How To Have a Deep Focus While Writing Your Articles
January 14th
It's Friday the 14th! It's the last day of work for this week. For most of us anyway. I had quite a busy day earlier. I was so busy that when I got home, all I wanted was to take a rest for the remainder of the day. In fact, I have almost given in to my laziness.
Greetings, once again, dearest readers and fellow writers. I admit, I almost let my laziness get hold of me this afternoon. The truth is I did for a few hours. I was reasoning, I had a busy day so I need a break. It's Friday anyway. Don't I deserve a break?
Everybody needs a break from time to time. However, there seems to be a thin line between taking a break and being lazy. I almost decided not to write today. However, I already skipped a day without posting. So I stood up and went to a quiet space in the house. It is not entirely quiet, but I can ignore the little distractions around me for now. At least I can Focus on my writing.
This leads me to my topic for this post. How to have a deep focus while writing your article.
Surely, you have experienced that while writing you often get distracted. Then you lose your train of thought and can no longer focus on your writing. Sometimes, you lose the idea entirely. A frustrating experience, right?
So how do you keep your focus on your writing? Here are some tips that I would like to share with you. Note that these tips are based on my experience and some research and a little experimentation.
Have A Quiet And Organized Work Area.
I believe this is the most important one. Work in a quiet environment. Free of clutter and noise. At least this will remove some of the distractions. If necessary, find a quiet time too.
Me? I work late in the evening or early in the morning while everyone else are still sleeping.
Image Source: Unsplash
Make sure also you have a comfortable typing position. Don't slouch. Make sure the top of your monitor is not higher than your eyes. Your elbows must not be bent lower than a 90-degree angle.
These will help you keep your neck, shoulders, and arms relaxed. Trust me, having carpal tunnel syndrome or any other form of repetitive strain injury or RSI is no fun at all.
Use a Distraction-Free Editor
Right now, I am using a browser-based Zoho Writer at full screen. They have a desktop version, but I preferred the browser version.
Screenshot: My Zoho Writer at full screen.
As you can see, there are no toolbars, nor ribbons that MS Word has. Just a plain page. Of course, I can access some of the tools by right-clicking my mouse.
Close Other Tabs and Programs That You Don't Need
Other websites and apps will pop-up notifications if they are open. So If you don't need them close them. Moreover, close all social media pages and apps. These are the most distracting ones.
Take a Break Every 20 Minutes
Oftentimes, when start working we want to work continuously. However, working this way will strain our eyes shoulders, and arms. If we get stressed, we will soon lose our focus.
I use the Focus To-Do browser extension to remind me to take a break every 20 minutes. At the same time, it helps me keep aware of the amount of time I spent on an article.
Screenshot: Focus To-do browser extension
Drown Ambient Noise With Soft Music
A loud honk or engine at full throttle of passing vehicles outside could be annoying sometimes and can cause you to lose focus. Unless you have a soundproofed room.
In my case, I have my earbuds on and I am currently listening to a "Deep Focus" music on YouTube. (Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPVte6aMprI)
Screenshot: Deep Focus Music in YouTube.
In Closing
These are just some of the methods that I am using to keep me focused on my writing. This way, I can finish my articles in a short time. Before I used these methods, it would take me at least a couple of hours to finish a 600-word article. As of now, I finished this in less than 40 minutes. Make that exactly 39 Minutes.
I hope you will find these methods helpful to you as well.
Thanks for reading.
Related Article
How To Stop Wasting Your Time.
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I am not a good writer but I am trying to learn. Anyway I usually write articles when I'm alone like at night. When everyone is already asleep. That way I can focus writing