written, and I get to visit a “fun” page. I finish editing a chapter, and I take time to read some of the newsletters I signed up for from other authors. (I’ve got to cut back on those. You send a newsletter once a month? Cool. Once a week? Okay. Every two or three days? Overkill. Bye-bye!)

That’s my top three distractions, but I’ll give you a bonus one. Playing games on the computer. (Not the cool ones, I’m talking solitaire-type games.) Playing one or two rounds of a difficult game can help me focus my thoughts when I get stuck in a story. It’s more of a tool than a distraction, although it wouldn’t seem so to a casual observer.

That’s my list. What’s on yours? Follow the links below and see what distractions the other authors on this hop deal with. 

January 20, 2020

What are your top three distractions and how do you deal with them?

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