OK, so I don’t officially have Attention Deficit Disorder. But I, like many writers, do have a creative brain, one that seems to love to be distracted by just about anything.
Especially when I’m writing.
Especially when I’m on a deadline.
Like right now. I have a short story (well, almost a novella) that’s due for submission 9 days from now. And I haven’t finished the first draft yet. I think I’ll finish it to day if…
Oh look, something shiny!
Seriously, it’s hard sometimes to focus on the writing. Part of it is that I seem to work better when I have three or four projects going at various states of completion, and can switch back and forth between them to keep my brain happy.
But all that goes out the window when there’s a deadline.
So how do you focus on one project when you need to meet a specific date? Do you use an app like “Self Control” to block out computer distractions? Relocate to a cheap motel and draw the black-out curtains? Take three bottles of Five Hour Energy or a handful of Ritalin pills? What are your secrets for banging it out under a deadline?
I have to turn off my browser and put the phone in a drawer. I mark my draft with an asterisk for things I need to go look up, but I don’t stop to check facts, I keep writing.
I’ve come to the conclusion social media is addictive. It helps me get through slow/bad days at work, but it doesn’t stop there. I come home and check the sites blocked at work. I catch up on emails and my favorite social media sites because I’m ‘unwinding’ and it is easier to engage online and tell yourself it’s all part of marketing than it is to pick up the threads of a story that might not be going the way you want it to go.
But I need to set limits. Too much social media time depresses me. My life isn’t as wonderful as everyone else’s. I start to feel like a failure because I’m not launching a new story (I am in a little over 6 weeks, just not TODAY), I’m not on the bestseller list, I haven’t lost 50 pounds, won the lottery, or vacationed in the Bahamas. ;-)
When I look at the time spent on social media every every day, I could have met my writing goals. I can answer this post now because it’s easy to pop in and leave an opinion while you are stuck between tasks. It’s restricting my online time to those parameters which is the tricky part. But absolutely necessary when I’m on a deadline.