How do you avoid distractions?

PEOPLE

My office is open to the rest of the house and everyone talks to me--the cats walk on my keyboard, the TV intrudes--teens can't find the cordless so must use mom's phone--

I've learned to block them out--or growl very well.

Shawn

To avoid everyday distractions (telephone, visitors, friends, etc...) I do most of my writing at night. It's quiet, I'm all alone, and I don't have to worry about any of those things.

TV
Tv is a huge distraction for me. Or it WAS, when there was actually something good on. Lately, the only real tv I watch is Sunday night (Desperate Housewives) and Wednesday night (Lost and Alias). Other than that, I just stick in a DVD of Friends or I Love Lucy, and let it play while I'm writing. So, it's not much of a distraction ANYMORE, but it WAS.

The Internet
MAN is that a huge distraction for me. And this message board is so great, I find myself visiting her often (don't know if that's good or bad). Plus, I like to check emails, chat with friends, and work on my website. So, the internet is my biggest distraction. I try and avoid the computer all I can. I recently bought an AlphaSmart Dana, and that's what I usually write on. Well, that and paper (with my trusty pen). If I write on my computer and get stuck, I'll be tempted to click that blasted "Internet" icon.

But, most of my distractions are people stopping by without calling, or people calling, or relatives suddenly popping into town. That stuff is good and all, but I'd much rather spend time writing then spending an hour on the phone or a couple hours entertaining friends.

I write in-between the distractions.

Actually, I'm lucky, I don't have too many distractions right now (OW, I just jinxed myself), and I've always been quite good at making myself get on and do something.

Eventually.

..........WELL...TILL ABOUT A MONTH AGO...THE INTERNET OR COMPUTER WAS MY PAIN IN THE BUTT.....(NOW ...DON'T TAKE THIS WRONG.....) BUT SINCE I FOUND THIS SITE....SIGH......YUP...YOU GUESSED IT.....SIGH.....IT HAS BECOME MY PIB.....(YOU DO KNOW I LOVE YA....RIGHT?)
I HAVE LITTLE OUTSIDE 'ACTION' RIGHT NOW IN MY LIFE...SO YOU ALL ARE 'IT'.... .....I STILL PLAY ON THE PUTER....MY COP-OUT IS THAT IT HELPS CLEAR MY MIND....LOL.....SURE....UH HUH.....<<<CLEAR MIND HERE..... YOU CAN TELL FROM MY POSTS THAT I NEED A LIFE.....LOL....
IN THE BACKGROUND I KEEP THE TV ON SOMETIMES...BUT JUST FOR THE NOISE...

I live with my girlfriend and three cats. I love them, but they are my main distractions, which is why I don't start writing until 9PM when the love of my life goes to bed. I close myself in the office here, turn off the lights, and get to work.

Uncle Jim has said many times he doesn't advocate drinking and/or smoking while you write, but I go through about seven beers, and half a pack of smokes every night while writing.

For me, the beer and cigs take care of the final distraction - all the stress that builds up during the day, threatening to whittle me down to the point where I have no will to complete a novel.

I wouldn't exactly "advocate" such a practice either. To each his own, and if you're an alcoholic, you can't stop at six or seven, and you'll quickly be screwing up your life if you associate drinking with writing.

Including this forum?

I assume you meant distractions excepting the fine folks in this forum...

These days I'm quite lucky to have zero, zip, nada distractions, but I would welcome one or two occasionally. Like a woman to date and go to dinner with or maybe a movie and there's the opera we could attend and and and...

(Sorry, I got outta control there for a sec...)

I have a nice comfy apartment in neartown Houston. It's quiet, with only random gunfire across the rooftops most evenings. ha ha

Seriously, my apartment is dead quiet -- nice brick walls, central AC, long-term sensible neighbors, and a lazy cat who is content to lie there and watch me work.

