- My dogs (can't they see I'm busy? Sheesh.)
- TV (So many good/useless shows, so little time!)
- Music (I want to sing along...)
- The neighbors (don't they know I don't want to hear them mowing or having fun or anything? Silence is golden, people!)
- Pinterest (haha--I sucked some of you in, didn't I? Yeah, happens to me a lot)
- Twitter (Massive time-suck but so interesting)
- My blogs (this one and my book review blog, The Book Swarm. I have sooo much to do for them!)
- Google Reader (filled with intriguing blogs)
- Other books (I wanna read this, no that, no that!)
- New shiny writing ideas (they're so pretty and much more interesting!)
- My parents (you all just love to just stop on by to say hi, especially when I'm on break. Sheesh. Horrible people who love me. God forbid.)
- Friends (Again, horrible people who just want to annoy me...er, spend time with me)
- House (laundry, dust bunnies, piles of stuff, closet, and so on)
...and a zillion other things. Probably a lot like most other people in the world. So, so many distractions.
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| Love Writer Unboxed! |
- Lists--these keep me focused on what I need to get done and generally work to prevent left turns
- Writing spots--I have three in my house (yes, I need some variety). The one in my office works best when I'm incredibly distracted because it's got my idea boards, a huge monitor, and no TV
- A schedule--this is an ongoing struggle, since my schedule is ever-changing
- Turn OFF the TV and music--again, because I'm so easily distracted, both of these things really pull me away (ooh, the tv...so bright and shiny!)
- Attempt to say no--why is this so hard? It's just two letters. I've gotten really good at saying it at work...now for the personal life!
What it really boils down to is making time for the things you love. Many times, you have to give up or cut back on something else. If what you love is worth it, you'll make the sacrifice.
So, what about you? How do you tune out the distractions and focus on your writing or reading or project?
I have to give myself time outs from the internet. That seems to help. Somedays I also have to say, ok, I'm not getting anything done and that's ok.
ReplyDeleteI'm like Laura above. I also have to have totally free time to get the dust bunnies out of my head. BTW, your comment about the South was spot-on and probably the best I've ever seen anywhere. After the A-Z Challenge and a break from Louisiana (as one can dine on only so much gumbo), I'm planning on a few posts that hit deeper issues (that seem to change form but not go away).
ReplyDeleteIt's really hard! There are so many things to do in a day - and nowhere near enough time to do it all!
ReplyDeleteI've had to not do a lot of those things, like pinterest and twitter and facebook. I just can't.
ReplyDelete