Ever feel like the world conspires to distract you every time you sit down to write?
In this week's "betweeniesode," award-winning fantasy author Megan Haskell and USA Today bestselling mystery thriller author Greta Boris share their best hacks to shut down distractions and focus on your writing.
Tip #1: Use technology to your advantage. Try out apps like Freedom which shut down distracting websites and social media across your devices, setting "Do Not Disturb" on your phone, or Brain.FM for white noise.
Tip #2: Change location. If your household chores are calling your name or family keeps unintentionally interrupting you, try going to a coffee shop or library to get those precious words on the page.
Want even more productivity tips? Check out our online course, Finish Your Novel Faster: https://www.authorwheel.com/finish-your-novel-faster
Get ready to accelerate your writing speed, stay motivated, and keep your story rolling!
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Episode Transcript
Hi everyone and welcome to the author wheel
between ESODE number six.
I'm award winning fantasyauthor Megan Haskell.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
And I'm Greta Boris, USA Today Bestselling Mystery
Thriller author, and together weare the author wheel.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So today's quick tip episode is all about avoiding
distractions.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Dun, dun, dun yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
We are nearing the end of the month, and so you
know I can imagine because youknow, I've done this before
myself too by now you're one oftwo things You're either way
behind schedules, but you can'tafford distractions, or you're
on target, but now yourmotivation might be lagging a
little bit, and so it's too easyto get caught up in
(00:50):
distractions, which will thencause you to fall behind.
Or maybe you're just a superspeedy writer not me and you're
way ahead of the game, and soyou're done already and you
don't care anymore.
In which case, why are youlistening to this?
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
You're just distract yourself all over the place.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
We don't even care.
We don't even care, right, butfor the rest of us, exactly.
So, distractions can be a hugehurdle to overcome during, you
know, a challenge like this,especially at any time when
we're writing, distractions canbe a problem, but especially
(01:29):
during nano win, that word countis just so important you just
can't afford them if you'rereally trying to quote, unquote
win, nano-rimo.
So how do we avoid distractions?
My favorite thing is to use anapp called Freedom and basically
(01:52):
what it does is it turns offany distracting websites.
So it won't let me get onFacebook, it won't let me get on
like email or any social media.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
It's kind of like parental controls for you.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Yes, yes, it is self-imposed parental controls
and it works across all mydevices and syncs up all my
devices.
So I won't I can't use my phone, I can't use my iPad and I
can't use the Internet on mycomputer.
So, yeah, it's kind of brutalbut it works.
(02:31):
That would do it.
All you can do is write andthat's really what you want.
So that's the app I like and Iuse.
If you have more self-controlthan I do, sometimes you could
just turn on, do Not Disturb onyour phone so that you're not
getting phone calls or textmessages or, you know, facebook
(02:56):
app messages or notifications orwhatever, whatever Right.
So just turn on, do Not Disturb, and that might be enough for
you to stay focused and avoidthose distractions.
But those are my two favorites,greta.
Do you have any others that youlike and use?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I use Do Not Disturb.
Do Not Disturb, you know,sometimes I'll just turn the
volume off on my phone too, youknow.
But I do like do not disturb,because I write on my iPad a lot
and you know, oh, so-and-soliked your post on Facebook will
pop up in the middle of myscene writing, or whatever.
So, and then you go?
Speaker 1 (03:32):
yeah, I gotta go see what they said.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Exactly because that's so important.
I know so.
And the other thing I likeabout do not disturb is that
your favorites list on yourphone.
So, like my husband, mychildren, they can get through
to me.
So if there was a familyemergency they can get through
to me.
So, yeah, I don't feel quite sodisconnected, but made my hot
(03:59):
tip on the do not disturb is,when you're done, turn it off.
Because, I will leave it on andI'll wonder why.
You know I Didn't get any.
No, but you texted me all dayand it's like oh, it's because I
had do not disturb on, yeah,yeah, but it very, it's really,
really helpful.
It's really.
(04:19):
That's what I've been using inmy crash.
I've been doing my own privatenano the past couple of days
just because I was behind on amanuscript, and that's what I've
been using and that just isenough for me.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
So and one of the one other app.
