11

May

Find the Perfect Space, then Sit and Write.

 Writing should be a fun and uplifting experience and not a chore. It’s the actual business of first sitting down and beginning that is the daunting task. Whether you write for a living, part time or full time, it is important to find the space and time to write. Where you write will enable you to actually write. Find a place where your creative juices will flow, at a time when you are least likely to be distracted. That’s the perfect working space.

I work from home but this can be a distraction. The procrastination begins. I will just have a cup of tea while I consider what I should write. Maybe I will have a shower before I begin. Perhaps I should watch that television programme I recorded last night before getting to business with the writing assignment. Another cup of tea and so it goes.

Home can be a distracting place. The same four walls surround you and there is always something else to be getting on with, something that will take less brain power. There’s always something that you can use as an excuse for not completing your targets that day. You will only frustrate yourself, as well as the people waiting for your work to come in.

There are other options to consider when deciding where to work. This may mean you having to get dressed and looking reasonably presentable to the outside world but it may motivate you better for the day ahead. Perhaps take your computer to a cafe or a bar which allows users to work. You could arrange to meet a fellow freelancer and work with them on an article, thus encouraging and motivating each other.

On a sunny day, you could sit in the park provided you can see the computer screen in the glare of the sun and are in a place where you are not likely to be robbed.

Visit a friend who will promise to keep you on task rather than distracting you further with idle conversation.

You could of course, if finances permit, rent an office space. If you fancy working at home, you could create your own office space and attempt to be strict with yourself on the number of ‘cups of tea’ to allow yourself.

There are various options at hand but you know yourself best and the best space suited to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. You may be reading this now as another means of procrastination. You say to yourself, “I will just read this most wonderful blog post before I begin to write. It will inspire me and motivate me to be a better and more consistent writer. I will make a cup of tea and then re-read it, check my Facebook, do the crossword, and then write. Write like I never have before…”

Stop reading this now and open a blank page. You are a wonderful and gifted writer. You know it, others probably do too. So stop procrastinating and sit down and write.