Distractions

Nothing distracts me. Nope. I don't get up fifteen times an hour for more coffee. Bowl full of Kissables downstairs? Don't think twice about it. Giant cat meowing up at me from the floor? Don't hear her, nor do I stop to pick her up, set her on my lap, and pet her incessantly until she settles down.

Distractions are simply not an issue in my life.


Are you rolling on the floor laughing right now? Yeah, me too! I get distracted every ten minutes. It's not easy keeping my rear glued to the seat. I'm sure you find a way to get writing in, one way or another, so I'm not going to focus on the daily distractions of writing. What about the broader aspects of writing, though?

Earlier in the year we set writing-related goals. How are you doing with them?

Did you intend to read five books on writing craft this year and realize you've read zero?

Did you tell yourself you'll take an online course once every three months, but you haven't signed up for any?

Or was this the year you were going to either design your website or hire it out, but it keeps getting shuffled to next week's to-do list?

What distracted you? Did the task seem impossible when you thought about it? Did you fail to write your goals down? Or did you think that you'd have plenty of time to do them--later?


Don't beat yourself up. If something is important to you, you'll do it. The key is to write it down and to plan for it. There's nothing worse than letting time slip past you and realizing you have not done the things you wanted to do.

Go ahead and review your goals for the year. What has distracted you? Do you still want to accomplish them? Maybe the idea of reading five books on the writing craft doesn't really appeal to you. Consider other ways of learning. Do you enjoy the internet? Print off great articles on writing and collect them in a binder. Maybe you would prefer interaction? Join a writing group or take a college course.

If your goal was to start your own website, talk to people you know who have experience with websites. Look into design programs. Take a seminar on website design, or take an online course about HTML code or WYSIWYG programs.

If your life is beyond busy, consider dropping most of your goals off your list. Life feels better when you don't have bottled up expectations in the back of your head. Go ahead; make a new list with only one goal: writing.

What distracts you? A giant cat? Loud toddlers? The bag of Doritos in the cupboard? Telephone? Internet? All of the above? I'd love to hear from you!

Enjoy your weekend!

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