No, You Don’t Lack Motivation: 3 Mistakes That Ruin Your Interest in Writing

Stop Letting These 3 Mistakes Decline Your Will in Writing

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

At 6 am, every morning, I am in front of my laptop with my glass of water writing Medium stories.

I jot down daily YET I don’t want to write so many times.

It’s because of:

• Not having the patience to let that idea or word hit.
• No willingness to sit and think continuously.
• No mental capacity to ponder about.

Sometimes, it’s just common to happen other times mistakes distract our focus and desire from writing, these are the 3 most common mistakes I see in writers (including myself): -

1) Having a focus on the two screens

When you are already working on your laptop screen and constantly checking notifications on your mobile phone.

The phone screen is on your side and pop-up notifications catch your attention. You get to check it.

A new study, “The Attentional Cost of Receiving a Cell Phone Notification,” shows that notifications can distract us, even if we don’t check them. Just knowing there’s an alert can reduce our performance on tasks that need focus.

Then, don’t question why your interest isn’t in writing when the concentration is scattering.

So, to resolve this, I mute the phone and turn its screen on the other side.

Another solution is to switch on the ‘Focus mode’ from the ‘digital well-being’ option in the settings. Select distracting apps to block them until you want.

2) Becoming a Ninja Multitasker

I used to say I was a multitasker until I knew its side effects.

• Drafting while talking to someone over a call.
• While writing, thinking about something else.

Your mind and typing fingers don’t have any correlation.

Then, how can you be interested and focused on writing?

What we call multitasking is switching between tasks because we can’t concentrate on two things at once.

A study from the University of California, Irvine, found that after a notification makes us switch tasks, it can take about 23 minutes to refocus.

Recent estimates show that while each switch wastes only a tenth of a second, frequent switching throughout the day can lead to a 40% drop in productivity.

Then, why not focus on one thing at a time?

3) Spending hours to make it perfect.

Edit and re-edit the craft over and over again. Still, you think it can be better.

But,

“Perfection is the enemy of progress.” — Winston Churchill

When you try to make it perfect to appeal to the audience’s eyes and minds, you’re restricting yourself from proceeding further.

What can be worse for a writer trying to attempt the perfect writing in the first go?

It not only wastes time but also declines self-belief — that demotivates you to write or publish.

I became consistent in publishing 3X a week when I started:

• Only writing without editing.
• Editing after a time gap.
• Hitting publish without a second thought.

Wrapping up:

Writing demands:

• Patience and thoughtfulness.
• An alignment of your and your audience’s interest.
• Breaks — After a pause, you return better with more creative juices.

Eliminate these distractions and perfectionism and give yourself the freedom to share the hidden treasure inside you:

• Your messages
• Experiences
• Thoughts

Remove these blocks and you will find a smooth flow in penning down and conveying your strong messages.

To organize your life from one spot and increase productivity, here are the free Notion templates to plug and use:

Content Planner: https://sumanpreetk.gumroad.com/l/ultimatecontentplanner

Weekly Planner: https://sumanpreetk.gumroad.com/l/weeklyplanner

Daily Dashboard: https://sumanpreetk.gumroad.com/l/dailydashboard

30-Day Goal Tracker: https://sumanpreetk.gumroad.com/l/30-daygoaltracker

Productivity Bundle: https://sumanpreetk.gumroad.com/l/productivitybundle