One of the biggest things I struggle with when I write is staying on task. Sometimes after a few minutes into writing my mind begins to wander. While I’m more conscience of when I begin loosing focus it’s still something I have to stay on top of.

I recently tried counted how many times I got distracted within a 30 minute period. There were so many I lost count. Even now as I write this article I find myself becoming distracted. Here are a few things that have helped me stay on task.

A few articles back (Writing Habit: Getting Organized) I wrote about decluttering your desk. Keeping my writing space free from clutter has helped me tremendously. When my desk is clean I find that I am more productive in my writing than when my desk is dirty.

In order to immerse ourselves in the worlds we are trying to create we need to remove ourselves from the world we live in.

While our phones help connect us to our friends and family they also can be a huge distraction. To eliminate that distraction turn the phone off or at the very least set the ringer to silent.

I prefer putting the phone in Airplane Mode.

While I’m writing my kids and occasionally my wife have the habit of coming to me to ask me questions or need me to do something. This takes me out of my writing and in some cases causes me to lose the momentum I had been building. For Christmas my wife got me the best gift possible. It’s a simple sign that hangs on the door.

If the sign is present everyone is to keep out.

The biggest proponent of distraction is the Internet. The Internet is a double edged sword. On one side it is a helpful tool. It helps provide the necessary information needed to help you excel in your writing. On the other side it can be extremely distracting. There are countless times when I went looking for information I could use for my book. Then several hours later I realized I had been watching funny cat videos on YouTube. (In case you were wondering, my book has nothing to do with funny cats.)

If you realize that the Internet is more of a hindrance than help just turn it off.

While all of these are helpful tips, your awareness of what you are doing is key. When writing our minds need to be focused on two things. The first and main thing is focusing on what we are writing. The second is to focus on that we are doing nothing else but writing. In the event we start to stray and get off topic we need our minds to actively tell ourselves that we need to get back to writing. This is a skill that must be practiced over and over again. This is a skill that must be mastered in order to succeed, not only in writing but in anything we are doing.

This article was a suggested topic I received though email. If you have a topic you would like me to cover send me an email at Axeman@thisweekinwriting.com.

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