Getting Around Those Blogging Distractions
The other day just as I sat down to start my morning work, I heard the door to my office nudge open in a way that told me it wasn’t my wife. When I didn’t hear footsteps I knew it could only be a visit from only one of the two other inhabitants of the house. Sure enough it was our puppy who is coming in to see what I was doing because curiosity has a way of getting the best of every Lab that I’ve encountered.
Puppies Like Play, Not Blogging
So when Scout ( named after Atticus Finch’s daughter in To Kill A Mockingbird) nudged my lap I knew it was time for an impromptu break. (They have a way of looking at you that makes you forget what it was you were doing anyway.) But puppies being puppies she was soon bored and padded her way back out into the hall leading me to think about all the kinds of things that can distract you from your daily work. Unfortunately most of them aren’t as pleasant as puppies.
I’m sure the distractions are the same in most places for most people, cars and trucks driving by, dogs barking outside and children playing, plus all the other inside noises, but I’ve been able to develop a few techniques for getting around any kind of distractions, (except of course for Lab puppies.)
Staying Focused
One of the ways I’m able to stay focused on every day working from home is by choosing the right tools for me. For example, a few years ago I had a big old clunky PC with a tower and a 17’’ monitor that was fine while I was just starting out in the business and only worked late at night and on weekends. Soon however the technology made a laptop a more interesting option and I’m glad I went that route in the end.
The reasons I like a lap top better are simple. They’re more portable now and when you get a wireless network in your home, you can easily move around from room to room and even go in the basement depending on the noise levels at different times of the day. Still, I’ve heard people complain about the keyboard on a laptop especially if you need to use it on a daily basis for several hours at a time.
That’s why I generally have a plug-in keyboard around and usually I don’t go in for the expensive ones. I find having a keyboard around is a good idea because I generally work eight to 10 hours a day and wouldn’t want to deal with the down time should a key break on the laptop’s board.
Earplugs for Blogging
Now for the big secret. Here’s the way I get around letting all the noise and general hubbub around me get to me so I’m off my work. Actually I have two different methods and one is a lot more direct than the other because it only involves the kind of sponge industrial hear plugs that you can buy at a work warehouse place.
And I find that music is a good insulator too, provided you find a station that doesn’t have a lot of talk because a chatty DJ can be like having somebody talking over your shoulder while you’re trying to work. Internet radio stations are good here.
Oh, and by the way. That picture is of Scout and that’s pretty much the treatment I get at my desk. It’s a wonder I get anything done at all. 
Written by Rob Starr from Rob StarrPosted on December 13th, 2009 and filed under Promote your blog
Do not forget to subscribe to our RSS feed for updates
24 Responses to “Getting Around Those Blogging Distractions”
Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts author in the comments
Trackbacks
Comments are closed.
Comments are closed since this post is older than 30 days. However, you can continue this discussion in our popular Blogging Forums
Sponsors
Blogging Tips Newsletter
Sign up to the Blogging Tips Newsletter for Free today and get a free ebook!
Six Figure Blogging
Good note on the laptop. You have the option of moving away from your distractions. Another note about having a laptop is being able to blog from an environment that inspires you (ex. Starbucks, artwork, coffee). Just some food for thought. Great article. – mattkendrick.com
Right on. I live in Canada. When The internet permits, I’ll be writing from dockside somewhere in the North.
I, too, work from home as a writer and I have two dogs and live in a rural area. I find it helps having the dogs around to make me get up and go outside for a walk – otherwise I’d happily slouch at my desk/on sofa/at dining table/on the bed all day working.
I tried working in other environments but, as my school reports always said, I’m “easily distracted”, so that doesn’t always work for me – except libraries – I love libraries!
One problem I do have is that, despite many times telling friends and neighbours that I WORK at home, they still insist on popping round – usually when I’m in mid-flow… now how do you fix that?!
Ahhh..a rural area.That’s great.I live just outside of Toronto and have positioned my office(s) at strategic locations. One upstairs where no one can see me and one downstairs. Putting the car in the garage helps too.
Thanx for the tip!
Will try it at work. Sometimes its really hard to concentrate!
I know…any noise can be a bother
You should try it, I often use earplugs at work, when some of my co-workers keep blabbering…
I keep earplugs around all over the house.
Hi Rob,
I’m the type who brooks ‘no distractions’ because, like Helen Leggatt above, I’m easily distracted. I prefer a quiet room to myself, nobody else around and blessed silence(from the outside)
Music is welcome ‘white noise’ and I have a ‘working’ selection that’s not too distracting.
