Yesterday I couldn’t seem to get anything done. My focus was completely shot.
And…naturally…I’m under a deadline. A couple of them, actually.
I’d start working on my synopsis and the phone would ring. I’d start working again and the dishwasher would stop running. I’d try again and the dryer buzzer would go off.
Then I realized I needed to send an email before I forgot. Suddenly, a bunch of messages popped up for me on Twitter. And another email popped up. And…
I decided to run away from home. To a place with no Wi-Fi. And no appliances.
Finding a place with no Wi-Fi or available connections is getting more and more difficult.
It was 10:00 in the morning and if I went to my usual coffeehouses, I’d have Wi-Fi access. There would also be people I knew there that would talk with me (ordinarily not a bad thing, but bad on a day when I needed to get 2 1/2 hours of work done.)
I live in a small town that’s a suburb of Charlotte, NC. But to get to a spot where I’d have no hope of jumping on a Wi-Fi or seeing someone I know, I was going to have to drive.
Over the railroad tracks, out into the country.
Past silos.
Past fields.
And…fortunately, this wasn’t too far away. Because I do have kids to get from the bus stop at 2:00.
There was a restaurant that claimed to have “family style cooking.” I pulled up. I checked my cell phone and it did still have a signal (good, since I needed to be in touch if my children’s schools called me.)
I checked my laptop in the parking lot. Nope. No connection. What’s more, there was no possible available Wi-Fi connection listed anywhere. Perfect!
I walked in and the restaurant was full of retired people and blue collar workers eating breakfast before heading to the next job. I knew no one there! Perfect!
The wall next to my booth had a black and white picture of an old man on a tractor. I’m writing a rural setting. Even more perfect!!
A waitress was singing to the 60s music that was playing. If the waitress was happy then I could loiter for a while. That was perfect, too!
I wanted eggs and toast and coffee. But this place is so small they only offered 3 things for breakfast each day. But I could have coffee and an omelet. I placed my order. Perfect!
I opened up my internet-ridded computer and started working. I looked up. People were staring at me. This meant I had to keep looking down at my computer…and my words….so I wouldn’t notice the odd looks I was getting. That worked…perfectly!
“Would you like more coffee?”
Why yes! Yes, I would.
45 minutes after getting there, the people who were in the restaurant when I walked in the door were still there. Even better—I wasn’t the only one lingering. These people had nothing else to do with their day. Perfect!
Two hours later and I’d finished all the writing I needed to get done. There were absolutely no interruptions besides someone occasionally asking if I’d like more coffee. There was no laundry to tend to. There was no one to talk to.
It was drastic, but it worked. Perfectly.
How do you get back on-track when your writing day is derailed?
WOW! Since I’ve never seen this side of you, I thought you were telling us a story- a very good story. But it was true? You ran away for a couple of hours?
Great way to get work done – to leave what you know will distract you.
I have the advantage of little distraction at home these days, but frankly I like your way better.
That was an excellent solution to the problem, Elizabeth. I don’t know how far I’d have to travel to find a place like that, but I’m thinking one of the pavilions at the park would work, and most aren’t too terribly far from a parking space.
Great story! I wonder if the people were staring because you weren’t local or because you had a computer in a wi-fi-free zone?
All I need to get some work done are headphones, loud music streaming out the sides, and a “don’t mess with me” expression. Everyone backs away slowly and leaves me to it.
The problem with retirees is that if they see you working in the same place more than once, they start wanting to chat.
I write in Taco Bell (the first fast food chain to offer free pop refills) on a steno pad. And I rotate which one I go to to avoid the socializing. (It doesn’t always work.)
I keep my computer in the bedroom if I need to get back on track. If I try to write anywhere else besides at my “desk” with music going, I get distracted too easily. Granted, it doesn’t help with the internet thing but I am wireless so I could always disable my card for writing time.
That’s so great :-)
Sometimes I have to move away from the computer and turn to pen and paper to avoid distractions.
I’m also trying a little routine at the moment where I’m mum until 9am and then again after 3pm, that’s when I do the housework and cooking and mum stuff, during the day I’m trying to just write and edit (and fail that by blogging and reading blogs). :-)
A pen and pad are my best ways to get away and finish what I need. It does make for a longer writing time because then I have to type everything I’ve written but sometimes that’s good too. In the course of typing what I’ve wrote, something better comes to mind. Sounds like you’ve found the perfect place to escape to.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
I so loved this little snippet into a day in the life of Elizabeth. I’m going to remember this the next time I get derailed. I rarely go out of the house to write. Definitely going to try that.
karen
Elizabeth – I really like your story of getting away. Sometimes that’s what we have to do, and I’m glad that you did. It’s funny you would mention finding places with no WiFi; that is< getting more and more difficult. The other day I had a similar experience. But, as it happened, my daughter had a hair appointment. So I took the laptop with me when we went. There’s no WiFi at the beauty salong. So for the few hours that she was getting her hair colored, I worked. I think you have to carve out that workspace when you can.
That sounds good to me. I’ll try it if they let me take my two weeks vacation.
