I met with my writer’s group on Wednesday and we got to talking about how hard it is to focus on our fiction sometimes, in the light of all the distractions that are available via the internet. One of my writing buddies told me that she sets aside time every morning to write before she allows herself to do anything online.
For her that means sitting down to write as soon as she wakes up around 8, then by 10 she clicks over to check emails and start her regular business day. She told me that really, there’s nothing in her life that can’t wait that one business hour for her to attend to it.
It made me realize that my life is in a pretty similar spot. I can’t start writing until 9 when I sit down in my office (I’m busy with the kids before that), but really, most of the time, my career will not collapse in on itself if I don’t check my email for two hours.
So it’s been two days now. I come into my office, sit down and just start writing. It sounds like such a small thing, but it’s been awesome. Something about giving my creative work priority – before my brain is cluttered with daily life – allows me to make some real progress. I hope I can keep it up.
I know at some point I will have clients with a rush job or some other thing that demands my attention early in the day, but generally speaking, this is a habit I’m going to try to keep.
So if you need me (I mean REALLY need me) before 11, call me.
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