Writing with Distractions and Fighting Boredom

Distractions are inevitable.

I find I have to teach myself how to carry on writing even when there are people around me talking, or when a friend calls (haha that doesn’t happen), or when some device I have is just oh-so-tempting. The work needs to happen even when I would rather be numbing my brain with something else.

If I learned anything during my years of studying it’s that deep focus takes practice. Often I have to create a more productive environment for myself by stowing my phone somewhere where it’s not going to light up at me and turning everything on silent, but when those options aren’t available for whatever reason (like visiting somewhere else, when people will continue coming in and out of the door), I have to keep my head down. Distractions will come up, and instead of allowing them to take up more time than they need, I have to interact with them (…pleasantly) and then carry on working on whatever it was I was working on whenever I get the time to return to it.

And another thing I have to keep reminding myself: Not everyone will “get it”. I’m much more energized about a creative project when other people around me are similarly invested, but the process is often lonely. Embracing the solitude of particular environments is a good step toward accepting the inherent boredom that sometimes comes up when hard at work on something.

If you can get through the boredom there is always a reward. Sparks of inspiration and exciting new ideas come when we work through things long enough.