Somebody Else Says: Nathan Bransford on Distractions
Today, Nathan Bransford blogs about letting yourself be distracted from your writing, giving yourself recharge/refresh time away from the current WIP.
You can read his excellent, realistic post here.
I’ve been thinking lately about how I’ve been having at once the most relaxing summer I can remember AND managing progress on two WIPs and non-writing work stuff. It’s good, you know. And thinking about the one thing I consciously added more alloted-time to in the past year–reading. I think this has a lot to do with my productivity. With the recharging that Nathan talks about.
If you follow my blog or my Facebook updates and tweets, you know I read a LOT. I also read fast, so it’s not as many hours as it probably seems, but still…it is the crucial distraction/escape in my life. Yes, I can justify it in other ways, because reading and writing are so interconnected, but to be honest, that’s not why I do it. It’s the one thing (after family & friends) that I do completely by choice and am unwilling/unable to give up. I realized last year that I had cut down on it and that, consequently, I was a lot more stressed. I missed the escape that I get from all the wonderful worlds other writers are creating for me.
So I read.
What’s the distraction that you know, takes you away from extra writing hours, but that there is no way–for good reasons–you’re giving up?
beckylevine.com 
8 Comments
Biking & gardening. That does it for me! Thanks for the link to Nathan’s blog. about to check it out.
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My husband’s like you with the biking. Gardening, I gave up happily the day I turned 18! 🙂
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Quilting & exercise.
Adding friends for dinner to that list!
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I was waiting for your “Quilting.” I like the others, too!
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Reading is it for me too, Becky. That, and going to my book club once a month. It’s about the only social obligation this aspiring hermit feels bad about missing!
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There are certain friends that fall under the no-way-am-I-missing-them category, that’s for sure! 🙂
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Reading is like eating or breathing – just can’t go too long without it. Exercise is another thing I must make time for in order to feel good and manage stress.
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Exercise is something I need to do, but it doesn’t feel quite like such an emotional need as the reading.
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