It’s time to write. Ready, set, . . . get distracted. Today I'm sharing one of my favorite book writing software programs, Freedom, that helps me beat online distractions.
As writers, we lament our lack of time, but how often do we let distractions steal the little time we do have? In this post, I’ll show you how I use Freedom, along with a few other tricks, to keep me focused, even when life is crazy.
Plus, check out our Top 10 Pieces of Software for Writers for more tools to help you write better and faster.
Think you have no time to write? Got distractions?
I get it. I teach high school full time, manage a busy family of six with all our schedules, meals, and madness. We move every two to three years for my husband’s job.
And I still make time to write a terrible first draft of a novel each year, along with twenty to thirty articles or short stories. How? I’m ruthless about my time, and I’ve learned to manage distractions.
The place where I lose time most often? Online. Some people can drive out to Walden Pond away from the wifi, or they can *gasp* shut it off. (I have three teenagers. Shutting off the wifi is reserved for crisis-level-code-red-emergencies and hurricanes. Feel free to judge me, but I’ve already judged myself.)
I’m the worst about saying, “Oh, I’ll just look up one quick name,” and two hours later I’m watching instructional videos on making marmalade or carving penguin-shaped ice sculptures. (And no, neither marmalade nor penguin ice sculptures have appeared in any story I’ve written, so it isn’t research—it never is).
When I stopped losing time online
That's where Freedom comes in. Freedom, one of my favorite book writing software tools, allows me to block the sites that distract me online for a set period of time.
I first read about it on Michael Hyatt’s blog. While I have mad respect for him, my initial thought was, “Have I descended so far that I need an app to block myself from being distracted online? Where’s my self-control?” I had a small existential crisis.
Five minutes later, I signed up to give it a try. Once I registered for a new account at Freedom.to, I set up a block list. Freedom automatically lists several sites, but you can add as many sites and blocklists as you need. I clicked the button for each of the sites where I know I lose time.
Actual blocklist of a writer I may know.
Once my blocklist is established, I select the device and amount of time, which can range from 1 minute to 1441 minutes (Who’s writing for 1441 minutes? Lemme get my calculator, that's like . . . 24 hours). As soon as I click start, I can't get to anything on my blocklist until the time is up.
After going through the setup process, if you try to go to a blocked site, it just won’t load (not that I tried this more than four or five times, in the interest of science, of course).
Use Freedom's recurring sessions to make writing a habit
With Freedom, you can also schedule recurring sessions, so that at a set time every day (or however frequently you choose), you won't be able to access the sites on your blocklist, even if you try.
That means if you decide to write on Tuesday morning at 6 am, you can sit down at the computer and not have to worry about getting distracted by Facebook (or consider yourself trapped staring at your work in progress, however you want to look at it).
It's perfect for my scheduled writing sessions when I need to stay laser focused, and I use it a couple times a week, despite the snarky voice in my head that sometimes tells me as a grownup I shouldn’t need such things.
But, but, but . . . what if?
What if I need to look up a name? Location? Historical fact? I don’t do it during my scheduled writing time. I use a placeholder like TKname or TKlocation in the manuscript, and then I’ll go back and fix it later.
Freedom is especially effective when you are first establishing consistent writing habits, because clicking on that “Start session” button is a concrete way to signal “work time.”
If you find Freedom's a good fit for you, they have a few different plans to choose from. It works on Windows or Mac, as well as iPhone and iPads, and you can get a number of trial sessions free to see it in action.
Beat those distractions and start writing
Every time I sit down to write, the voice in my head will tell me writing doesn’t matter as much as _fill-in-the-blank_. Something will break, usually involving water. Four people will ring the doorbell, and my stomach will rumble loudly. It’s going to happen every time. Unless it is a real emergency, I have to keep my butt in the chair. If my creative-scented candle burns out and my music glitches and the lights flicker, I don’t let myself waver.
Repeat after me: After I write. After I write. After I write.
What about those times I sit down and don’t feel like writing? I write.
What about the times I feel like switching projects? I write for ten minutes on plan, and then I’ll switch.
What about when the cursor blinks at me and I don’t know what the next sentence should be? I retype the last two sentences and keep writing for ten minutes.
I don’t let my inner “Why don’t we do something else for a minute” voice get started, because once she starts, we end up making homemade marmalade and scones (flour is easier to keep than blocks of ice). At least with Freedom, I can block out my online distractions. Now to find a screwdriver to disable the doorbell.
What's your biggest distraction from writing? How do you combat it? Let us know in the comments.
PRACTICE
Take fifteen minutes to focus on your writing and nothing else. Write a scene where a character is distracted from an important task. Force him or her to act to solve the problem.
When you're done, share your scene in the comments below and leave feedback for your fellow writers.
In your
densly packed Life you practise each second to postpone. We can learn to
postpone the PAIN we imaghine now. It may act on us later as well….
