We are more easily distracted than we were ten years ago. Every day, far more things compete for our attention than at any other time in history. Most of those things are distractions and irrelevant tangents. So how can you navigate through all the opportunities to distract yourself? How can you reserve time for writing? … More Can Distractions Actually Help Your Writing?
Beware! Here Be Distractions! Distraction is one of the most common forms of writing resistance. Sometimes distractions force their way into our consciousness. But sometimes we actively go looking for something to distract us from writing. Opening email before I’ve put in my Product Time usually means I’m trying to distract myself. Looking at Facebook … More Too Distracted to Write?
“In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.” – Robert Heinlein Even when you have a clearly defined goal, resistance can push you away from the writing. Goals are vital, but by themselves, they are not enough to eliminate daily acts of … More Is Your Writing Blocked by Trivia?
We are literally rewiring our brains in ways that make it increasingly difficult to sustain focused attention for more than a few minutes.
The dopamine hit we get from checking our electronic devices can be addictive and leave us feeling vaguely dissatisfied, restless and bored between hits.
But neither our technology nor our addictions define who we are. I will not surrender my power to choose where to focus my attention. How about you? … More Are You Addicted to Digital?
Here’s the challenge: When you write, write. Don’t do anything but write in these writing appointments. It’s amazing how much more writing you do when all you do when you write is write. … More I Challenge You to a Little Writer’s Duel
Is Your Attention Splintered? One of the best things I do for myself as a writer and a human being is to spend 45 to 60 minutes at least once a week in the dog park (in addition to walking the dogs out my front door every morning). We’re lucky to have a dog … More How Splintered Is Your Attention? Take the Quiz and Find Out
One of the primary forms of writing resistance is distraction. And one of my favorite illustrations of distraction is in the movie Up when the dog Dug explains how his collar vocalizes his thoughts: “My master made me this collar. He is a good and smart master and he made me this collar so that I … More Squirrel!
By Rosanne Bane “In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.” – Robert Heinlein Performing daily trivia is one of the many varieties of distraction, and distraction, as we know, is one of the most common forms of writer’s resistance. Not knowing … More Trivial Pursuits
Bane of Your Resistance 