Does Your Train Of Thought Get Derailed?

Are distractions a huge part of your life? They are for me. I try diligently to stay focused on whatever I’m working on.  But, sooner or later my overactive mind will start a running commentary in my head and the train of thought is constantly turning off the main track. I might be working on something here at the table, maybe even a blog post.  Suddenly I’ll remember that I intended to sew up Cookie’s toys this weekend. Here it is Sunday so I better make sure I do that today.

To make sure I don’t forget I put a post it note on the notebook I keep next to me where I drop little notes and reminders as I’m working posts and other writings. As I put that note there I look at the clock and realize it’s almost time for lunch. I still don’t have breakfast dishes done. I need to get them washed up before we can start the next meal.  And in moments my thought changes again to something else.

While I don’t want to quit the post while I’m on a writing roll, I know I have to hurry things up. And then all of a sudden my mind starts to fill up with all the things I have to get done today.  There are the dishes, sewing up Cookie’s toys, cleaning out the tote I use for work, gathering my work clothes for tomorrow … and the list goes on and on. I try to pay attention to the post I am writing. But, I might just as well give up. At this point any writing I do would be forced and sound stilted instead of sincere.

I do this a lot. Sometimes I wonder if I do it as a subconscious avoidance of writing the post. For reasons unknown, I have this awful habit of not finishing anything I start. It’s not that I don’t want to finish things. I just seem to sabotage myself so I don’t finish them.

When this happens to me and my mind just goes haywire when I’m writing I have no recourse but to stop and go do something physical. Maybe it’s just time to clear my mind and get a fresh start at it when I return. It’s not always easy to return to the same thought process.  But I always return. I make a point to return to it. I’m working hard to address that bad habit of not finishing things I begin.

Sometimes just having a daily routine can help with this. If you know the dishes will be a distraction, get them done immediately when you are finished with breakfast. Get them out of the way. Choose a particular day to do laundry, or two days if you need. Get it out of the way.

But make an entry in your calendar to write also. That has to be an important step. If you don’t look at your writing as important, nobody else will either. When writing is a part of who you are it has to be as important as your regular job. If you are just a casual hobby writer and you don’t care if you write or not, then I guess it doesn’t matter. But if you intend for your writing to be important, even if it’s just for you, then make it an important part of your day.  The thought of not writing should make you unhappy.

You can walk away from distractions if they are random as I illustrated above. But if that becomes a daily occurrence then it’s time to figure out WHY you can’t stay focused on your writing. There is something to address if you can’t normally sit down and begin to write, even if you just start out with random “free writing” or as I like to call it “Brain to Fingers”.

I want my writing to amount to something. My reasons for writing are not only to express myself and release emotions locked within, but also to help others who have walked in my shoes to know that they aren’t alone. That they can be women, writers and empaths and still be normal people.