I put on my Mozart or another beloved classical CD, sometimes modern jazz or blues. I'm blessed to own a great stereo, w. 100-watt digital amp and Bose 901 speakers, so I really get the good sound. I avoid opera (or other vocal music, like a Bach cantata) while writing because then I begin to sing along and lose track of my writing.

When my Muse descends, I put on the coffee, put on the Mozart, and write the hell out of stuff!

This afternoon for example I wrote for 4 straight hours. Got in some good words, too.

E-mail

My biggest distraction is that I just HAVE to check e-mail every 5 seconds. I still haven't found a cure for that though...

The Internet, definitely. I'm really my own worst enemy.

I don't have a lot of other distractions. I live in a quiet apartment, and my husband works all day, and generally, he entertains himself when he's home. Playing Grand Theft Auto, or whatever. I block out the noise of the TV with my lovely MP3 player. Right now, I have all my Wilco albums on it, and I just listen to them.

Another thing I like to do when I'm in the middle of a project that's going well is create a soundtrack. Sometimes, it's just an entire album--the soundtrack to my last finished novel was Wilco's A Ghost is Born--the music and the themes of the album pretty much matched what I was writing perfectly.

Right now, my biggest distraction is homework. NOt much I can do about that. I have things to read, papers to write, etc. Unfortunately, my academic brain seems completely shut off from my creative brain, and it's difficult to maintain both at the same time.

My main distraction is work, and I can't really avoid it. My husband and I work from home and will often have so much work on that we don't have time to do anything else, except maybe read for an hour or so before going to sleep.

My husband can also be a distraction. I am unable to share my WIP until it's finished (otherwise the story stops feeling like mine and I can't continue to write), so whenever he enters the room when I'm writing, I have to hide it. This is a silly reflex. He knows my feelings about sharing WIP and would never peek over my shoulder to sneak a glance. But I still have to do it. And this interrupts the flow. Sometimes he'll come into the room and start talking to me without realising I'm writing. And usually I'm too nice to say 'Go away. I'm writing.' so that interrupts the flow, too.

Another distraction is the dog, who sometimes decides to bark out the window at people walking past, because he doesn't understand that the whole town isn't his territory. Or he's being particularly cute and therefore needs to be cuddled.

And, of course, the other big distraction is the Internet. I could have been actually writing, instead of reading and writing posts here. Actually, I couldn't, because I'm still not quite awake and have no creative energy when I've just got up, but in theory I could.

I am currently scanning the small ads in the local paper every week, looking for an old and cheap laptop that someone wants to sell. That way I could still write on the computer, but not be distracted by the Internet. I would also be able to write in a different environment to where I work, which I think would make me more productive. I could go sit in the spare room, or hide in the basement, or go to a cafe or the library. Yes, I know, that's what pen and paper are for, but I don't write very well with pen and paper. I type a lot faster than I write, for a start, and I tend to do a certain amount of minor editing as I'm actually writing, which isn't so easy on paper. Paper doesn't have Ctrl + Z, either. Or a built-in thesaurus.

How do I deal with these distractions? I don't. I wish I could, and hopefully one day I will manage it.

My distraction is a 3-year-old who thinks any time I sit at the computer is an open invitation for her to climb on my lap and fiddle with EVERYTHING within reach. I love her to pieces but it can get frustrating. I can't tell you the number of times I've been writing with her on my lap.

I try to squeeze in my major writing time in early morning and late at night. If I've managed to get a good chunk of work done for the day, I come here to play. Or try to catch up on my more than 700+ E-mails!! :faint:

Greenwolf, if you have to be distracted, that does sound like the most adorable way in which to be.

Amongst my distractions are such elements as:

• the internet, but that's a given for all of us, because we're here, right?;
• my collie, Shania, for whom two walks daily are never enough;
• my fretting over the fact that I should be out looking for a part-time job as my full-time summer employment ended last week; and
• the blue acoustic guitar that my brother left here temporarily and which I have appropriated as mine, mine, mine. (In the name of Wallace Stevens, we need a blue guitar icon.)

