4 Challenges Writers Face- Distractions

Welcome to a new series! This will be a four part series outlining four challenges that writers face, and how I have learned to cope with them.


Up first? Distractions!


Distractions come in all shapes and sizes, and can be external or internal in origin. Most of the time I get distracted by either the internet or the TV. Since I don't have children yet, I don't have many tips of working around them. The only three I have is if they are younger work when they nap, a babysitter for a few hours, or if they're older institute a quite work time where they can color or do homework.


Many people I know use a program to turn their internet off. This doesn't work for me as I like researching things when I stumble across them in writing. I will also use playlists that are online while writing. How I get around the black hole that is the internet is to set myself time limits when writing and also time limits on how much internet time I can have. When I'm really in the groove I don't even care about spending time online, but when the writing is slower, it is much more of a distraction.


I subscribe to several YouTubers, and will often use their videos as a reward for writing for a set amount of time. I have similar constraints on the TV. My husband likes working in the living room with the TV on as background noise, but when writing it just seems to distract me. I get sucked right in to whatever show is on, and I can't get out. If this is also what happens to you, I have a tip.


Move. When he needs to be in that room to work, I leave. I love him very much, and enjoy our time together, but at that moment there is a big distraction when I want to get work done. Since I have a laptop, I move into the office. Most often I write in the living room on the couch, I know- it can lead to bad posture- but the office is always colder than the rest of the apartment for some strange reason.


When I really need to get some serious work done I will shut myself away, plug in the earbuds to drown out the noise from the TV, and get lost in the world I'm writing in. Often there are sweatshirts, blankets, hot tea, and even fingerless gloves involved. But sometimes you just have to set your time aside. After a set amount of time, or I hit the writing/editing goal for the day, I re-emerge usually much happier than before.


What about you? Any tips for dealing with Distractions?
Stay tuned for Part 2- Feeling Overwhelmed coming soon!