by Lisa Jordan
I glanced at my calendar to see
what today’s to-do list entailed. I saw I had a blog post due for Seekerville.
I’d been pondering a topic, but nothing concrete had come to mind. I decided to
work on something else and then I’d go back to the blog post.
As I began working on my
characters’ backstories for my new novel, I sneezed, reached for a tissue, and
realized I had grabbed the last one. So I broke down the box, tossed it in the
recycling and went to retrieve a new box. But along the way, my dog needed to
go outside, so I took her to the door. On the way back to get the box of
tissues, I noticed an empty dish in the living room. I grabbed it and took it
to the kitchen. I set it in the sink and realized I had started to brew a cup
of tea but never finished it. I carried the reheated tea back to my writing
chair and started to sit when my dog scratched at the door to come back inside.
I let her in, gave her a treat, then refilled her water dish. On the way back
from the kitchen I glanced at the few dishes in the sink and decided to put
them in the dishwasher. But first I needed to empty it. As I emptied the
dishwasher, a puddle of water from an upturned bowl spilled on the floor. So I
grabbed a towel and wiped it up. I tossed the towel in the bathroom hamper and
noticed my hair brush still on the counter. I put it away, then decided to give
the bathroom a quick wipe-down. I returned to the kitchen, finished the
dishwasher, and reloaded the few dirty dishes. I gave the counters a quick
wipe, then headed back to my computer. I sat, grabbed my cup of tea, and then
sneezed again.
I had forgotten to grab the fresh
box of tissues.
Okay, I admit not all of my days
go like this. I can be pretty linear with my to-do list—I focus on one job
until it’s done. However, there are days when my mental train of thought would
be a good plot for Laura Numeroff’s If
You Give… series. And the same goes when it’s time to write. If I’m not focused
on that day’s particular goal, I’m as distracted as Dug in Up.
So how’s a writer to distance
himself or herself from distractions when the writing needs to get done?
Many of us who frequent Seekerville
on a regular basis have multitudes of distractions every day. We have spouses,
families, careers, additional day jobs, church responsibilities, pets,
community engagements, and extracurricular activities to manage.
I’m the kind of person who needs
to plan out my day. If I don’t, then I don’t have the right focus to get things
done. I also like a routine, and that goes for my writing as well. I don’t
thrive in chaos. So when life throws curveballs, I do try to be flexible by
rolling with flare-ups need to be dealt with that day.
When I’m on deadline, though, I
need focused time to get my writing done so I can submit on time. So here are
my four tips for distancing distractions:
- Plan. Like I said, I’m a planner. I use My
Book Therapy’s My Brilliant Writing Planner to
map out my story goals, my monthly appointments, events, and deadlines. Then I break
down my monthly goals into weekly to-dos. Each day, I write out a to-do list of
what needs to be done. I begin with the top three important tasks, then I add
in less important things such as housework and laundry.
- Pray. Once I have an idea of what my week is going to be, I
give it up to God and ask Him to order my time. I also ask for peace when I
need to be flexible and not to stress when I don’t meet my writing goals for
the day. Most of all, I want to stay centered in His will and use my time wisely.
- Pause. When it’s time to write, I pause to reflect on what I
had written the day before and where I need to take my characters on their
story adventures. Then I pause notifications on email, social media, texting, and
phone calls. My phone is set up to allow my family to notify me if it’s
important.
- Protect. In addition to being an author, I’m also the content
manager for My Book Therapy’s online writing school, Novel Academy, so I don’t have all day to write. I’ve always worked an
additional day job along with my writing, so I’ve had to protect my writing
time. I try to write for two hours in the mornings when my brain is the
freshest, then I can use the rest of the day for housework, appointments, and
my day job. In order to get the words written, I need to protect that writing time.
Sometimes that writing block does get interrupted, but I usually know in
advance and can plan a separate writing block accordingly so I can still meet
my word count.
These habits, while not perfect,
have helped me to establish the necessary boundaries and writing routine in
order to grow my career.
Your Turn: What do you do to
distance distractions so you can get words on the page.
Mindy here. Lisa is giving away a copy of her new release, The Father He Deserves, to one lucky commenter (US mailing addresses only, please).
A determined dad. A wary mother.
Making amends is never easy… Injured in a kayaking accident, champion Evan Holland returns home to train rescue dogs. But his unexpected partner is the woman he left behind, Natalie Bishop. And she has a secret: a son Evan never knew he had. Now Evan must prove he can be a real father. But earning Natalie’s trust back will take hope, forgiveness—and risking everything on forever…