I can say I’m lucky to have this because if I had to work at a coffee shop, I won’t get anything done.
yea, any music without singing for me. Jazz is great.
Hmmm, I just can’t get on with music while I work – it’s too distracting – I’ve tried lots of genres, too. Perhaps what I’m after is an hermetically sealed tomb (with a coffee machine, obviously)!
I wish I could hide, Rob, but my house is half glass!! I have been known to hunker down by the kitchen cabinets when a car pulls in the drive to hide until the coast is clear – how sad is that!!??
Oh, and I’ve told neighbours that, if they see me walking round the garden during the day that I’M STILL WORKING.. I like to think while wandering round and stretching my legs..
We do need to get out though…I seriously find that getting out for a bit helps to focus.
Very true; jazz enthusiast here. Perfect is some music in the background that doesn’t interfere with my thoughts but ‘moves’ me along..
yea..good point. It’s easy to ride along the current of a good jazz CD while you work
Yes, I too find that getting out helps me focus – I usually do so after some initial research in to whatever I’m writing, then go out with the dogs while whizzing the facts round my head to come up with a good angle – when I get back to my desk I’m usually ready to bash it out.
Haha I too have a dog that just wants to play all the time.
What is some good funky music that involve no words?
I’m on a similar boat – I can get way too distracted – mainly originates from my RSS reader then onto links from each post then it just keeps going.
This is a prime example – I shouldn’t be here commenting! I should be writing some blog posts. Bye!
Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com
Funny you should write. The herd (as I like to call my two labs) are dismantling something in the basement as I write this. “Time for a walk,” they seem to be saying….or demanding….
good funky music with no words? try jazz..get some Joe Pass or Sonny Rollins…
Good post Rob!
I get easily distracted too, but I can generally get in work mode when I put on Iron Maiden. I know, a lot of people don’t understand how I write with heavy metal playing–but Steve Harris is an awesome lyricist so that inspires me–plus the music is just awesome. I’ve tried other stuff and it just isn’t the same. My husband is a musician so I’ve just learned to work with music playing all the time.
Ah–black lab puppies. My daughter has one and the first year he was alive, I wanted to kill him. He destroyed everything. But he’s raised up into one great dog–of course he doesn’t live with me anymore. LOL. I just have a small dog to take outside a few times a day, which helps get me away from the computer, and I have a cat that needs to be pestered and cuddled once in awhile.
As for car noises, the baby next door, noisy neighbors–I just turn the Maiden up louder.
Thanks for sharing this story. It was a nice treat. Hope your furniture is still in tact. LOL
hey Patti
It was(and still is )The Who, but as far as metal goes I think I lost some hearing to Black Sabbath back in the day.:) I know all about wanting to kill lab puppies too. Then (after you yell at them) they sit down and look at you with those big eyes that makes you feel like some kind of war criminal.
Iron Maiden rocks, but I’m listening to jazz saxophone now like John Coltrane and guitar like Joe Pass. Blues too…William Clark played great harp. What does your husband play? If I didn’t wind up writing, I’d want to be a blues guitar player in the shadow of SRV.
Oh yeah, Black Sabbath–the Dio years for us, no Ozzy. And Kevin (my husband) prefers the Paul Di’Anno years of Iron Maiden. I’m a late bloomer and rather fond of Bruce Dickinson myself. He’s not into blues or Stevie Ray (I like Stevie though).
He plays and teaches bass, drums, guitar, recorder and saxophone. He also plays mandolin and some piano. He wants to learn violin and cello eventually.
Oh those big puppy eyes! I know those. And if you’re like me, you’re a sucker for them every time! I’ve raised Pit Bulls, Great Danes, Boxers and Chows–none of them have the personality (or the puppy eyes) of a Lab. Ranger (my daughter’s lab) has grown into such a gentleman it’s hard to believe he was such a little terror. But he’ll still pull those puppy eyes on you when he wants attention. LOL
Yes, staying focused is one of the hardest things to do.
You can throw up all the cliches about the Information Age and shorter attention spans but we probably were always like this. It is called having an imagination. School has always been about day dreaming for a lot of people.
The secret is balance, when I get that right…!
Then again, if we didn’t have obstacles it would be rather boring.
Enjoyable read.
Ahhh,yes…balance. Isn’t that the substance that rides in the saddlebag of a Unicorn?