Comments on: Be A More Productive Writer by Deciding What NOT to Do

By: Words on a page

Words on a page — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 15:06:28 +0000

[…] Become a more productive writer by deciding what not to do […]

By: John Soares

John Soares — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 16:27:14 +0000

In reply to Tommy Landry. Great techniques Tommy. I frequently just turn off the Internet so I can concentrate fully on my work, and I also turn off the ringers on the phones.

By: Tommy Landry

Tommy Landry — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 02:00:49 +0000

I’m not much of a fan of television myself, but the time wasters come from all angles. Social networking is the biggest challenge for me during the day, as a “5 minute glance” at Facebook can turn into an hour or more.

The best way I’ve found to make it work, is just to turn off everything including email and focus during writing time. It helps to block it off on the calendar and simply ignore all interruptions, including “urgent” phone calls, unexpected visitors to my office, etc.

Thanks for the thoughtful post. Productivity doesn’t manage itself, does it?

By: Cinda

Cinda — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 03:35:03 +0000

Thank you – I so needed reminding!
For me social net working is my time sink, followed by email and the internet where “one thing leads to another.” Otherwise my TV is minimal compared to my reading ( which usually gets a good approval rating but 2 or more hours a day? And I would love to spend twice that much!) LAstly is writing research – but even here I need to tell myself planning is not as productive as doing! (This is to be a blog topic in the next week or so!)

By: Transcend

Transcend — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:21:29 +0000

I agree. Internet and TV are a bit pointless really, unless you’re using the internet to work of course. 🙂

By: John Soares

John Soares — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 15:05:02 +0000

In reply to Khalid. Khalid, I also allow myself a bit of time on the Internet as a reward, or in a bit of free time. But you are right: it can really be a black hole that sucks up all our time.

By: John Soares

John Soares — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 15:03:53 +0000

In reply to Jennifer Thornberry. Jennifer, sounds like you and the hubby have a great plan for dealing with TV. We did the same thing until we moved to Ashland. Now we get basic TV channels for free as part of our Internet package, so occasionally we watch some PBS or Modern Family.

By: John Soares

John Soares — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 15:02:11 +0000

In reply to J. Rose Allister. I try to limit my TV to what I really, really like. With the long days of summer, I often go a week or more without watching because I'm spending my evenings outside.

By: Khalid

Khalid — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 09:38:19 +0000

I generally don’t spend my time watching TV or gossips but I really spend time on the Internet. Internet is the largest black hole I have found on the earth.
Apart from social networking sites, gaming also causes a lot of time waste. But it’s normal if you pay for 1 hour as its a great stress buster. I mainly play multilayer games like battlefield and others.
Iam also a blogger and find it a good stress buster, if maintained in a certain level.

Thank you for the wonderful post.
Regards

By: Jennifer Thornberry

Jennifer Thornberry — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 21:53:34 +0000

My husband and I cut off the cable back in 2008. Best thing we ever did, both for productivity and for not numbing our minds with reality TV. We now buy seasons of shows we like on DVD and rent movies on weekends. During the week, the TV is off.

However, I am guilty of wasting more time than I’d like browsing the Internet, and I’m still trying to get my social media time under control.