Driven to Distraction

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING:  Reds, I need some advice. Like many of you, I’ve been mightily distracted by the events of the past several weeks. I have late-in-life diagnosed ADD, and even in the best of times I’m prone to whipping my head around at every shiny new thing that pops up in my inbox or appears on my phone. This is, as they say, no bueno, because I’ve got edits due, I’m behind on grading for my college classes, and the dust is piling up in gentle drifts in my house.

 

So I need suggestions on how to tune out the rest of the world! When I’m in the groove, I actually hyper-focus, and I can get SO much done (or read. Honestly, it’s usually when I’m reading.) Help me out, here - what’s worked for you to screen out distractions and get ‘er done?

 

LUCY BURDETTE: Honestly, this hasn’t been the best focused time for me either, Julia. But I will try. I’ve turned off a lot of my news, especially alerts. I do not need to know about every cabinet appointment and so on–this gives me heartburn and a serious sleep disorder, and most important of all, THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW. 

 

What I can do is write, do my job as president of the Key West library, maybe cook. Reading has been harder these days. For work, I keep a list with boxes to check next to each task. I’m about to set up a giant list/spreadsheet like the one Hank posted the other day. This will have word counts per day on it and that’s helped in the past. I know my best writing time is morning, so I try to tackle the writing first. Otherwise I’ll get to the end of the day without one single word written. 

 

BTW, if any of you Reds want to set up a private accountability group with check-ins after Thanksgiving, I’d be in:).

 

JENN McKINLAY: I am recalibrating as we speak by attending RAMM - Romance Author Mastermind - hosted by the indefatigable Skye Warren. It’s been three full days of intensive business talks about writing (this conference is more focused on biz than craft) and I have learned so much. I think reconnecting to the writing community is key, as surrounding yourself with similarly motivated people keeps you on task. Sort of like when you perform with a person who is more talented than you–in any capacity such as theater or sport–it automatically lifts your own performance. 

 

I am a big believer in setting limits. On all of my apps, I have time limits set. So, if I’m on the socials too long, I get kicked out or-more gently-a question pops asking me if this is a good use of my time. LOL. 

 

The flipside to my limits is setting goals-large and small-so I’m back to writing sprints (happy to do those with you, Lucy!) where I set a timer and for 25 minutes I do nothing but write, take a break and repeat. The pages add up pretty quickly!

 

RHYS BOWEN:  I think we are all finding it hard to focus at the moment, Julia. I’ve been dealing with John’s medical problems as well as all the national news. Actually I’ve withdrawn from any news at the moment. No TV news, no NYT except for Wordle. I’m trying to wean myself off Facebook as I can be sucked into watching too many cute dogs with buttons or travel bits. So one Facebook a day from now on! And I hardly ever do Instagram.  But having almost daily chats with my Jungle Red sisters means a lot to me.

 

I too am writing in short bursts and I’ve given myself permission to be late if necessary (something I have never done in my life). The world won’t fall apart, Penguin books will not stop publishing, if I turn in the next Royal Spyness a month late. I have to come up with the proposal for the next bit standalone pretty soon.  No idea. At least I have several ideas flying around but none that has landed on my shoulder yet. These days I want to write something because it gives me great joy to write it, not because it is commercial.

 

I have found that nature is a great healer and centerer. I go sit on the beach near me or even look out from my balcony for ten minutes. And I’ve been crafting. When you are making a gnome you have to concentrate and there is no place for wild outside thoughts.

 

HALLIE EPHRON: I’m not even chasing any deadlines but I feel the same… overwhelmed. And while I agree nature is a great healer and centerer, as Rhys says, it doesn’t get the writing and myriad chores done. For me it’s my *reward* for doing the have-to’s. And it is SO gorgeous here in the fall.

 

That, and I swear by lists, too. These days I need to carry my list (and a pencil) around with me or I’ll have forgotten what I want to add by the time I remember where I left the list. Honestly, if I could have back the time I spend every day LOOKING for [fill in the blank - phone, glasses, to-do list ….] I could probably nail every single item on my list.

 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Yes, like Jenn’s app, I ask myself if this is a good use of my time. I’m like a little kid about it–I make deals with myself. I can do Connections and Wordle, and then I set my writing timer for 34 minutes and promise myself that I will do nothing else until 34 minutes is up. Because for me, it’s all about the focus.

And I tell myself–if I can’t even keep a promise to myself, what does that say about my determination? 

And the 34 minutes fly by, and I do it again. Because yes, it’s all about getting focus.

I also keep track of my words per day, and I do it, and when I am behind, I say–that’s okay, it’s fine, I know how much I have to write to catch up. It’ll all work, it ALWAYS does, and worrying is not a good use of my time.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Thanks for broaching this topic today, Julia, because I desperately need these suggestions, too. I have been so distracted, although I’ve tried to stop reading any news other than the headlines as they whiz by. I figure the best thing I can do for the world is to write a good book, and it’s certainly the best thing for me.

But life seems to continually get in the way!!! I’ve got to get back to setting a schedule and doing sprints like Jenn and Hank–in fact, I’m going to copy Hank’s big spreadsheet! Me putting my word count in my planner at the end of the day is just not doing the trick–there are way too many blank days. You know I’m a big fan of Ben Aaronovitch? He tries to hold himself accountable by posting his word count on socials (was on Twitter, now on bksy, I think.) Not sure I’m willing to go that far but I’m inspired by it!

