Trouble Focusing?
6 Tips to Help You Tune In
Back before I started self-publishing, I didn’t have a problem staying focused. I prided myself on being super-focused. My sister called it “hyper-focus,” and I took it as a compliment. I was able to divide my days nicely between teaching online courses, editing other people’s books, and writing creatively. I was known for boasting about how much I loved my work life.
I still love it. And maybe that’s part of the problem . . . but I digress, this is a blog about focus.
As soon as my self-publishing life began, I started to lose that wonderful, easy focus I once naturally enjoyed. Self-publishing is a job that comes with a laundry list of to-dos. Surviving the launch is one thing, but it doesn’t stop there. It’s an ongoing process. There are promos to run, blogs to write, social media to tend to, and a lot of other minutia to keep up with.
Being in charge of multiple books is similar to keeping after multiple children. Each is at a different stage in its life and requires different care and attention.
The mind becomes preoccupied with the never-ending details, and the focus eventually wanders. You might have “Writing Time” written on your calendar, but your brain is thinking, “Did I ever set up that Freebooksy for next week?” Or, “Did I update the manuscript after I came across that misspelling on page 103?” “Did I make that dentist appointment I’ve been meaning to make?”
Sometimes I am distracted by so many details that I spend the entire day chasing them, and when I get to five o’clock, I think to myself, What the hell did I do today?
Here are my tips for getting into focus on those days when you want or need to have a productive writing day:
Clear your desk. Remove evidence of the other tasks you need to get to after your writing time is over.
Shut the door. Everyone in the family will need you for something the minute they realize you’re not available. They can wait, or figure it out for themselves.
Get an app that offers focus music. It’s out there, and it works for me. I have the Mindspace app, and I love their focus music. What is it, exactly? It’s very repetitive, instrumental music (no words to distract you) that keeps your brain engaged for hours on end. If you don’t have an app, put some light classical on. It’s been scientifically proven to work.
Turn off your phone. Remember the days before we were notified of every happening that occurs on this bright blue planet? We were a more focused species prior to cell phones, I think we can all agree. Your texts and emails will still be there when your writing time is over.
If you have to go on social media be mindful when you do it. In other words, get in, do what you have to do, and get out. We all know how easy it is to get sucked into the FB/Twitter/Insta rabbit hole.
Take short breaks. Be sure to get up and move a little bit every hour. Stand up and walk around, do a few stretches, jog in place. Wake the body up so you can remain in focus mode.
Sometimes you want to work, but the focus is just not there no matter what you do. If you’re having one of those days, don’t fight it. Go back to the to-do list and make some of those small tasks disappear. Keep a running list of what needs to get done and chip away at it. Hopefully you’ll be able to settle into your next writing session.
Kim Catanzarite is the author of the award-winning Jovian Universe sci-fi thriller series. She is a freelance writer and editor for publishers and independent authors, and she teaches copyediting for Writer’s Digest University. Her Self-Publishing 101 blog discusses the ins and outs of indie life as well as all things writing craft. Kim lives on the east coast USA with her husband and daughter.
