5 Tips to Battle Procrastination and Distraction

Writing is a skill that is essentially made up of a bunch of different, smaller skills. To write, you need to be able to explain an entire world, character, or situation using only random lines of ink printed on a piece of a tree. Another skill you need is to be able to pick out weak verbs and odd sentences. But one skill that I don’t think gets talked about enough is the skill of battling procrastination and distraction.

Let’s face it. Blocking out distractions is very challenging. The internet and our computers create plenty of room for procrastination. Most of us use the internet and a computer to write our stories, so the chances of being caught in a procrastination trap are even higher.

It doesn’t have to be like this. Today, I’m discussing some of my favorite ways to beat procrastination and distraction. Ready your weapons (or pens!) 

#1: Sometimes, You Need Less Time

Have you ever had a crazy busy day filled with many tasks and activities? A day so busy that you barely had any time to write? 

It’s hard to squeeze in writing on a busy day. It’s even harder to squeeze a lot of writing into a busy day. We often tell ourselves something like, today will be very busy, I won’t have very much time to write. 

But then, when you finally get a day where you have hours upon hours to write, do you write during that entire time? I’ve noticed that on those kinds of days, procrastination arrives. 

There’s this really interesting phenomenon called Parkinson’s law. Basically, it says that tasks will fill the time they are allotted, not the other way around. An example would be that a busy businessman spends two minutes making his bed, while an elderly lady who lives at home spends an hour making her bed. 

I can see this happen in so many different situations. I once had a week where every day was busy, and squeezing in writing time would be tough. But I was able to write just as much as I would on a normal week. 

On days where you have lots of time, and the distraction dragons come rolling in, you can give yourself a little urgency to fight off those dragons. Try adding in some non-writing activities in your writing time. Sometimes I will play with my siblings, bake, workout, or do some cleaning. Splitting up my writing time with these makes good use of the extra time, but keeps the distraction dragons away. 

Next time you’re faced with a long stretch of writing time, fight off procrastination with some extra activities. Instead of telling yourself you need more time, give yourself less. 

#2: Create A Pre-Writing Routine

I recently made a pre-writing/computer work routine. I used to just sit down at my desk in the morning and start working right away. When that was all finished, I would clean up my room and then move on to other tasks. 

But I noticed that I had an easier time focusing on my computer work when my room was clean. I started taking ten minutes every morning, before I’d done any work, to make my bed and clean up a bit. Even though I started writing ten minutes later, that writing session was more productive. Now, it’s a habit and when I clean up, my brain knows that it’s time to work. 

Try creating a routine to prep your brain before you write. You don’t have to deep clean your entire room. It can be something small and simple, like making your bed or clearing off your desk, or even making a cup of tea. Having a small action that you can repeat regularly will help you get into a good writing mindset, and then help you have an even more productive writing session. 

#3: Surround Yourself With Productive People

Way back in the dark days of 2020 quarantines (how was that 2 years ago?!) I found myself doing schoolwork with my brothers. Before, we had all done school work separately. But in a time where it was extremely hard to focus, and everybody was home, I noticed that it was easier to work with other people who were working.

Surrounding yourself with productive people can make it easier to be productive yourself. 

Even when my brothers weren’t working, if I sat near them, I noticed that it was easier to stay on task. Plus, sitting out in the open can give you a little bit of accountability. 

There’s definitely a balance to be found here, because my family can also be very distracting. But you definitely don’t have to be in a room alone to have a productive writing session. Try writing with other people around, and see what happens! 

#4: Set a Timer

Sometimes, a task will be overwhelming and we won’t even know it. The distraction dragons come, and it can be hard to make yourself sit down and work. 

When I have a project that I really don’t want to work on, I utilize timers. I set a timer for fifteen or twenty minutes. During that time, I work as much as I can on that one project. I don’t let myself stop working on the project. It’s a sprint of productivity. 

Even though I don’t work on the project for a particularly long time, I have a more productive writing session than if I’d worked on it for an hour. (again, Parksinson’s law is CRAZY) 

#5: Put Your To-Do List Somewhere You Can See 

There are so many small things we can do to fight procrastination. The location of your to-do list is one of those things. 

For a while, I wrote my to-do list down in a journal. But I would often complete a task, and then avoid finding my journal, flipping to the right page, and looking at the next task. I needed something more… in my face. 

So I got a handy dandy whiteboard and hung it up on a wall that I could see from basically everywhere in my room. I wrote my to-do list on that instead of in a journal. I noticed that it was easier to get tasks finished when they were staring me right in the eye, rather than being hidden away in a book. 

Try experimenting with the location and form of your to-do list. Maybe you like having your to-do list in a journal. Or maybe it works better for you to have a list in your phone. There’s no correct way to do this, so definitely experiment with options! 

I think the most important step in battling procrastination, though,  is experimentation. These tips are just a few ideas you can try. We all are unique humans, after all. So experiment. Figure out what procrastination battle tools work for you. 

Do you have your swords and pens sharpened? Ready to fight procrastination and distraction dragons? 

What are some of your favorite ways to battle procrastination? Thanks for reading, have a great rest of your day! 

-Hannah

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