Must…Stay…Focused!

Hey fellow creatives!

As many people who are close to me know, I am the absolute worst for procrastination!
I am the world’s worst for distracting myself by the simplest of things, especially during this lock down when I have both Hubby and son at home and under my feet constantly!

I mean who really wants an energetic 3 year old hanging off of their arm when they’re in the writing zone?!

Over this period of uncertainty, and thanks to the help and support of my husband watching the wild child, I have managed to organise my time for my ‘work hours’ to be productive and here is how I have done it…

Word Count

To reach my end goal within a reasonable time frame, I work out a daily word count that suits me. I don’t stick to this number, but instead use it as the minimum number I want to reach on that particular day. This means that if I’m feeling more productive, I haven’t restricted my flow, and if I’m feeling a little blocked its a number I’m able to reach without too much difficulty.

Set Time

I set myself a daily time frame of two hours where I’m separated from everyone and alone to be able to concentrate. I make sure its a time that I feel most productive and suits my family’s daily routine (especially at the moment with little one not in school).
I also set a separate amount of time aside should I need to do any research in connection with the story to help with the overall plot and landscape of the piece.

Background elements

This usually consists of music or white noise to help me concentrate on my writing and get into the ‘zone’
I have a whole story inspiration music playlist on youtube that I listen to, helping me fall back into the story easily. If you check out the ‘Behind The Scenes’ section of the website you’ll find it listed, so feel free to check it out!

Temptations

I am so terrible for flitting through my phone when I’m meant to be working on my manuscript!
Things like Messenger and Twitter just have a tendency to draw me in at the wrong moments, which leads to me wasting precious time! To solve this, I use an app called Forest, which was recommended to me by a friend and fellow writer.
With this app I can go into ‘Deep Focus Mode’ which means if I leave the timer, the little tree growing with perish and the timer will reset. Using this has really pushed me to focus on what I should be doing, instead of the temptations of social media!

What are your methods to keeping yourself focused during longer writing sessions? Do you use music or would you rather work in complete silence?

Let me know!