Avoiding Distractions that Interfere with Writing

With the Internet, distractions are impossible to avoid. At least they are for me.

My plan for today was to answer a few of the e-mails that piled up overnight, take a look at a couple of blog sites, then get to work on the revisions of my work in progress. Since I was compelled to watch the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game this afternoon and I had a late afternoon Planning Commission meeting, avoiding distractions was a must.

It didn't happen.

One of my e-mails was about a Twitter chat at noon. Since I give programs on e-marketing and promotion, I wanted to find out how the Twitter chat works. Probably because I had never before joined in one of these sessions, I found it hard to follow. It's a quick way to ask questions and get a response. However, since different strangers were involved at the same time, I was uncertain whose questions were being answered. Also, I found some of the questions confusing and decided that perhaps you needed to be an insider to understand them.

Was it worth my time to take a look? Yes. I learned a few of the pitfalls and probably won't try to participate in another Twitter chat unless I have a very good reason to do so.

What did I learn about avoiding distractions?

1. Make a list of goals for the day.
2. Allow a short time for social interactions.
3. Go to work on the list and check off each item.
4. Any leftover items go on a sticky note in front of the computer keyboard.
5. Get to work on the WIP.

Since I lost so much time today, I'm going to work tonight on my WIP.

Shelby Miller Pitches in First Major League Game.

To make matters worse, the Cardinals lost their game. However, on a happier note, their big pitching prospect, Shelby Miller, came in to hurl two scoreless innings in relief. He struck out four of the batters he faced. At Spring Training 2010, I met Shelby who was the Cardinals no. 1 draft pick in 2009.