Welcome to IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a haven for insecure writers of all kinds.
This month’s optional question: How do you deal with
distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?
I started writing a response to this month’s question last
week, but then, well, I got derailed.
I am not an effective multi-tasker. When I'm writing, I’m all in, to the detriment of anything else on my to-do
list. Currently though, there’s a construction project going on at my house
which has provided enormous distraction. No matter what I think I’ll be doing
after work each afternoon, very little of it has been getting done.
The early mornings are quiet, so I can still write then, and
during the first two weeks of demolition, I wrote after work, sitting down at
the computer wearing headphones. Now though, it’s the decision-making stage and
every answer requires research. Rather than doing the late afternoon writing
that has been powering me along, I’m Googling. The building inspector has
required me to replace a door to the garage. Research doors. Do I want overhead
pendant lights? Research, research, research and…no. The bricks I chose to
match existing brick for a part of the project are unavailable, which meant
visiting brickyards. During one such adventure, Google Maps played games,
sending my daughter and me onto the highway then off and over it, only to put us
back on the highway where we started. Ultimately, it directed us to a subway
parking garage and announced we were at our destination. When we finally found
the brickyard, half a mile from that garage, it was in the process of being
demolished. Thanks AI. I swear I heard the phone chuckle.
So, back to this month’s question. How do I deal with
distractions? With headphones until that doesn’t work anymore. Then I hop off
the tracks. It’s all good. I still have my morning writing time. Eventually
the project will get done and besides, the trip to the brick yard provided fodder
for future writing.
In the meantime, they're about to start hanging cabinets. There are drawer pulls to choose. Who knew you could have handles or knobs, or handles and knobs? (Insert eye roll here.) Time for more research.
