How to Manage Distractions and Become a Motivated Writer

Need the motivation to finish writing a book you started but can’t progress because of distractions? You can become a more motivated writer when you manage the distractions that interrupt your writing process. How? Add these four tricks into your daily routine:

Frustrated by constant distractions that keep you from your writing routine? One phone call can set you back for an hour. When the conversation ends, you’ve lost your writing momentum.

You sit down at the computer to work on your book project but remember that you forgot to pay a bill. That’s important, so you stop and take care of it.

The Facebook tab is open. It dings to notify you one of your friends sent you a message. Clicking on the tab, you read the message. It’s a family member asking you a question. You type an answer, and the chat continues five minutes longer. Meanwhile, you see that you have seven notifications: ten people like your last post, a friend invited you to like her devotions page, a group added a new event near you, one friend posted on her page, another posted his daily living quotes, the leader of one of your groups posted five hours ago, and another friend commented on one of your comments.

Determined to continue writing another chapter or page, you pull up the Microsoft Word document but remember you forgot to check your email. You open up the email and see that an eBay listing sold. Excited, you totally forget the book project. I mean, you just made a sale. That’s money – worth stopping for!

Your tummy growls. Lunchtime passed you by eons ago. How did you not notice? Pulling yourself away from Facebook fans, you fix a quick healthy meal loaded with protein, a side of leftover veggies from yesterday, and a cup of the sweetest fresh strawberries you’ve tasted since the beginning of summer. Now you’re filled with energy to write.

Drawn to your writing project and open Word document, you sit down in front of the computer. Drowsiness sets in, your eyes begin to close, and your head jerks you awake. Still sleepy, you decide a short power nap would help and head to the bedroom. Setting the alarm, you close your eyes and fall fast asleep. Twenty minutes go by, and the alarm goes off. You think about what else you have to do before the end of the day.

Awake now, thoughts bombard your mind about responsibilities you must do before the end of the day. You get up, go into the kitchen, and pass by your open computer on the way. Guilt sets in, you sit down, pull up the empty Word document, but feel irritable because nothing was accomplished, not even a word.  A day doesn’t go by that you don’t get distracted by a zillion demands it seems.

Sound familiar? Distractions.

Prioritize Projects

Prioritize the distractions. Purchase a 4″x6″ notebook or larger if your prefer. Number the pages, and allow a few blank pages at the front for a table of contents. Of course, a calendar will work. However, some days require you to write more than the blocked off pre-printed daily section. The blank notebook doesn’t have the date, only a page number. You can take one page or more to record notes for any day.

Before you head to bed every night, prioritize the following day’s list of necessary things to do. The next day, put a checkmark beside each item listed as you complete it. Set aside time for checking emails, reading Facebook messages, paying bills, and writing.

Use these three categories to prioritize daily notes:

1. Necessary today
2. Important but doesn’t have to be done today
3. Need to do sometime in the near future.

Write Notes

Now that you have a notebook to write in as a daily calendar, you’ll want to keep it with you along with a pen at all times wherever you go. That’s the purpose of keeping a small notebook. It’s handy.

Every time you think of something you really want to do – look at eBay listings, check Facebook messages, or read your email messages, write it down in the notebook. Number the items in the order that you should do them: today, tomorrow, future.

Focus on Current Necessities

When you prioritize projects and write notes of things you need to get done, you’ll be able to focus on current necessities. Setting these three tricks into your daily schedule, important responsibilities that must be done today, tomorrow, or in the future, will help you become organized. You’ll feel motivated to write with clarity because you’re not stressed over constant distractions or things you forgot to do.

Focus on your current needs. Tomorrow will take care of itself. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34, New International Version)

Schedule a Write-In

Now let’s take a look at that motivation you need to finish writing that book you started. Do you have a writer friend you can team up with? Two writers who are both writing a book but need a little pushing to accomplish the task can more easily become motivated when teaming up with a fellow writer.

Example: A few years ago I started a food blog with the idea of blogging a cookbook. I continued blogging about food but put the cookbook on the back burner (no pun intended). An artist friend, Barbara, and I decided to meet every Wednesday to motivate ourselves to publish our books. Both of us had major distractions in our lives that we struggled with. We called our Wednesday meetings “Write-Ins.” They worked. My book, Simple Summer Recipes, was published, and her watercolor art instruction sequel to Watercolor Meet The Brushes is now being published.

Motivate yourself by teaming up with a writing friend who also is working on a book project. Meet once a week for at least two hours, set a timer, and write until the timer goes off. Stop for breaks, stretch, get up and move around, drink coffee and have a snack in between timed sessions. Write-Ins can be productive for two writers who work diligently. Bounce ideas off of each other. Writer friends can also help each other with editing, a necessity for every author.

You have a job to do: prioritize, write notes, focus on current necessities, and schedule Write-Ins. Go shopping for a notebook. Have fun planning your week. Now go write!

 

Motivation happens when you plan for it, not when you sit around and wait for it.

– Angela Horn