This is really insightful. I always find myself researching that or checking this as well. I have to get it right the first time. I have begun to add in a different color font ( get location to .. or find city near…. or some other note for me so when I am editing I can address the issue then.) My biggest distraction is ME, how do you fix that? I am always finding something that needs doing around the home- even if it doesn’t. Then I hear my characters tap their feet and cross their arms aheming me as they impatiently wait for me to get back to their story.
I hear you! I don’t have a quick fix, but just know you aren’t alone. We all fight it. Steven Pressfield calls it the resistance, and we just have to keep out-writing it I think. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Well I wasn’t in my way today, I added 2000 more words to my current Writing in Progress.
Go Debra! Nice!
Thanks! Its turning out to be a mystery romance. Two of the pieces I wrote for a class writing assignment fit perfectly and then I added words to fill in the blanks, like adding clay to fill in cracks…. Even I cant wait to get into my work each day.
I find myself easily distracted when it’s just me and the laptop. Mostly because I don’t get a lot of time to myself, so I try and fill it with stuff I don’t really need. Social media is the worst, particularly Twitter.
Freedom sounds like something I should use. I would get a lot more done on the laptop. But if I’m writing a first draft, I’ll write longhand.
Thanks for sharing your struggle, George. Twitter is one of the rabbit holes I fall into, too. You can always use the free trial to see if it’s a good fit. Thanks for commenting!
No ifs, ands, or buts – I need this. Too many shiny objects lead me astray!
Downloaded it, tested it out, loved it, registered for a year!
Many thanks, Sue. I’m already thinking of instances where I can use it for more than just writing.
You are welcome. Hope you continue to find it cuts out distractions online!
Sexual Politics
Proverb: Even a small star shines in the darkness.
How
old was I when I realized Daddy was more handsome than other fathers. When he
smiled, women would curl their toes. His lean work-hardened body loved to move
to music. He called square dances but really shone when he fox-trotted with
Mother.
Lean
of hip was like a hidden motivation for years. I didn’t prize handsome since I
was the ugly duckling in my family. Mother said never to marry a man who didn’t
love to dance. But child-bearing age tilted my focus to big, which seemed
important—protective until I learned that folly at birthing time.
After
the divorce, Daddy asked me, “What’s wrong, did he want it too much?”
“No,”
I said, “Not enough.”
“Oh
my God,” he said. “You’re just like me!”
So
proving I was desirable after rejection by my bi-sexual husband re-ignited the
flame of those lean male hips of promise. Promiscuous is awfully close to the
word promise—of love returned. It took a while to realize every touch meant
something to people, their families, their friends. It took even longer to
learn that power was an empty aphrodisiac.
So
I remember the swarthy Italian, white headed with blue eyes who walked as if
his suit was his skin—like Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. I can see the
golden crown of curls, the perfect proportions, the sorry lack of intelligence
in my randy cousin. And my mouth watered to taste the blond eyelashes of
another wayward husband the first time I saw his face. And those nearly red
pupils of a man from India., the huge hands on the bar that caught my
attention, the tight ass of my second husband who loved to dance but not only
with me. I could pull them in only to find they didn’t fulfill a longing I
couldn’t explain. The sympathizing orifice was non-reciprocal. They were like
bottles of alcohol—tossed when emptied. I told one therapist it was all
material. I was a writer. She answered, “What, you don’t have an imagination?”
And
then loneliness had its sway and I reached for a human with integrity to see me
ford the river of life happy to ride the waves of one contented loving man.
Thanks for sharing your practice, Rohn.
You are welcome.
An awesome post, Rohn.
Thanks for sharing. There’s a whole story in your post.
Very, very well told.
Thank you for your encouragement. Every word helps.
In my case, whenever I start procrastinating I fuel myself with what I like to call “Writer’s Fuel.” That’d be junk food, and ice coffee. After that I just write for at least one hour. No matter how crappy, or how much I hate what I write, I just continue doing so until I reach the planned time. Of course it’s much easier said than done.
Food can be a powerful motivator–agreed. Glad you have found something that works for you!
What an interesting article! I just need to block the TV, kids, food, and sleep…..!
Seriously– once they have an app for that, please sign me up for the lifetime plan.
me too, hopefully they will add boyfriends, video games, the smell of food cooking….
When I’m writing like this and don’t want to be distracted by looking up a name or something like that, I use a symbol like @ or #. (like @newname). Then I just have to do a find for the @ and it comes up quickly. It lets me do an easy find while allowing me to leave a note for myself as well.
This a handy tip, Steven. Do you mind if I adopt it?
I borrowed it from someone else, so feel free. 🙂
Goodie! Thanks!
An alternative to this is SelfControl. It’s free, and you download it to your laptop. You add the domain of any site you want to block, set the time, and click start. You can’t undo the block, even if you uninstall the program. As a person with the least self control ever, I use it for studying, and writing.
I used SelfControl for years, but just switched to Freedom because I love how Freedom syncs with your phone. Thanks Serena!