Distractions

Yesterday I was reflecting on some things, and I thought I'd share my thoughts with you. Months ago, I had viewed this video from author Keary Taylor about reasons why your book hasn't been completed (hands up here.)

The first thing she mentions is distractions - and that is the whole subject I had on my mind yesterday. So often I get frustrated because even as a homemaker, it just seems as though I don't have the time or energy to sit down and write. Why? Distractions. Here are the things which personally challenge me the most:

• not sleeping enough, because who can concentrate well on 6 hours of sleep?
  
• chronic pain - unfortunately since this is my daily life, it's an ongoing issue to force myself to do things even though I have a migraine or I'm just not feeling my best so yes, it does often interfere.
• errands - I'm the kind of person who likes to get things done and over with so that's how I handle my time, but unfortunately it also often leaves me so exhausted. At the same time, if I know I haven't cleaned the dishes or done the laundry, that's going to sit at the back of my mind until I get them out of the way. Our current apartment is one of those places where no matter how much you clean it, there's always so much more to do. So that's a huge distraction for me, especially when my OCD kicks in.
• the dreaded word for an INTJ: emotions. Yes, I have them, and yes sometimes they do get in the way. Having been in a toxic relationship for about 8 years, those things don't just go away and sometimes they creep up on me. Type A personality, right here! I've been trying to walk more for my health recently, and one of the things I've dealt with is dangerous drivers. In two weeks, I was almost hit twice. Both times really rattled my nerves, and was a huge distraction.
• interrupted routine. My husband started a new job this week, so we've been getting settled into a new schedule, new sleep and eating hours, etc. All of that stuff really throws me off. Although, admittedly this time it's only a slight adjustment so I seem to be swinging into it a bit easier than usual.
• entertainment. This is a big one for me. Between video games and the mountain of books I have in my to read pile (I can't just read one thousand books at once? who knew?), it's just sometimes easier to do those things than to get work done. Especially when my pain is at a high point (you're supposed to rest with a migraine, right? time to read a book! yeah, not necessarily...) Also on this subject: Facebook. I've learned the hard way, if I keep that tab open, I get a terrible obsession to check it waaaayyy more often than necessary. Again, often it is just used to stir up more drama, which creates an even bigger distraction in the long run. In short: step away from the technology (as I'm typing on a computer, ha.)
• wanting to write, but not having the ideas.  I think this is one of the reasons I felt compelled to write this blog post. So often, I'm just stumped. But, with this... aha! This post came easy. There is a saying which I find to be so true: Writers write. That's it. So even when I'm not working on one of my books - which currently feel as though they will never get finished - I do journal every day and I'm hoping blogging again will help me get back into the swing of things. 

One of my current challenges is the last point. So often, my brain seems to get stuck into left brain mode so I find it difficult to switch gears. Music is one of my biggest inspirations (especially when I'm moving around.) I keep playlists on my Youtube account, organized by music which I associate with my different characters. Sometimes listening to those songs help kick the writer's block, other times... not so much. I tend to do everything backwards, and I realized recently I've been trying to write without brainstorming first. So my current writing goal is to brain storm daily (which I did yesterday, and hey look at me... now I'm writing! Success!)

One of the tricks I want to try for now is to listen to a song, and write down what emotions it evokes or any imagery it brings forth. It's how I've gotten some of my best ideas, so I just need to ignore all of the above distractions and do it more ;)

Some of these distractions of course can be true for other aspects of life, certainly. Not just writing. Do you have a trick for ignoring those distractions? Any tips for getting rid of writer's block? Let me know!

(Also, be sure to check out Keary's books if you're a romance or paranormal reader; she has several free stories on Amazon.)

As always, thanks for reading.

I completely forgot... I wanted to drop in a few things here at the end. Here's what I'm currently listening to.

 I also wanted to share the Good Omens trailer with you guys in case you haven't seen it... because, Terry Pratchett! (though I have to wonder what he would have thought of this finally being made.)