#43: How to Avoid Distraction and Manage Attention to Write

How do we avoid distraction and stay focused as writers?

The Writing You’ll Pursue: Focus at the Macro Level

First, let’s look at managing our attention at the macro level; that is, knowing where you want to go as a writer and determining how to get there.

When we’re first starting out as a writer, it’s fun to try new things. A little poetry, some corporate work, magazine submissions. The variety lets us see new possibilities until, in time, you formulate an idea of where you’d like to go as a writer. When we take time to think that plan through long term, at the macro level, it’s far easier to focus our attention on how a given activity fits into the big picture.

Here’s my approach: I begin to dream for the years ahead, set goals for the next quarter, and then plan and schedule about a month at a time in more detail. The last step: I form my daily list and agenda from this monthly plan.

My approach isn’t perfect. I’ve had to adjust and evolve, but it keeps my attention from tumbling directionless like tumbleweed.

Shiny Object Syndrome: Glimmering Distractions

Have you heard about Shiny Object Syndrome? This can lure us away at both the micro and macro level.

How quickly we can be distracted by a trend or gadget, or someone else’s project or goal that looks way better and more effective than ours. Our brains are attracted to novelty, sending us tumbling off in another direction, and we’ll chase after it, only to look back and realize we’ve left behind a dozen unfinished projects that would have established us as the writer we wanted to be.

Don’t let shiny objects lure you away from your high-level goals. Instead, when you see an idea online you’d like to try, simply take note of it. Copy the URL for safekeeping, jot down the approach, then set it aside until you complete the task at hand.

Grabbing the information temporarily satisfies your interest in the shiny object; you can look into it later as a reward for finishing your primary goal.

Managing Attention at the Micro-level

The next way to think about managing our attention and avoiding distraction is to think of it at the micro level. This is how I originally thought about attention and focus. I thought about those pesky day-to-day, moment-by-moment distractions that pull us away: the notification on my phone, the dogs barking, the nagging feeling that I forgot to do something.

To create a distraction-free environment, try to organize your workspace and keep it organized in a way that doesn’t add to the chaos.

I try to keep my workspace clear each evening and restore the order so disarray doesn’t create a confusing and distracting mess. Also, I have a second workspace in my bedroom. I can retreat to a desk in the corner; when I need next level solitude and silence, it’s there.

And when I really want to manage my attention, I head off to a third location offsite, like the library, where I can find a quiet spot undisturbed to work.

Focus Your Attention Using the Pomodoro Technique

You can try a focusing idea for your writing time, like the Pomodoro Technique, where you block out 25 minutes and work focused the entire time and when the timer goes off, take a 5 minute break, then reset the timer for another 25 minutes. These chunks keep us focused while promising us a break.

Remove Browser Tab Temptations

During the break, let your mind wander, but during the focused 25 minutes, turn off notifications on your phone and on your computer, close all your browser tabs. In fact, close your browser altogether and if you need to, you can even use the Focus view in Word, Scrivener, or Google Docs. This mode removes from view all the formatting tools and tabs so you’re only looking at the page and the words you’re typing.

Managing the Mind with Meta-Awareness

These simple solutions help control the external distractions, but you still must manage your mind to try to keep it from wandering. When you’re doing a task and realize you’re thinking about other things, you’re “meta-aware.” And the more meta-aware you are, the easier it is to catch your mind in the act of wandering and nudge it gently back on task.

Sarah Lazar, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School who was quoted in a BBC article, says, we can use that meta-awareness to our advantage.

She says, “[W]hen your inner voice is like ‘oh I’ve got a deadline’ you can say, ‘Ok, quiet, I’m trying to concentrate’.”¹ When a question comes to mind or a little to do list item kind of nags at you to pick up the dry cleaning or empty the dishwasher, try to grow aware of what your mind is doing. Write down a note about those nagging thoughts—remind yourself to swing by the dry cleaner later, for example—and then get back on the task. Follow Dr. Lazar’s lead and tell yourself, “Okay, I wrote it down, now quiet. I’m trying to concentrate.”

We Can Learn to Focus

Every day we fight myriad internal and external distractions that compete for our attention. But we can learn to focus on one thing to the exclusion of others. We can begin to take charge of our wandering attention, nudging it back to the task at hand. Master your mind. Manage your attention.

Tell yourself, “Okay, I’m writing now, so be quiet. I’m trying to concentrate.”

Additional Reading:

• #42: Manage Your Energy So You Can Write
• #41: 5 Steps to Find Time for Writing
• #40: Take Charge of Your Writing Space, Tasks, and Projects
• #39: Manage Your Writing Space to Be a More Productive Writer
• #38: Manage Your Writing Space, Time, Energy, and Attention
• Novelty and the Brain: Why New Things Make Us Feel So Good
• Concentrate! How to Tame a Wandering Mind
• Write in the Middle: Yes, You Can Maximize Distraction-Free Writing
• Write in the Middle of Everyday Distractions: 7 Strategies for Getting Back on Track

Footnote:

1. Williams, Caroline. “Concentrate! How to tame a wandering mind.” BBC, 24 Feb. 2022, www.bbc.com/future/article/20141015-concentrate-how-to-focus-better.

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