
I haven’t started writing today.
I know it’s a problem, but what can I say? I am a master procrastinator. Back in college, I would wait until the night before to write papers, do projects, or study for midterms. My short term memory was on point.
Now that it’s my own writing, though, I feel like I betray myself the longer I wait in between writing sessions. When my main goal is to stay on task with short story deadlines and I check my email for the fourth or fifth time, I become hyper-aware of my time and how I’m wasting it.
The best way to write is of course to write without any distractions. Nothing stands in the way between you and the words you write (or type). But there are certain days, certain places, specific situations that aren’t conducive for putting in a quality hour of creative word-dumping.
When I mentioned how bad I wanted to be an author, I didn’t mention all of the other things happening in my life that could easily get in the way:
- I’m moving to Cape Town, South Africa (which involves a lot of work)
- The last two weekends have been camping…meaning no laptop, no Internet…
These two “excuses” have made it agonizingly difficult to maintain the habit I said I had.
Don’t get me wrong: I still love my short story-novel idea.
I love the way it writes itself almost, like I’m a passive participant caught in the creative flow.
It’s all of the distractions.
Those damn distractions are everywhere. They seep into my to-do list — the one that has write 1,000 words on it — and are incredibly tantalizing to do before my passion due to how easy they are.
So if I want to write without distraction, I need to start by minimizing my to-do list.
This is tough, with the aforementioned relocation to a brand new country in 26 days. But I have to put my writing first before everything else. Therefore, the improved to-do list will consist of three things MAX, with write 1,000 words at the tippy top.
Today’s list was 6 items long. I’ve accomplished 1.5 of them (this counts). Next time, it will look like this:
- Write 1,000 words
- Write Medium article for The Mission
- Push day (exercise) @ park
Everything else is filler. Redirecting my focus from a million things to three gives me better quality in my writing and health.
I’d love to set aside three hours every day to be in a coffee shop and just write dammit.
But I can’t. Not yet. I still have that 9-to-5 I’m escaping (which is a good thing; extra dollars are not a problem). I try to get my work — ALL of my work — done at the office so I still have a semblance of energy for my workout and other runaround errands pre-trip.
Once I’m in South Africa though…oh boy, I have it all mapped out:
Wake up at 9 AM. Walk to the beach, do a jump rope exercise, shower, go to cafe. By 10:15, I have a cappuccino in hand, headphones on, word processor opened and ready to go. For the next 2.5 hours, I am nothing but a sentence machine. 1,000 words should come and go like nothing. It will be my one thing.
I’ll get all of my distracting work done later in the afternoon, after a long lunch with my girlfriend, which shouldn’t take more than an hour.
(Note: This is not a recommendation to pick up shop and move to a different country to eliminate distractions. Unless that’s what you got from this ramble and the universe is telling you to do that. Then you probably should.)
For now, I write when my mind can calm down.
I’m aware there’s gobs of advice telling writers to write every day, especially the days when you don’t feel like it. Write at the same time every day. Write a word amount connected to your ultimate goal. And all of this is fine and dandy…
…but if life is getting in the way, you have to find snippets of time to write.
1,000 words today will be tough for me. But at least after writing this I now feel inspired.
Thanks for that.

Jacob Lyda is a man on a mission…he just happens to change that mission constantly. He is currently writing a novel/short story collection and will — most likely — be documenting his journey of writing on Medium. Follow him at your own risk.
If you enjoyed this snapshot of his hectic life, click the heart (*sorry, “clap”*)or leave a comment so he knows to keep rambling on and publishing his unfiltered thoughts.