Luckily, university starts up again on Monday and writing will once again become my distraction.

If I really need to write I don't depend on self-control. I give my flatmate my moden cable on Friday (or whenever) with stricty instructions not to return it until Monday.

TashaGoddard said:

I am currently scanning the small ads in the local paper every week, looking for an old and cheap laptop that someone wants to sell.

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Try www.tigerdirect.com, a guy I know got his computer there and although it's a very pricey one, they have good deals on a lot of barebones systems, especially PCs. They don't seem to have any really low-priced laptops that I can see just by scanning the site a bit, but a while back they were running a special on some in the $200-$300 range, which isn't bad.

As for avoiding distractions? My primary way of avoiding them is to get moving and not stop. I come home from work, clean house a bit, then pop in my chair and fire up the word processor. I just don't stop long enough to think: "Hm...I sure would like some brownies..."

I don't watch TV, so the internet's my only real distraction, but if I get to work right away it's not a problem.

Distractions

Things like TV, radio, and internet aren't distractions for me. People are distracting. Highly so. The only wyas I've found to solve this problem is an office with a door that I close, and a stern warning that when I'm working I need to not be bothered unless it's something truly important.

Barring this, I go somewhere else and write. In good weather, I'll often go camping for a few days, or just to the park, if I don't want to camp. Our library is close to a small restaurant, and I can write at either of those places.

But most of the time, it just comes down to closing the door to my office, and making sure everyone understands that a closed door means I'm working.

Mine is similar to Greenwolf's except he's 5. (the little monster in my avatar) He's at Kindergarten in the morning, so I have that time. Next year he'll be all day like his brother so I'll have until 4. Of course there's the dogs who think I am here to play all day with them. Then there's housework that never gets done.

I haven't been dealing with it very well lately. Haven't written much fiction in the last week or so.

I also have the children factor as my main distraction. I have four of them. The older two are at school during the day, but the younger ones are 3 and 2, respectively. I find I can't write when I have one ear tuned for whatever they're getting into now

Unfortunately, I'm a morning person and my creativity goes away around noon. So any writing I do has to be early, early in the morning before the kids get up.

Valerie

Jamesaritchie said:

Things like TV, radio, and internet aren't distractions for me. People are distracting. Highly so. The only wyas I've found to solve this problem is an office with a door that I close, and a stern warning that when I'm working I need to not be bothered unless it's something truly important.

Barring this, I go somewhere else and write. In good weather, I'll often go camping for a few days, or just to the park, if I don't want to camp. Our library is close to a small restaurant, and I can write at either of those places.

But most of the time, it just comes down to closing the door to my office, and making sure everyone understands that a closed door means I'm working.

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I'm completely the opposite. TV/radio/music (even if I don't watch or actively listen to them) are very distracting. The Internet is evil. But people don't distract me -- actually they energize me. I find myself unable to work in a closed room. Stephen King said he closed the drapes and let loud music blast in the background -- I tried it and it DID NOT work one bit. I got really stir crazy and just needed to get out and breathe some fresh air and see some people.

I don't work well in libraries either because it's too quiet.

I work the best in coffee houses or restaurants. Some of my favorite places: Starbucks, Bruegers, and Panera Bread, during non-peak hours. (Too many people can be really annoying)

TashaGoddard said:

My husband can also be a distraction. I am unable to share my WIP until it's finished (otherwise the story stops feeling like mine and I can't continue to write), so whenever he enters the room when I'm writing, I have to hide it. This is a silly reflex. He knows my feelings about sharing WIP and would never peek over my shoulder to sneak a glance. But I still have to do it. And this interrupts the flow. Sometimes he'll come into the room and start talking to me without realising I'm writing. And usually I'm too nice to say 'Go away. I'm writing.' so that interrupts the flow, too.

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We must be married to the same man.

I think sticking with writing would be easier if writing weren't so sedentary. One gets restless. Maybe more exercise is the answer. And writing looks like "just sitting there doing nothing"; if we were moving around, people might not interrupt so much.

