Unless I'm having a particularly positive day filled with motivation and feelings of good things to come, I rarely find it easy to make myself sit down and work on editing my book. Writing is the fun part, but the editing can be tiresome. I am not a grammer whiz and figuring out if period should go before or after parentheses is not my cup of tea. Yet I can't afford to leave it to the professionals so day in and day out, I sit down and edit.
I've noticed since I got my very first smart phone two weeks ago that it has been much, much harder to sit down and edit, or for that matter, to do anything productive, and far too easy to spend hours pecking away at my smart phone, building imaginary towns and bakeries, playing word games with my friends, updating my calendar, and roaming through facebook. One minute I'll be heading to the gym, and and thirty minutes later I'll still be standing by the door, in my workout clothes, checking my notifications or texting a friend. It seems to be getting harder and harder to find completely uninterrupted time in which I can concentrate solely on the task at hand . . . and I'm unemployed!
How do you cope with a world overly saturated with technology and distractions? When I write I turn off wireless on my computer so I stay focused, but even that is less effective now that I have the entire world at my fingertips with my iphone. And this phone isn't just detrimental to my productivity but also to relationships - my fiance grows tired of me picking up my phone and messing with it when we are supposed to be having quality time together. I know I'm not the only one with this problem . . . is there any hope for us?
It's hard NOT to be distracted by life, but when it comes all wrapped up in a portable device, it's even harder. Friends and family are at your fingertips. Pictures and videos to share are available to share at the tap of your finger. What's not distracting about that?
ReplyDeleteIf you really want to write, turn off your phone and leave it in the other room. Close yourself off for a set amount of time, and don't leave that room until that time has elapsed. It's the only way! :)
Thanks Diane! That does seem to be the only way to avoid gettng caught up checking the phone. It's kinda like when we were kids and our parents wouldn't let us do homework in front of the tv!
ReplyDeleteI found a similar problem when I got my iphone too. Suddenly reading blogs and checking forums seemed a Whole Lot More Interesting than listening to the teacher in class.
ReplyDeleteDiane's advice is good. Far better than the way I relieved myself of the distraction of the iphone - which was leaving it on a plane as I was landing in Singapore.
Singapore? Ouch! Sad thing is, that since I use mine for both a planner and a money register I'd be so lost if I lost it!
ReplyDeleteAs I discovered yesterday, smart phones aren't the only big procrastination enablers. I really was going to do a lot of editing. Then it was 70 degrees outside!