Write Right

The Writing Life

How to Overcome Distraction

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I am distracted.It’s difficult to write today. My mind already is cluttered. I haven’t slept well. I am distracted and distractible: the bill that requires a phone call, emails that require replies, people who need to be contacted, the lunch that needs to be made, the insulin reservoir that needs to be filled and replaced in the insulin pump, the conversations that have happened and have yet to happen. My mind is not quiet. It’s already churning with the things that need to be done and the things that await.

I try to quiet it. I know if I write, I might get past the point of distractibility and be able to string together if not paragraphs and sentences at least words. I might write something that has the beginning of sense to it. Then again, maybe not. Maybe all I will have are words that echo the distractions and frustrations already resounding in my head.

I am content with this knowledge. I have learned that the hard work put into one piece of writing translates into the sudden ease of another. The translation isn’t immediate nor does it come when I expect it. A day without struggle is a surprise, a gift. I look forward to its arrival. Until it comes, I do the work. It won’t come without it, so I seat myself in a chair and begin to put words to the screen.

Image: underminingme (CC BY SA)

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Comments

  1. ExtremelyAvg says

    I haven’t been doing much writing of late, either. It seems that my mind it too consumed with publishing to be able to turn into story telling mode. Hopefully, I’ll get HW Perception squared away this weekend and then Secret Doors. Once that is done I can quiet my mind and return to Teddy’s world.

    • Erin F. says

      ExtremelyAvg I was thinking about the nature of ebb and flow while on my morning run today. While I advocate doing the work and saying “This is Sparta!” I’m equally aware that some flexibility has to be found in the midst of all that. Working all the time makes for very dull and usually unhappy people.

      • ExtremelyAvg says

        Erin F. ExtremelyAvg I tend to work all the time, but if I ever feel like it is making me a grouchy pants, then I take a day and focus on nothing. A day of video game playing or baseball watching does wonders for the spirit.

Trackbacks

  1. […] I wouldn’t get very far without processes. They are necessary to my life. There’s a process for changing the reservoir on my insulin pump. It’s a bossy thing with all its instructions and vibrations and alarms. There’s a process for travel; I always have a list so that I don’t forget a necessary power cord or medicine. There’s a process for big projects, and there’s a process for little ones, like this blog post: I sit in the chair and write. It’s a little more detailed than that, but it’s the general gist for getting the first draft onto the page. I sit. I write. I avoid distractions. […]