It can be difficult to get work done when there are so many distractions around us in today’s society. The article “How Can You Create Fiction When Reality Comes to Call” uses the author, Carolyn Chute’s, detailed daily routine as an example of how many things can get in the way of trying to write. Things like Chute’s typewriter breaking, multiple visitors, and household chores to attend to add up to make it nearly impossible for her to make any progress on the novel she desperately wants to work on. Although some distractions will be unavoidable, there are some things that can be done to help stay focused. Drake Baer’s article “6 Ways to Be a Hemingway-Level Productive Badass” talks about some of the techniques Ernest Hemingway used to stay productive, such as waking up early in the morning to write and keeping track of how many words he wrote each day.
A few of the distractions I face when I attempt to write are work, making plans with friends, and thinking about work I have to do for other classes. I also tend to procrastinate and waste time doing things like watching YouTube videos and playing video games. I think that it is possible for me to become a better writer, and that avoiding distractions would be part of it since being productive and writing a lot is an important part of improving your skill as a writer. Some steps I could take to prevent distractions and become a better writer would be: 1) Getting enough sleep. I have trouble focusing and remembering things if I haven’t gotten enough sleep the night before, which makes it difficult to do schoolwork. 2) Scheduling times to write. I try to do this but often procrastinate and end up doing assignments the night before. I then have to rush to finish, which makes the writing worse. 3) Writing in a quiet place. I can’t stand random noises when I’m trying to focus and get something done. It makes me really angry and I can’t write when I’m in a bad mood. 4) Walking my dog before I write. Taking a walk helps me clear my head and makes it easier to sort through my ideas, which helps me to have everything in order when I sit down to write. 5) Trying to get everything I need to do that day done before I start writing. That would help me be able to completely focus on writing without having to worry about unrelated things. 6) Taking less breaks. Once I take a break doing work, I am literally never going to want to go back to it. It’s really hard for me to start working in the first place, so once I’ve started I should just keep going until it’s done.
3 Comments
Emily Masuda
1/31/2017 03:51:35 pm
I find myself struggling with the same problems!! I find that I procrastinate a lot too, and I find trouble focusing in on the task at hand. I like the solutions that you suggested to avoid procrastination and the tips you gave to better focus. For example, the allotted times for writing would probably help me stop procrastinating, and would help me focus better. I may try using some of your techniques as well as my own on my next assignment.
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Sabatino
2/1/2017 06:32:42 am
I enjoyed reading this post. Your personality comes through in your language choices and your perspectives about writing. I appreciated your frank discussion about procrastination, and I agree with Emily that your writing process looks like a good solution to that problem. Let's see how it goes!
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Megan Nestler
2/1/2017 08:28:48 am
Number five in your writing process is an incredible idea. When you have to write a paper and have math homework and reading articles for another class it definitely does not help with your focus on the paper. By getting everything done it's like 2/3 of the weight is being lifted off you and the 1/3 left is to devote to your paper. I am definitely going to try that next time and see how well I do with writing my paper.
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