Make a date with your content
These days, distractions are everywhere. One of the biggest culprits is your smartphone. Texts, phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email, games, YouTube, news updates, and numerous apps all distract you throughout the day.
It seems that these things have become more than a distraction. You may feel as though you are missing out on something if you are not constantly checking your updates.
However, if you are constantly looking at your phone, what you may be missing is life.
Phone-free date night
A couple I know realized that when they went out, they were each paying more attention to their phones than to each other. To combat this, they decided to incorporate a phone-free date night once a week.
On these nights, phones disappear and they spend a few uninterrupted hours just focusing on each other. The evenings have been a great success and are something they now look forward to each week.
Take your content on a date
Have you ever been writing only to have your flow interrupted by the chiming of an email notification or the ringing of the phone? Most likely you have.
Even if you don’t answer the phone or check that email, you have become distracted and your rhythm has been interrupted.
You can avoid this by making a date with your content.
Set aside 30 minutes, an hour, or however long you want to work on a project without interruption. Make it part of your schedule.
Then during that time, turn off any potential distractions. Turn off your phone (or at least put it on silent and put it in a drawer). Turn off your Outlook notifications. Use a website blocker (like LeechBlock for Firefox, Focus Booster, or Nanny for Google Chrome) to keep you from wandering onto sites like Facebook. Whatever you need to do, do it!
Allowing yourself this uninterrupted, quality writing time will increase your productivity and boost your creative juices.
Go ahead. Be bold. Ask your content out on a date.
Photo credit: ID 7356459 © Dorlies Fabri | Dreamstime.com
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Love the concept of an interruption free time for content. Just have to execute now lol.
Great article, Amy.
You are so on the money about spending a distraction-free date with your content.
In “On Writing,” Stephen King calls it writing with the door closed. And it’s so important for your writing, particularly the first draft.
Thanks for sharing!
Steve
Hi Justin.
Yes, execution is the toughest part.
Hi Steve.
I’m glad you like the post. I really need to catch up with my reading – I have meant to read
“On Writing” for several years now. I think Stephen King really knows his stuff.
Good advice, Amy. The best thing I ever did for my business was to turn off all distractions when I’m writing. In fact, I generally work in 30-minute units. So, I work with no interruptions for 30 minutes, take a break and check my messages and then start work again. It works for me.
Nice tips Amy,
It’s not easy to do but I think sometimes it would be definitely more productive to avoid all distractions and just concentrate on writing. I only should shut down 3 notification devices each time, not an easy one ;)