 

JULIA: Okay, dear readers, now it's your turn. What are your tricks and techniques for taming the distraction monster?

 

All images courtesy of Freepik

What We're Writing Week : Julia is scheduling and sprinting

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Everyone this week has been talking about the many jobs that come along with the title "author;" researching, editing, promotion - even teaching others (which is always also about teaching ourselves as well.) Sometimes, one of the jobs that comes along with being an author is "relearning the habit of but in chair, hands on keyboard."

As some of you may remember, my Word for the Year is DEEP WORK, because I'm devoting myself to retraining my oh-so-distractable brain to do the sort of demanding creative work I used to do without really thinking about it. I've gotten a lot of help from our own Celia Wakefield, who has worked miracles with my ability to self-organize, and I've also greatly benefited from my friend Jessica Ellicott, who really, really needs to teach a course about her "so stress free even I can do it" outlining technique and who has encouraged me to try different mind hacks for keeping myself on track and writing.

The ability to be creative is not, perhaps, a muscle, but the ability to sit in the damn chair and not get up until you've written your words for the day most certainly is. Yes, I've had good reasons to let my writing muscles get flabby over the past four or five years, but you know, none of those hold true anymore. The Maine Millennial has moved out with her dog and cat, the Sailor is safe at home in Virginia with his sweetheart, and Youngest is a college grad who is 100% self-supporting. It is past time for me to get cracking.

Photo by Brooke Staton, @mainememoriesphoto

So recently, I've tried two things that has led to great results. The first it scheduling my writing time. I know, I know, can you believe I didn't before? Now I have it set up, complete with notifications and a program that puts my phone on Do Not Distract automatically. 

The second - and this surprised me - is sprinting. From my college days, I've always been the sort of person who writes fast and well when under a deadline. The problem for me is the end-of-the-book deadline is WAY too far away, and frankly, is more of a suggestion in my case. My poor beleaguered publisher gave up keeping me on deadline about a decade ago. Even scheduling a perfectly normal three hour writing session allows me to kind of.. drift. Maybe I have time for a load of laundry?

But if the timer's on for an hour and a half, I've discovered I write. Fast. No time to linger over every word as is my tendency. No time to think and rethink every choice. Get it down, because the clock is ticking. And really, I start each day's writing with a quick pass-through of yesterday's words, so I can fix the most egregious errors then.

Is it working? Reader, it is, as you can see from this excerpt from AT MIDNIGHT COMES THE CRY.

“Oh, my God.” Tiny raced to the window. “Oh.” She sounded as if she had just finished a five hundred meter sprint. “It's okay. It's a friend of Cal's.”

Clare joined her at the window. A fully tricked out pick up pulled sung against the downstairs. They watched as a beefy guy climbed out, ran his hand over his stubbled hair, and stared at Clare's car. He walked toward the downstairs, disappearing from view beneath the deck.

“Is he coming in?”

Tiny shook her head. “You can't get from one floor to another inside. You have to go around and through the outside door. We use it like a garage – it's got Cal's workroom and the chest freezer down there. It's not even heated.”

The man reemerged carrying a couple of small duffle bags. He slung them into his truck cab and then headed for the railroad tie stairs.

“Oh, crap.” Tiny set Rose back into her playpen.

“Should I, um, leave?”

“I don't know what he wants. Maybe he needs to use the bathroom.” Tiny opened the door and stepped onto the deck. Clare slung her diaper bag over her shoulder and followed, her hand tight on the baby carrier. “Hey, Dillon.” Tiny passed her hand through the air. “Cal's not here.”

“I can see that.” Dillon had the look of a high school linebacker running to fat, his neck overflowing his chamois shirt collar, his gut straining against the buttons. He wore a pair of wraparound sun glasses that made him look like an out-of-shape version of Robocop. “Who's this?”

Clare and Tiny looked at each other. “It's, uh, Clare?”

Clare held up the carrier. “We're having a Mommy-baby date.” She used her brightest, most brainless voice. “Rose and Ethan are both eight months old. And they're both our firsts. It's really nice to compare notes with another mom, isn't it, Tiny?”

Tiny nodded emphatically. The big guy looked back toward where he'd parked his truck. “Does Cal know you invited somebody out here?”

As subdued by her husband as she was, even Tiny bristled at that. “No, but he will when he gets home, and I honestly don't see as it's any of your business, Dillon.”

Clare did her best giggle. “I can't imagine he pays that much attention to scheduling play dates.”

He held up his hands. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just, uh...” he focuses on Clare's parka. “You look like you're ready to leave.”

Clare glanced at Tiny. “I was about to, yes.”

“Well, you should go out first.”

“Why?”

“Uh...”

Clare wondered if she was the first person to ever question Dillon, or just the first woman. She glanced back to Tiny, and saw she was looking as stressed as she had been when Clare first arrived. “Never mind.” She hugged the other woman tight. “I hope we can do this again soon.”

Julia: Dear readers, what are your mind hacks for getting stuff done? And have you been successful in revamping old habits into new ones?