This week on Open Book Blog Hop we’re talking about your distractions, or more particularly, what are your Top 5 Distractions and how do you deal with them?
Distractions aren’t fun, but sadly we have them a lot in our lives. Especially with the Internet. There’s always a distraction waiting around the corner.
My top five distractions are:
- The pop up messages telling me that someone posted something on Facebook. OMG, this is a big on. Just typing this post out I was a minimum of 23 messages.
- Email. I also get messages when I get emails. And those pop-ups usually include the first line of the email. But not the whole line, just enough that I feel compelled to stop and check in case I need to respond right away.
- People. When I’m at work (I work in a law office part-time) I am interrupted constantly. By constantly, I mean – all the darn time. Between co-workers, attorneys, telephone calls, emails, and generally, messages popping up telling me that someone tagged me on Facebook. 😄
- Having too many irons in the fire. I seem to have a problem. I get involved in too many things. Then, I have too many things going on at the same time and I find myself in the middle of something only to think I should be doing something else.
- My phone. Like many people, I have a smart phone. I get notifications every time someone pins one of my pins on Pinterest. Each time someone likes one of my Instagram posts. Emails, tweets, text messages, Facebook messages, you name it, I am never unplugged. While this seems like a bad thing, it is a way of life. I work hard and I’ve fallen into the trap of being afraid I’ll miss an opportunity to get involved in a promotional opportunity, that will bring my books to new readers.
Do you have a way of holding the distractions at bay? If so, share your tips.
Distractions aren’t fun??? I think that’s the problem … they are too much fun.
But, yeah, writing in a whack-a-mole society requires distraction discipline. As a cost-saving measure, I turned off my Internet access on my phone — I can still use it as a smart phone wherever there’s a wireless connection, but only if I choose to load it. It saves me $50 a month, but the side benefit that has become the main one for me is that it got rid of a lot of distractions. I also turned off the pop-up blocker. I still hear a ding when someone posts to Facebook (which I chose), but I can ignore background noises better than visual distractions, so it works for me.
I think you’re correct, they are fun.
I haven’t loaded any social media on my phone. And I limit my time on Facebook when I’m on my computer. That helps me stay at least somewhat focused.
It’s smart not to get all wrapped up in it.
Oh, god, those pop ups! I e gotten good at ignoring them! So distracting though.
They are distracting, but sadly I suffer from FOMO! Can’t seem to stop!