…….dhole
We all need our appropriate writing environments, and sometimes, as you point out, it’s NOT the familiar desk, chair, workspace, etc. I’m fortunate in that I’ve rarely had to impose on the hubster with the ‘go handle life; I’m writing’ and when I have, he’s happy to take over.
Silos? That IS extreme! But it worked! I certainly love to run away every once and a while. But for me, I feel the need to break the boundaries of time as well. I like to miss deadlines–like make my husband pick the kids of and really run away for the whole day. I don’t do it often, but it’s so freeing to just be free for a day–a day of my choosing. You remind me I’m in need of one of those! If only I could afford a good hotel room…
Michele
SouthernCityMysteries
I usually give in and just say it’s not going to happen today or walk away and try again at a later time – your approach is much better and certainly more productive.
LOL, Elizabeth I could just SEE you scrambling around in desparation trying to “run away” … tee hee.
I seldom have that problem because I took internet out of my house. I’m an “e-junkie” and I know it, so I do my concentrated writing and editing at home without e-interruption and go to the library and/or wifi cafe for 2-3 internet sessions each day to do my blogging, emailing, Facebooking, and online research.
Even this, though, is sometimes not enough, cuz I went and hooked Twitter up to my phone. Sometimes I have to turn my phone off at home too, otherwise I’ll tweet the day away, lol
Marvin D Wilson
I head for me favorite park or one of the many others in the area. During week day hours most people who now me are at work. The retirees are too busy with life to worry about me. So it’s me and the geese (so far they leave me to myself).
Nice mental picture of you in the diner!
Maribeth
Giggles and Guns
It’s getting difficult to disconnect, isn’t it? Fortunately, I’m good at ignoring things. I just turn off my computer and ignore the world.
Wi-Fi’s tentacles seem to get longer every day. I had a place quite near to me where I could go and tap away, but the last time I was there…Wi-Fi. Sometimes the temptation to just ‘pop on for a minute’ is so difficult to resist – and that minutes stretches into, well let’s just say ‘longer’.
Good for you for knowing what you needed to do and doing it. I need to follow your example. I shall. Really. After I check my emails…and a few blogs…and…
Teresa–I did run away. :) And I may have to do it today, but I’m hoping I can just get at least an hour in this morning.
Stephanie–I keep cheating! Now I’ll turn my internet connection back on after I’ve disabled it to work. Bleh. I’m untrustworthy.
Charmaine–That sounds like a pretty good routine. I’m planning to stop my online stuff in a minute and write for at least an hour. Then maybe I can move on to the errands and housework I need to do.
Patricia–I think the key is to have it be a SAFE place, too. I could go out and park by the side of the road somewhere, but then my imagination (with which we’re so blessed) starts going on the rampage and I think that perfectly harmless people are rapists and killers. Sigh. I’ve written too many murder mysteries.
Lorel–I think I was in a place where everyone knew everyone else–they were probably curious. Not curious enough to talk to me, thank goodness. I’ll try your headphones and a mean expression!
The Daring Novelist–I must have looked kooky enough for no one to dare talk to me!
Taco Bell…hmm. Free refills…but do they have Wi-Fi? I know our McDonalds have Wi-Fi now. And I think our Taco Bell is near some free Wi-Fi spots. But if I had a notebook, I guess it wouldn’t matter–except then I have to transcribe it all later.
Donna–Hope they do!
Jane–Probably what I’d have done if this synopsis and chapters didn’t need to be done…but then, if the day starts *out* nutty, it seems to continue that way, at my house.
Marvin–No, my phone isn’t that sophisticated! Just a basic texting phone, so no internet or Twitter there. My husband was talking about getting me an Iphone and I was lukewarm about it–it’ll make it harder to escape.
Good for you to get rid of the internet in your house!
Maribeth–The park was an idea too, but it was stormy yesterday. And the parks here CAN be a little isolated, so then I worry about bad guys and not my manuscript. Bleh. If I could count on retirees and geese, then I’d be there for sure!
Yes, I was definitely the odd-woman out in the diner! Ah well. At least I’m not dangerous-looking. I guess!
Mason–I think maybe I have. :) I’m considering making at least a weekly trek to this place.
Alex–I used to be able to do that, but now I cheat and turn it back on. Since I can’t trust myself anymore, I’m thinking outside the box.
Karen– I think if we make big changes then we take the writing more seriously, maybe? If I went to all THAT trouble JUST to write, then by-golly, I was going to get some writing done.
Margot–We just have to find that time, don’t we?
I tried it at the salon when my son was getting his hair cut…but the place next DOOR to the salon was a Wi-Fi hotspot and I picked up on their signal. Apparently I have no resistance to the internet. Sigh.
You nailed it – all those stupid little household things drive me nuts!!!
I can at least escape the Internet by moving my butt into our living room and writing there. It’s peaceful until a cat decides he wants attention.
The only way I can do it is to say I need to get so many words a day done. Then if I want to mess around – I can BUT I have to get my words done before my head hits the pillow. Weirdly – a day like yesterday when my clients were peppered throughout the day instead of clumped together like I like – is good. No wifi at work – I didn’t write but I mulled and plotted. Very helpful. OK – now I just planted some annuals in pots, some lettuce in the garden, watered, scared the chickens away from my pots, hung up a wash and now I have to get to it. Will I be interupted? Probably! Sometimes my writer pal, Gwen, and I go away for three days to a place in the woods and write our little brains out. very fun.
