A writer friend of mine asked about preferences for long hand writing vs. writing on a computer. What I thought was going to be a quick reply about how I prefer computers because the internet (between the Odyssey and my blog) is my platform for writing. In fact each of those platforms has their own unique writing program I use to publish my writing. Instead it quickly morphed into a reflection on how much time I waste online instead of doing actual writing. I can think of many times I wanted to just find a quick image for a post, next thing I know--I’ve lost half an hour of writing time. Or worse I don’t even get to that point.
There will be times when I’m rolling an idea in my head or I’ll even just get an itch to do some writing, but I’ll decide to watch another show on Netflix instead. Or decide to text a friend about something. It can be anything really, but as much as I enjoy technology and social media I don’t always handle it well. Often it is just a distraction from doing the hard work of writing.
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Sometimes when I’m editing I see a severe lack of fluidity. It’s all a choppy mess and I have to cut whole chunks and often completely rearrange the flow of the article. Nine times out of ten it will be because when I wrote the piece I was really distracted.
I worry that as much as I love writing and keep persisting at it I don’t have the focus to truly be a writer. To be a person who gets paid to write. I don’t have the focus to do much besides my simple blog posts and internet reflection essays. I used to write longer pieces of work all the time. I also used to read for long periods of time. I had a much greater attention span before and during college then I do now. I’m convinced part of that is due to my smartphone.
Even now as I write I’m forcing myself to keep focused on the page, to not go click on a new tab or to pull out my phone. There would be no reason to do either, but somehow my brain gets so easily distracted. It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t mind it so much, but I do. Sure on occasion, I’m using my phone to connect with friends, read a thoughtful piece of writing, or to learn something new. Most of the time--I’m just scrolling for the thin hope of finding something new or interesting on my newsfeed.
I want to work on breaking those bad habits. This year I’ve made a commitment to myself to take my art to new levels and the first step is to value myself as a writer. It’s so easy to say I don’t have time to write. Sure I firmly believe everyone should have a show they watch when they just need a break, but if I’m spending hours every day scrolling and watching stuff on Netflix just for something to do, I can’t keep kidding myself. I can’t keep saying my small writing resume is because I don’t have the time for it. I certainly make time for my social media habits.
Now I’m not going to commit at the end of this post to get off Facebook and never watch Netflix again. I know I would fail so quick and so hard I’d forever be discouraged. Instead I want to commit to a few things:
- To bar myself from the internet until after I’ve done my writing.
- To choose twenty minutes of writing over twenty minutes of Netflix especially if I haven’t done any writing that day.
- To commit to writing every day even if it’s only for 10 minutes.
- To spend more time reading and just generally focusing without pulling out my smartphone
- To not immediately go on my phone when I wake up.
I know these are all tangible things I can mangage to value myself as a writer and also to lessen my media intake. The internet is a lovely gift that I’m earnestly grateful for everyday. The internet is going to be the platform that pushes my writing career, but I’m going to use it to work for me, instead of constantly working against myself. One of my very first posts on this site I said that Writer was a major part of my identity. I want that to be true from here on out, hear me roar.
