Now that we’re in the final stretch of NaNoWriMo it’s more important than ever to stay focused. We live in a world where technology offers us an infinite number of distractions. Checking your phone, checking emails, updates, notifications; it’s a continuous stream of tempting distractions.
If it was just a temptation then perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. But in today’s world, giving in to those distractions has become increasingly normalised. We all know someone who, even as they’re talking to you, has one eye on their phone. While that’s an extreme, we’re probably all guilty of thinking that we can multitask when we really should be concentrating.
Recently a number of apps and extensions have come out that can help you manage distracting websites and misguided attempts at multitasking. You can choose to block those sites that you find the most distracting for a scheduled amount of time. This allows you to work without losing focusing and giving into temptation.
When you come to the end of writing a long paragraph and you could do with a thirty second break, perhaps looking at cute videos of kittens on youtube. However, that little break distracts your writing flow. You aren’t just losing precious writing time from your NaNoWriMo schedule, you’re also losing inspiration.
We really like Cold Turkey. Once downloaded and set up there is no way to undo the set schedule. You cannot unblock distracting sites, all you can do is wait. It’s just you and your manuscript, with absolutely no distractions.
Our other rec is Q10. This site is not as strict as Cold Turkey, but it is a lot cuter. Q10 is a full screen text editor, so you can’t flip inbetween distracting tabs as you use it. It also has a typewriter sound effect as you type, so that it basically turns your computer in a typewriter. How utterly perfect for NaNoWriMo!
Keep writing! You’ve got this.
For all of our NaNoWriMo posts and tips, click here.