Life can be one big distraction. Emails, phone calls, text messages, tweets and posts can quickly eat away at the hour or less of writing time you’ve carved out for yourself. And those are just the digital distractions! They don’t account for the mental, physical, and emotional distractions you have to deal with.
Writing distractions used to make me angry. I would blame my wife, my friends, and my phone for my failure to meet my daily writing goals. But all the blame in the world would not write my book for me. When the same things keep distracting you from your writing, blaming apps, devices, and people will not solve the problem. Instead of thinking of yourself as a victim, realize you can be an achiever. Achievers don’t blame others for their shortcomings. They think of solutions for their problems and take action.
The best way to work around your writing distractions is to brainstorm a battle plan.
Quick, Effective Brainstorming
A few weeks ago, I started a practice that has been helping me immensely. I freewrite for at least fifteen minutes a day every day. Sometimes, I brainstorm about a new book I’m writing. Other times, I use the session for journaling. The most productive freewriting sessions center on ways to stop issues that are holding me back. I’m always looking for ways to improve the efficiency of my writing, and these freewriting sessions are extremely helpful.
Freewriting sessions work because over the course of ten or fifteen minutes, you’re able to get yourself into a creative flow. While you’re in that state, it’s possible to come up with new ideas that aren’t available to you on a conscious level. The brain is an amazing machine, but it occasionally requires coaxing to get to the most brilliant and insightful ideas.
How to Freewrite
To freewrite about your writing distractions, sit down with the Internet temporarily disconnected. This will keep your writing as distraction free as possible. Set a kitchen timer or a phone alarm for fifteen minutes. As soon as you’ve set the time, start writing stream-of-consciousness style on the subject of your writing distractions. If nothing comes to you, write out questions, such as:
- “In what locations do I find the most writing distractions?”
- “What time of the day gives me the fewest distractions?”
- “What activity makes me mentally unfocused before a writing session?”
Start answering these questions during your session. Keep writing until your timer goes off.
Here’s what will probably happen. For a few minutes, you’ll ramble about the same stuff you usually complain about. For another large chunk of the session, you’ll be slow to come up with words. But somewhere in the middle, you’ll have a stroke of genius in which you come up with at least one usable idea for destroying your distractions. If you continue to freewrite and brainstorm on your writing habits for several days or weeks in a row, you’ll likely determine multiple ways to cut your distractions in half.
An Unexpected Bonus
I started freewriting as part of an effort to come up with new career ideas. What I didn’t anticipate was that I’d brainstorm ways to improve my life. I started coming up with new ways to work on my health, my finances, and my relationships. The freewriting sessions became like a board of directors meetings for my entire existence. I’ve always been the kind of guy who is willing to change my way of doing things if I find something better. These sessions give me the opportunity to find better ideas almost daily. I’m knocking out writing distractions and optimizing my non-writing life in just fifteen minutes a day.
The Consistent Writer
The best writers aren’t necessarily those who write with the most skill. They’re the ones who are able to find ways around their distractions so they’re able to write consistently. When they encounter a new distraction, they figure out how to conquer it. You can be the kind of writer who overcomes writing obstacles for ten, twenty, fifty, or even one hundred straight days. That kind of consistency will make you a better writer. Commit to this brainstorming practice for an entire week and try to come up with some anti-distraction weapons that could last you a year or more. With less blame and more action, you can become the kind of everyday writer you’ve always dreamed of becoming.
In honor of his new book, Cohen is hosting the “1,000 Prompts, 1,000 Dollars” Writing Contest on his website. Click the link to find out how to enter!
Tell me your opinion: What is your best method for overcoming writing distractions?
