#An undistracted mind Pc

(See our post on apps for mental wellbeing for more) 16. The Headspace app or Calm may be a helpful place to start. I sit cross-legged in a quiet room and count my breaths. It’s not easy for me, but when I do it I find it really helps. I find it helpful to meditate a little before I start work. Meditate to develop concentration and calmness

#An undistracted mind Pc

Try noise cancelling headphones (I use Bose), music (see ‘ Music for working’), silent PC (see ‘ Tools for writing: Silent PCs’) or ear plugs.

SilenceĮxternal noise can break your concentration. Some people, like me, are highly motivated by a sense of progress. Use a platform like Joe’s Goals to keep track of habits in the long term. Track writing output over time in a spreadsheet. Use word count to set goals – 500 words and then a break, for example. The best advice I ever had was from my history tutor at Oxford – keep a notebook with you at all times, because you never know when you will have a good idea. Lots of people praise walking or running as a source of inspiration. Give it deadlines, tell it to show up for work at a fixed time every day, give it feedback and praise, and define what you expect from it. Your muse works for you, not the other way around. The more you can do to stop distractions before they happen and allow you to focus on writing, the better. Turn off your radio, TV, shut the door, close your email program, put your phone on mute, close unnecessary tabs (stop working on your own blog!) and use a distraction-free word processor. It involves writing in a stream of consciousness first thing every day. I have to admit that I haven’t tried Julia Cameron’s technique for unblocking your creativity, but other people – including my wife – swear by it. Other people find it helpful to determine their most productive writing-time and stick to it. This helps me allocate time and measure progress on longer-term projects and ensure that I have enough time to do all the work I planned. When I have a busy week laden with deadlines, I block out time for my work in Microsoft Outlook. It also feels more virtuous than staying up late with work. (See ‘ How I trained myself to get up earlier in the morning’ for more on that.) Just changing your routine can be helpful, so try waking up a little earlier. To counter this tendency, I keep scrap paper (recycled A4 printer paper cut in half) by my desk and scribble reminders. I’m always getting up and going somewhere to get something or do something. Sometimes a change of location (go to the park, Starbucks, the Kitchen – anywhere but here) or a change of method (use a quill, a pencil, a typewriter, a different word processor, Linux, smoke signals) can help. Go somewhere elseĭo you write a bit more neatly when you get a new pen? Change can be beneficial, even if the effect is temporary. A little bell every five minutes helps remind me to put my focus back onto my writing if my mind has wandered. I like using meditation timers when I write. Gently remind yourself that you’re trying to concentrate, and it will be easier to return your focus to your work. When it happens, stand back from yourself.

The trick is to stand back and notice your brain doing these things. People who think they are good at multitasking aren’t, according to researchers at Stanford University. Multitasking doesn't workĬonversely, failure to concentrate can be very unproductive. All these mental states require concentration. If you play sports or video games and you find yourself ‘at one’ with what you’re doing, that’s another. “Time flies when you’re having fun” is one version. (See the Wikipedia definition.) When you’re writing like this, writing fluently comes naturally. It happens when someone concentrates and is fully engaged with what they are doing. Psychologists describe a powerful form of concentration called ' flow'. Without further ado, here are my secrets to staying focused: 1. In any case, I hope you find the following 22 tips useful, especially if you're gearing up for a big writing push, like for the annual NaNoWriMo (or the poetry equivalent). And yes, I know that some of them are contradictory. I’m writing this post to share some of the habits and techniques that have (sometimes) helped me to improve my own concentration. It sounds simple enough, but a lot of us (myself included) often struggle to stay on-task. It’s not the only thing you’ll need, but it’s certainly a good start! To be a great writer, you have to be able to concentrate. Marketing manager vs agency How I focus on writing Our most popular articles Choosing good project names