It’s that time of year when you feel like your inbox is going to cave in at any second from Black Friday offers and holiday shopping madness.

As much as I love this time of year, I need to find a way to free myself from distractions just to keep the writing momentum going.

If you’re a creative like me motivated by progress, then I know you get how important your creative work is for you. Yet keeping that momentum going especially at this time of year seems like a choice you constantly have to make.

Any creative shift is necessary for building.

Space to reconnect with your WHY to inform your creative work.

In a society that equates writing with outcomes, connecting to that WHY without the influence of outside distractions is key to finding your own voice.

A few months ago, I hit a stumbling block with my writing when nothing was really moving and my own work wasn’t really shifting. I doubled-down on my WHY.

I would look to other writers for the answers.

I would keep my Facebook and email tabs open afraid to miss out on an opportunity.

 

The real problem was I was afraid to get quiet and separate from the distractions. I desperately felt I couldn’t live without my phone. I needed to feel “whole” and “connected” if I didn’t have my phone next to me. G-d forbid I miss out on something important!

In search of meaningful answers, I found myself listening in one day to Dani Shapiro and the way she coped with distractions.

Here she was… talking about this simple little app called Freedom. “It turns your computer into a word-processor.'” (Yep, I could easily relate to that!)

The last thing I needed, however, was to learn a new app and figure out how to install it on my phone or computer.

I didn’t need another techy-gadget that would rule my life.

Hell no.

So as I tend to do… I overcomplicated this. I resisted the need for help. Like a lawyer, I kept building a case for myself why I couldn’t possibly learn another system that could possibly make my life easier for me as a writer. I was resisting the need to not turn my computer into a word processor. I was afraid to not being able to check Facebook and email while writing a scene from my memoir Sand and Steel. Sounds crazy, right?

As I suspected, the distractions continued piling up. I wasn’t able to really write from a heartfelt place. I had become so overwhelmed, that I decided gave in.

I signed up for a trial period and bit by bit, little by little, I got the hang of using it and found that it was 100X much more simple to use than I had made it out to be.

Your brain is a really powerful thing – let me tell you.

Since then, I have gotten my life and my writing on track. I have a system when I write.

I have tracked my productivity: As of today, November 22, 2017, I have gained more than 250 hours worth of writing time. 250 hours!!!

Think of all the articles and stories you can write in that time! Imagine all the writing time I lost because of scrolling through all those newsfeeds on Facebook watching silly kitty videos!

Whether I write for 30 or 90 minutes is not relevant.

What is relevant is that now I have a system that works for me every single day of the year. I don’t let the holidays overturn my system.

If I need to rearrange my day because the kids are home or I have things that need to take priority, that’s fine. I have a system I can totally rely on. It’s a system that has proven its worth. And it’s doable and flexible.

If you are struggling to get more done without being in this constant state of overwhelm and distraction, I highly recommend checking out the FREEDOM app.

Check out the FREEDOM app here

It is such a simple and amazing tool. You WILL gain hours back to your life and work.

Who doesn’t need simple solutions to overwhelm?

How do you free yourself from distractions? What techniques have you been using to stay focused on your goals and work more creatively?