I am unable to share my WIP until it's finished (otherwise the story stops feeling like mine and I can't continue to write), so whenever he enters the room when I'm writing, I have to hide it. This is a silly reflex.

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I do this too, all the time. Being in the dorm, there are lots of distractions. Just last night I got ready to start at 10pm, ready to pound the keys straight on until midnight. 10pm on the dot, my friend comes in to have me take a break with her (she assumed I was doing schoolwork) that would only be five minutes. Come look at pictures!

... and so I did. And that five minute break turned into a 30 minute conversation down on the other end of the hallway.

The one and only time I tried to write in the library for quiet, I kept my laptop screen turned away from my friend so she couldn't see what I was doing (even though she wasn't looking) and everytime she got up to check out another book it was all I could do to not slam the lid down, even if she was going in the opposite direction.

This is why I enjoy writing at night, propped up in bed (with the laptop facing the wall, of course) a pair of headphones and the same exact song (depends on my mood) playing on repeat.

Distractions

maestrowork said:

I'm completely the opposite. TV/radio/music (even if I don't watch or actively listen to them) are very distracting. The Internet is evil. But people don't distract me -- actually they energize me. I find myself unable to work in a closed room. Stephen King said he closed the drapes and let loud music blast in the background -- I tried it and it DID NOT work one bit. I got really stir crazy and just needed to get out and breathe some fresh air and see some people.

I don't work well in libraries either because it's too quiet.

I work the best in coffee houses or restaurants. Some of my favorite places: Starbucks, Bruegers, and Panera Bread, during non-peak hours. (Too many people can be really annoying)

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I have a writing friend who matches you perfectly, and it serves him well.

I can work with people around, but only if those people aren't trying to talk to me. Restaurants work pretty well for me, though when one gets too busy I go elsewhere.

If there's noise when I'm writing, I want it to be noise of my choosing. TV, radio, music, etc. But I also like working in silence. I can close my office door and stay there all day, or I can go out in the woods and stay for days on end without hearing a human voice or a radio, and enjoy every minute of it.

But on occasion, I do get restless. "Cabin fever," we call it here. When this happens I get through the day's writing, and then give in to it. I think getting out is important, and I always take a walk between writing sessions, and try to go somewhere away from the house every weekend.

But I do love solitude, and I wish everyone could go one full week without hearing a human voice. It's an interesting experience.

This spring I'm thinking of going up to a cabin in the mountains and just spend two or three days there, hiking, watching the stars, etc. without TV, phone (cell phones don't quite work up there), or the Internet. Just me and my laptop.

That might be interesting.

katiemac said:

This is why I enjoy writing at night, propped up in bed (with the laptop facing the wall, of course) a pair of headphones and the same exact song (depends on my mood) playing on repeat.

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I often do the same, but I don't face the wall and if I'm listening to music, I have a set of songs on repeat, not just one. And no headphones.

As far as distractions go, if I'm in my writing groove, I'm impervious to distraction. If I'm not, anything and everything can distract me. That's how I can tell whether I'll have a productive writing session or whether I should give up and go watch TV already.

My computer's in the living room, and today I've got my girlfriend and my kids tramping through all the time. Problem is, when I know I'm going to be distracted for a few minutes, there are a couple of sites (this obviously being one) that I'll have a quick look at... and obviously it's never just a quick look. I'm possibly the only person who actually cheers when this site goes down.

No particular problem with TV, except when Desperate Housewives, Top Gear, Eastenders, F1 or The Simpsons are on. Or Brat Camp. And sometimes Richard & Judy. Hmmm. Maybe it is a problem. Oh yeah, and of course if I do get distracted by the TV, it reminds me that I haven't had a tea break in a while and that I should clear my mind for a sec. See above.

One thing I definitely can't do is write when I think someone can see what I'm typing. Having someone look over my shoulder makes me unbelievably tense, and I then have to have a little break, quick look on here...