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November 9, 2016 By Becky Mansfield Leave a Comment

How to write without being distracted

I am moving this post back to the top (it was originally posted last year), because I find that being distracted is a time-grabber and it seems to be one that are causing all of us to fall behind on our blogs.  It will take all of your extra energy and just pull it away.  If you saw my challenge earlier this week, reading this post is a must…  

If you are wondering how to write without being distracted – first let me run a scenario past you and see if it sounds familiar:

You hop online to write a post.  You open up your blog… while it is loading, you jump onto Facebook.   Three messages?  You try to write back and you end up spending 30 minutes on Facebook.
Seeing your friends on Facebook reminds you that you need to e-mail someone back.  You just do a quick jump-over to your email and find that you have ten messages waiting for you.   You respond to those and then remember that you forgot to schedule your updates last night on Twitter, so you want to get that in really quickly.

Before you know it- you have spent over an hour online and you haven’t even written a post!

This was me.   I was getting distracted easily and I really didn’t have the time to get distracted.  I was only spending a couple of hours a day on my blog, so I really needed to use my time wisely.   I found a solution that has been working WONDERFULLY!

How to write without being distracted - tips for writing your blog or ebook
I take my computer with me when I go anywhere.   I have it in the car.   When I have a few minutes, I write in my “notes” section (you could do microsoft note or wherever you can keep notes).  The key to this is to be OFFLINE.  When I need to use a link, I just bold those words to remind myself later.

I have found this to be a ‘life-saver’, so to say.  It has saved me from spending too much time online or from feeling stressed about the time that comes along with blogging.  I have about 15 posts ready to go for my Your Modern Family blog.   (We took a trip to Disney and I wrote on the way there and on the way home- 18 hours in the car, roundtrip.)

It has really been the best thing that I’ve been able to do lately, because I can write while I am waiting for preschool to let out (waiting in the parking lot) or while I am just at home, watching TV with my husband.  The distractions are gone, because I am not on the internet.  I can write when the mood strikes me and not feel torn away or pulled in different directions from the ‘online world’.   It is just me, my thoughts and my words.

TRY IT & let me know if it works for you.

PS- Remember this tip if you ever write an E-book! 

Filed Under: Time Management, Writing Tagged With: blogging, distraction, tips, writing

Reader Interactions

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Comments

  1. Jillian @ Hi! It's Jilly says

    October 31, 2013 at 8:43 am

    That is a great tip! I’ve been falling prey to this very thing lately!

    Reply
  2. Caroline says

    October 31, 2013 at 8:52 am

    How to write without being distracted? Put the kids to bed, haha! 😉

    Great tip on bringing your computer with you, and staying offline. Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Jessica @ The Junk Nest says

    October 31, 2013 at 1:18 pm

    this is a great idea. I’ve been so busy with personal things this week that I haven’t had time to write my posts! My laptop is too big to lug around with me everywhere…I’m thinking about getting something smaller and more portable.

    Reply
  4. Christine says

    November 1, 2013 at 8:30 am

    I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately! I have a whole hour for lunch at work and when I bring my lunch, it doesn’t take me more than 15-20 minutes to eat! I kept thinking that I couldn’t write if I don’t have internet but that’s just not the case! I like your tip about bolding the links to remember for later!

    Reply
    • Becky says

      November 1, 2013 at 9:49 pm

      Thanks- that would be the perfect use of your extra 45 minutes. I say go for it!

      Reply
  5. Aprille @beautifulinhistime.com says

    November 3, 2013 at 1:16 pm

    This is a great idea. I’ve been keeping a notebook with me to jot down ideas and posts. I’m nervous to take my laptop out because I’m already so tough on laptops and keep having to spend money to get the screen repaired!

    Reply
  6. Emma @ P is for Preschooler says

    November 3, 2013 at 3:05 pm

    Happens to me too! I find that I write best when I know I won’t be interrupted, such as late at night, when everyone else is in bed. Of course, sleep is sacrificed, but no system is perfect! 🙂

    Reply
    • Becky says

      November 3, 2013 at 3:09 pm

      That is exactly how I am, too, Emma. 🙂
      ~Becky

      Reply
  7. Kay says

    November 16, 2013 at 9:10 pm

    That’s good advice. I recently was given a tablet, so I will start taking it with me. I need to buy a keyboard for it tho. 🙂

    Reply
  8. persis says

    December 2, 2013 at 8:42 am

    Same here! Gosh and I’m trying to get a short film screenplay done.

    Reply
    • Becky says

      December 3, 2013 at 10:04 am

      oh- exciting!

      Reply
  9. Lisa says

    August 23, 2014 at 10:41 pm

    I am going to try this. I am back in the classroom teaching, and I’m having a hard time keeping up with the blog. How do you come up with ideas so far in advance?

    Reply
  10. Michelle Westbrook says

    January 18, 2015 at 9:24 pm

    Thank you for this advice! I actually write my drafts in a Google Doc on my phone because if I turn on my computer I get sucked into social medialand. I never thought to write off-line in the default text doc. You are awesome 🙂

    Reply
    • Becky says

      January 19, 2015 at 9:41 pm

      🙂 good!! glad it helped. )

      Reply
  11. Maria Perez says

    January 19, 2015 at 7:29 am

    I am old-school and write mine out longhand before I go to the computer. Same idea, less techie!

    Reply
  12. Mackenzie says

    January 19, 2015 at 9:59 pm

    Thank you Becky… This was a great suggestion. I think I am going to have to keep a pad and paper with me at all times to write and go so far off line I go “analog”! (That’s what my DH calls my planner.) I get so easily distracted by games and other random stuff on my computer it’s not funny. I feel like the dog on the movie “Up!” most days. Thanks again for the suggestion!

    Reply
  13. Emily @ My Love for Words says

    February 13, 2015 at 10:28 am

    I need to start doing this! I get online to blog only to have an hour pass with no work to show for it. It’s horrible! Thanks for the great tip.

    Reply
  14. Jesica says

    March 16, 2015 at 5:27 pm

    Great suggestion! My laptop is on its last leg right now (won’t stay on for more than 10 minutes if it isn’t plugged in), but when I buy a new one in a few months I will definitely be doing this! All those stolen moments really add up.

    Reply
  15. Rose says

    March 25, 2015 at 12:15 am

    This is such a great tip. I always get distracted by all those other little things as well. I have been trying to dare myself to keep just the WordPress tab open and not open any other ones until I am finished what I am doing. I tend to get motivated and inspired during certain times so I just sit down and write as much as I can in one setting to get all the ideas out. It has been working most of the time. Ha!

    Reply
    • Becky says

      March 25, 2015 at 12:42 am

      🙂 I’m glad you liked it!

      Reply

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