I just joined the Insecure Writer's Support Group. How could I not with a name like that? Like all writers, I have my moments when I'm sure someone is going to discover that I am quite a bad writer. An imposter. A wannabe. A sad pretender.
But with IWSG I get to read encouraging success stories of other writers as well as writing tips. They also have a fun blogging prompt the first Wednesday of each month. May's prompt is:
How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?
I work from home. A home that includes three cats, a son who works the weekend shift so he is roaming about the house (a.k.a. my office) Monday through Thursday and a husband who wanders in during the day depending on his work schedule. Plus visits from my parents who live nearby (they often bring food so I won't be discouraging their visits!), the delivery man, retired friends who think it would be fun to "do lunch", a garden that wants me to plant flowers, a treadmill that wants me to run a mile, a sunshiny patio that thinks a nap would be a great idea, an ever growing TBR pile, not to mention the ever growing laundry pile.
That's a lot of distractions. The problem is - I love them! OK, not the laundry pile. But everything else. I've worked in a 9 to 5 office environment and now I want to enjoy the flexibility of working from home. But I still need to get the work done.
So I've found a perfect partner to help me manage the distractions. No, it's not the dashing teddy bear with the green pullover or the scrappy wolf with a maroon bandana. It's the little lady in front of them. Alexa.
Alexa started out as a gift for my husband the music lover so he could instantly fill the house with whatever disco, country or 80s hair band song he wanted to hear. It was such a hit I added some Alexa Dots which we dotted around the house so the music could follow him from room to room.
Alexa has become my secret weapon that allows me to take time for my distractions whether it be cookies and conversation with my mom, planting sunflower seeds or even a quick reading session. I give myself the freedom to enjoy the distractions but Alexa keeps things under control by only allowing me a set amount of time to indulge. Love the Alexa alarm!
I could ignore all my distractions and just get down to business but I think that wouldn't be completely effective. It's sort of the "Don't think about giraffes....what are you thinking about?" conundrum. I could physically ignore distractions but they would still be stuck in my mind, reducing the quality of my writing time. So it's better to allow myself a brief distraction time before getting back to writing time, 100% focused.
So yes, I have distractions. But I don't let them derail me. Instead, with the help of Alexa, I give them a controlled portion of my time.
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