3 Biggest Distractions from Writing- WuW

Who here seems to struggle with getting distracted from writing?
*raises both hands*


Some days I can come to the computer with laser like focus and within seconds (at least it feels like) I have whole chapters written and things are going smoothly. Then other days its like nails on a chalkboard getting myself to focus. Everything is suddenly more interesting than my characters, world, and plot.


But the top 3 things that are the worst for distraction for me even on a good writing day are:


Movies! I just want to sit and watch movies, this includes TV shows on Netflix. I love them, I think that there is so much, both positive, and negative that writers can learn from watching movies and TV shows. Especially if a writer marathons a series. You get to see the whole story arc and character development! That is something that writers need to see and understand well.


Other Books! I literally own about 40 books that I haven't read yet. They cry and call out to me, begging to be picked up and loved. I recently started using Goodreads, and I love updating my progress when I'm reading a book. There is such a sense of accomplishment to it. And when you get to mark it as read? Oh it's just so exciting, I want to do it again and again and again!


The internetz. It is every writers friend until it comes time to actually write a book. Then it becomes this rabbit hole of YouTube, blogs, memes, and cat videos. And yes, I have been known to go down that rabbit hole a time or two. It's just entertaining to see what is out there; what people like you and me are creating and sharing with the world.


So with these three big distractions, how do I ever get anything accomplished?
I work hard at making time for everything. When I'm really buckling down and writing or editing, like during a NaNo month (November, April, and July) I won't read at all. I also severely limit my time watching TV or movies. In fact I often use them as a reward for getting my words, or pages edited in.
And how do I tackle the internetz? A lot of my friends use programs to turn off the internet for a set amount of time during the day. But I find that too restricting. Often I need to look something up quickly for reference, so I don't like the idea that I'd have to have a place holder until later. What I do instead is set a block amount of time for work, and then I allow myself to check/cruise the internet for a few minutes before going back to work. Usually I am most productive in 30 minute chunks.


What works for you? Do you have the same distractions? How do you handle them?
Comment and share below!