I mentioned this in ourbetweeny soad on Getting into
the flow.
But the other app that I alsouse to help avoid audible
distractions and to keep mymental state focused is the
brainfm app, which plays whitenoise music and and it's
(04:58):
specifically designed to helpyou get into that flow state.
Supposedly it like matches upyour brain waves or something
scientific that I don'tunderstand, and so I do like
that and I think for people weactually had another author
friend Told us that she has ADHDand for her having some other
(05:21):
sensory input Allows her tofocus, whereas if she didn't
have you know the noise on that,you know the some music plane
or some other some other sensoryinput that she finds it very
difficult to stay focused.
So that can actually reallyhelp as well.
It's not quite the same asblocking distractions, but but
(05:46):
it does help focus your brainand so it keeps, especially the
music because and brain FMbecause I put headphones on and
I have noise cancelingheadphones and so all I'm
hearing is that white noisemusic.
It just shuts down all of those.
You know the dog barks or youknow the car drives down, big,
huge truck drives down thestreet and I'm going.
(06:08):
Who's moving, or whatever?
like those kinds of littledistractions that can take you
out of the scene are blocked,quote unquote.
You know, so to speak, by thatwhite noise.
So that's another good tip foryou know, blocking out
distractions, I think.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
That's a good one.
Now, tip number two is if youhave a home full of distractions
, or if you are distracted byall the things that you need to
get done that aren't writing.
So sometimes our distractionsare internal pressures.
(06:49):
Right, I'm sitting in my house,I'm writing in my family room,
I glance up at my kitchen andthere's a sink full of dirty
dishes.
There's like this little hookthat comes from the dirty dishes
and starts dragging me towardsthem because, God forbid, what
if some neighbors stopped by andsaw that I didn't do my dishes
(07:10):
right?
I mean, those kinds of thingscan be your own internal
distractions.
And or you've got dogs, you'vegot people knocking at the door,
you've got family membersrunning around or what have you.
So to solve that kind ofdistraction, take your writing
on the road, go to a library, goto a coffee shop.
(07:31):
Some people write in their cars.
I think they even have desksthat you can hook to your
steering wheel laptop desks tohook to your steering wheel.
That's cool, I know I meanbecause, especially if you are
in the mom phase where you'reconstantly show furring Megan
can't relate to this whereyou're show furring your
children.
(07:51):
Yeah, like you're in your showfur phase of life, you know that
can be an awesome tool.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Yeah, I'm actually going to have to look into that,
because I am facing down a newschedule here pretty soon where
I'm going to just be making lapsaround this day and waiting for
children to be done on Thursdayfrom different activities.
So that would be very helpful.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
We were one of the women we interviewed this year
who's incredibly prolific author, tanya Capis.
She writes in her camper, soshe has a camper parked on her
property that I'm sure they takeon camping trips as well, but
she uses it for an office, ahome office, and it's just
(08:37):
separated far enough from thehouse where somebody would have
to open the door, walk outside.
You know what I mean, and eventhat can help.
There is also what you weretalking about Brain FM.
There are some studies that showthat the background noise of a
coffee shop can have the sameeffect on your brain.
So, provided you don't sityourself next to someone who
(08:58):
speaks with a really loud voiceand you find yourself typing
their conversation which hashappened to me and you want to
go like whack them over the headwith your laptop, you know just
the noise of a coffee shop,even can, and the feeling of
being around people that arebusy and doing something, but
(09:19):
yet it has nothing to do withyou, so that can be a good
distraction too.
So sometimes I really like togo to the library and the coffee
shop.
The other good thing about thatkind of thing is that you can
also tell yourself I can't gohome until I write X number of
words, you know.
And the later it gets, and thehungrier you get, you know, the
(09:43):
more you're like oh my gosh, Igotta hurry up and write because
I really want to leave thiscoffee shop.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
So so long as you not continuously buying yourself
scones or something, becausethat would be counterproductive.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Oh yes, absolutely.
Now I usually stick to coffeeshops with refills on the coffee
.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
that's my yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah, so those are our two tips today for avoiding
distractions.
And you are on the home stretch, everybody, so just keep going.
We're cheering you on from thesidelines, so, as we say, keep
your story rolling.
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