If you want time without the Internet, go to a hotel. I swear I’m having the hardest time getting connected. I’m doing a lot of traveling lately and it’s a screaming frustration.
I love the little cafe you went to. It sounds fabulous. Mark it on your to-go-to list!
Helen
Straight From Hel
If you have a Mac, there’s a great free program you can download called Mac Freedom. You tell it how many minutes you need freedom from the internet, and then it shuts off your connection.
If that doesn’t work (the internet is not my only distraction — my computer is right off the kitchen!)
My local library has what I call the “cell.” It’s a writer’s room with a desk and white walls. The window looks out on a brick wall. It’s either write or fall asleep.
I’m glad you got your work done! Now you have somewhere to turn to if (when) this happens in the future.
The internet is probably my biggest distraction, so I unplug the router when I need to get work done!
Diane–Yes, I have demanding cats, too! They like to lie on the keyboard. :)
Jan–It sounds like you’ve already gotten a lot more done today than I have!
Terry–I think I’ve had to impose more lately than usual. He’s watched the kids for me so I could go to signings and the conference.
Helen–Ha! Yes, what’s the deal with hotels?! If I can get Wi-Fi at McDonald’s, then why not in a mid-range hotel room? And…for free! I’ve had to pay for internet at the last couple of hotels I stayed in.
Other Jen—See, this is another reason why I should consider a Mac. That sounds like a fantastic program. No, I’ve got my Dell PC and very aggravated with it right now. I don’t see it lasting more than a few months longer and then maybe I’ll look into Macs.
There is a library branch with an ugly study room. Maybe that would work out for me. I have a feeling I could get Wi-Fi there, though.
Michele–Run away!! :)
Laura–All of y’all are very good not to turn your internet back on after you’ve disabled it. I should be learning a lesson from this…
Elspeth–Wi-Fi is taking over the world! And thank goodness I don’t have one of those Ipads or Iphones or I’d never get anything done.
What a great plan – I’ve never done anything like that – but it sure sounds like fun!
I usually just close the bedroom door.
Oh, this was FABULOUS! It cracks me up that the queen of discipline has so little discipline where the internet is concerned…. relieves me a bit, if I’m honest… gives some hope that a person with ADD can make it in this business… (teasing!)
If I am actually IN IT then I can ignore pretty much anything, but it probably helps that MOSTLY I write naked in the bathtub, where there is no COMPUTER, much less an internet connection. I’m sure I get less distracted that way. Getting stuff typed is a minor challenge (1.5 of the books I’ve written are not yet typed)
I think though, if I really want to be productive writing, I need to leave the Sudoku in the living room and only put my notebook and pen by the tub…
Hart–Oh, adult ADHD might peg this condition pretty well! Did I mention I have a hard time sitting still?
Sudoku blows what’s left of my mind. It’s the numbers. I keep being told it has nothing to DO with math, but it LOOKS very much like math to me. I’ll stick with my crosswords when I need some more distraction. :)
I always have your problem. My son is home-schooled and my husband works from home. Distractions come to me every minute of the day. So, I’ve decided to set aside 1.5 hours of timeout time a day. I make it clear to my family members that I’m ‘working’ and that they can’t contact me (not even by MSN – in fact, I shut it off) until that time is up. It’s working. I put on my earphones and some music and write.
ann
Hurray, Elizabeth! Fabulous tale of authorly focus and triumph! (Here in NYC, there are 19 million 541 thousand people who don’t know me. So coffeehouses still work for me :)
That was a practically perfect set of circumstances. So good and brave of you to venture out of your norm where you could be anonymous and just work. Hmmm. I can still go to the coffee shop. It’s actually the best place to stimulate my creativity.
Clarissa–And that DOES work because it HAS to work. I was the same way over the summer…needed to get work done while the kids were home.
Cleo–A GREAT advantage to living in a big city! I can’t even imagine going out and not having a chance of running into someone I know. In some ways it’s a good thing…in some ways, it’s not!
Mary–I think I just need a coffee shop that makes me PAY for Wi-Fi. Because I wouldn’t do it. :)
Jemi–Oh, if only that would work! I need a virtual bedroom door.
I love this idea! I wish I didn’t live two hundred miles from a good diner, I would definitely try this! It has inspired me to find my own place free of life’s little interuptions though.
I’m so glad I found this post via Journaling Woman’s site! I can TOTALLY relate.
I’m lucky enough to live in Athens, Greece and unfortunately, when I write it’s at huge chunks at a time, hence I spend too long at home with no breaks. But after a recent Netbook purchase, I’ve discovered the joy of slipping out of the apartment, going to the Parthanon and sitting in the gardens, in beautiful surroundings and offering inspiration both for my blog posts and my book.
Good to see I’m not alone. Thanks for sharing.
Bex
http://www.leavingcairo.blogspot.com