Sadly this is real. Unfortunately, I think this is one of the things that kill creative work. Either you get distracted by having social media close by. You get a call. Text. Work. In most cases family. There’s always something going on with families, and it is frustrating.
Just imagine writing an intense scene, getting that WOW effect brought up to the climax of the story, and then being bother to check out something irrelevant that a cousin you haven’t spoken in ages posted on social media. It would be worst if after being interrupted, you forget how the next line should have gone.
Interruptions affect rhythm. It affects your schedule. Sometimes you want to write, create, draw, and all of a sudden you get a call, kids, or whatever stop you from pouring your creative juices on your medium. In my case usually is family. Two daughters, wife, and dogs. Yeah, the dogs interrupt too. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but sometimes it is beautiful chaos.
At the moment of this post, we are passing through a pandemic that has us on lockdown. Being an introvert, I love it. But when I do decide to write, my girls are little, they need something or they can’t do everything by themselves. My wife is working at home, so sometimes when she gets business calls I have to drop everything and make sure theirs no fighting between the girls or that they act quieter.
How about work? Do you get interrupted by your work? I do. Not in a sense that I whine about it, but if you are creating, and your mind is at work, it doesn’t help. You had a bad day. You get a call from your boss after work. Group meeting or conference calls, and the many etceteras that can go one the way.
I did touch on the theme of social media but it is also internet, Netflix, and whatever that can interrupt you by distracting you. Sometimes we become our own personal saboteur for having too many things around us that can grab our attention. In my case writing, it is hard as it is. I do it because I love it. Somethings I did was limiting myself to movies and TV shows to watch. Except for DARK, I want to see season 3 badly. When doing research sometimes I wonder about the mists of the internet and need to look for lighthouses to find my way back. Because I run my own social media account, I have my phone most of the time. Sometimes is bad because once you enter social media, you can get easily distracted.
How can you avoid distractions? Unless you isolate yourself from the world, there is no way, to avoid them. But you can try and set some parameters to help on your creative journey.
1- Set timers with family. Let’s say you want to create something for an hour or two, a day, each day, or whatever time you need. How can you compromise? Can I write for two hours and then we can watch a movie? Eat outside? You need to be transparent with your own family. Make them see what you are working, that way it doesn’t feel like you are just disappearing.
2- Work. It is easy to say, let your job things outside the door and more if you work under stress, or you are the main provider in your household. If something at works needs your attention, ask yourself; what can I do right now? Can I fix the problem now? Does it need my immediate attention? If some of the answers are no, then you can forget work for a while.
3- Phones, social media, internet, and other forms of distractions. With some phones now, they are being updated with FOCUS modes, Do Not Disturb mode and other things for you to stay on track. Put your phone away. Disconnect the TV plug. This part right here takes more discipline than a specific strategy.
In the end, these are just some ways to reduce interruptions. They are not going to vanish 100%. Do your best to stay focus. Always remember why you are creative. Why you are doing why you are doing. Take one step at the time and never stop. Even if it takes longer than usual, commit to your cause and finish what you started creating.