Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
I'm the king of distractions. My momentum can be derailed by almost any shiny object, interesting sound, or wayward thought. In fact, it's taken me about fifteen minutes just to get past that initial sentence. My traitorous mind takes my thoughts to matters of aesthetics (Did I use a good enough picture for this post?), subject matter (Does anyone really care about my distractions?), my environment (What music should I listen to?), or physical satisfaction (Should I pour myself a coffee before I carry on?)
Some say, in the most flattering way possible, that this is the curse of the creative mind. That may be true. Doesn't make it any easier to deal with.
One way I've found of harnessing my proclivity for procrastination is to direct my attention to more productive forms of distraction. A big reason I do this is because I feel an overwhelming sense of guilt anytime I'm engaged in less-than-productive activities, even when I don't have things to be doing. I recognize that's not entirely healthy but we'll save that for another day. One positive thing that comes from it is that I rarely become distracted from what I'm doing by video games or TV shows (not that there is anything wrong with those things - I love both very much).
Finding a specific, productive distraction takes almost as much mental energy as focusing on whatever thing I'm supposedto be doing. When I notice my attention wandering, I recognize it's probably for a reason. I might be boring myself with my own work, for example. If that's the case, how likely is it that anyone else is going to want to read it? In times like these, I take the hint and find something else to do.
A big caveat to all of this is that I am the father of an energetic one-year-old. Anyone with kids will tell you that, even after bedtime, they are a constant distraction. One way to avoid feeling frustration at child-related distractions is to accept that, since becoming a parent, my time is no longer entirely my own. I recognize I'm in a unique position to frame my thinking this way, being a stay-at-home writer-dad. If my son requires my immediate attention, I can always take care of my creative work another time. Is it always ideal? Nope. But the alternative is not an option for me. I refuse to be the leave-me-the-hell-alone-I'm-working kind of dad. If I really, truly need time to myself without any form of distraction, I will make myself inaccessible either by going somewhere else to work or by sequestering myself in my office while Annie watches our son (and even then I'm never totally out of reach).
I have a few ways of managing my ever-wandering mind — part prevention, part redirection. These may or may not work for you. I do not list them with the intent to instruct; merely to elucidate, encourage, and inspire, if at all possible.
Manage the Work Environment (as much as possible)
I'm lucky enough to have an office in our house where I can work. It's a mess, which is its own distraction in some ways. Fortunately it's cluttered enough that I really only have room to sit at my desk and write. When I'm in writing mode, I'll shut the door, turn off or silence alerts on all my devices, and drown out the world with whatever music I'm feeling.
I don't keep a TV or video games of any sort in my office. As I said, I don't typically get distracted by those things but it's best to be free of temptation. I also don't download games to my computer, the Internet provides ample opportunity for diversion.
I'll often lock myself in my office with a light snack, a bottle of water, and a time-of-day appropriate drink (coffee or tea before dinner, whiskey or beer after dinner). This eliminates the compulsion to go foraging anytime my fingers take a break.
Music, as I mentioned, can be a big distraction for me. Namely, finding the right type of music to listen to when I write. Normally this isn't an issue. I have different playlists for various types of writing. I'll assemble or source these playlists on my downtime so that I don't waste an hour of precious office time putting one together. Often I'll go for some form of classical music, depending on the project. For one script I wrote, I listened entirely to horror movie scores. For another I only listened to dark, ominous, almost-ambient stuff. Writing my novel, I listened to a lot of Iron Maiden. Working on this blog, I'm listening to heavy metal. I try to stay away from stuff I can easily sing along to because I'll almost certainly wind up doing just that. Foot-stomping and finger-tapping on the other hand are all conducive to a productive mind, if you ask me.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Schedule Work/Play Time
This is pretty straight forward but often overlooked. Scheduling work and leisure time helps to ensure I'm getting enough of both. This means coordinating with my wife and setting expectations realistically with each other. Often she will put our son, Gideon, to bed and I'll use that time for my writing.
In addition to scheduling the time for work, I'll decide ahead of time what I'm going to work on. I'm one of those guys who likes to have a bunch things on the go at once. If I don't have a plan for what I'll be working on, I'm likely to sit in front of my computer screen opening and closing documents until I fall asleep.
As I said, it's just as important to schedule leisure time. I used to hate doing that. To me, scheduling has always meant work. So if I'm scheduling my leisure time, it's like its a part of my work day, right? Welcome to adulthood. Scheduling playtime ensures I'm getting it but not overdoing it. Usually I give myself one to two hours of TV or video game time in the evening, depending on what I've got going on and when I want to get to bed. Any other free time is dedicated to reading.
Redirect Accordingly
When I do get distracted, since I've eliminated as much external stimulus as possible, it's usually because something isn't happening with my work. Again, I'm coming at this as a creative but I feel like this can apply to a lot of vocations.
If my mind wanders to the point where I can't get it back into what I'm doing, I accept that it might be for a reason and step away. Normally I have a small list of things I can do when this occurs. There is always something to be done around the house, whether it's cleaning or (shudder) organizing my office. My first go-to will typically be something physical. We have three dogs so that one's always easy. Often I find that a walk will declutter my mind or at least allow it to drift for a while without the pressure of writing.
When chores or a walk won't cut it, I'll try to direct my attention to another project. Sometimes switching gears will be daunting enough that my brain will beg me to go back to what we were working on before. What a sucker. If not, I can rest assured that I'm still being productive.
These are all things that work for me. Things that have taken years to figure out, and will likely take many more to perfect, if that can even be done. My hope is that one or two of the things I've said will spark something with you. Maybe you disagree with may methods wholeheartedly. That's great, if it means you're thinking of your own methods.
Thanks again for coming by and giving me your time and attention. Whether you loved it or hated it, I'd love it if you dropped me a line and let me know you were here.
I'd also love it if you could share this with people in your life who you think might enjoy hearing from an aspiring author / stay-at-home-dad / fellow human trying to figure stuff out.
Either way, thanks for being here.