Why Most Writers Struggle With Focus (And How to Break the Cycle)
It takes less than you think
I've been earning my living writing since March 2020.
And up until January last year, I've mostly worked four to six hours each day, spending the rest of my time doing whatever the eff I want.
Yes, I couldn't believe it myself.
But then, I got stuck in a downward spiral of overthinking, doubting, and inaction, which almost crashed my writing business.
It took a toll.
Now, over an entire year later, I realized what really happened.
And I see other writers hurting themselves (and their businesses), too.
What you must understand about focus
As a writer, you should know how important focus is.
It's the key ingredient to get things done and write with clarity.
But most don't understand how focus works exactly.
It's time to change that.
So, here's the deal.
Your focus relies on something called mental bandwidth, which is similar to RAM in a PC.
Whenever you start a process, mental bandwidth is used, but humans can't get their mental bandwidth back once the process stops, in comparison to PCs.
It's used up.
To get it back, we need to recover and sleep.
Now, the real problem is that every small decision and distraction eats up our mental bandwidth.
Even thinking about other unrelated stuff will.
That's why we should kill overthinking as early as possible.
And why we must fight another big enemy every day.
Are you training yourself to be an idiot without even knowing?
I surely did last year.
I undermined my focus, willpower, and potential success without knowing it by doing something most people do the entire day.
In his book "Deep Work," Cal Newport describes one of the biggest issues most people face today:
Turning themselves into distraction addicts.
Always on the hunt for the next small kick of dopamine.
The problem is this: whenever you give in to a random distraction, you subconsciously train yourself to:
a) get distracted more easily and
b) need more distractions
It's a vicious cycle that'll kill your productivity and creativity.
And I can tell, as I've been going down this rabbit hole for six months last year.
Always starting something, giving in to my urge to get distracted, trying to refocus, starting something else, and repeating the entire cycle.
Science shows it can take up to 23 minutes to refocus again.
And that's the reason why the average person loses multiple hours each day to refocus on tasks.
This means that even if you have a solid routine in place and can focus, you aren't safe if you don't put in the daily effort.
The reward? Better thinking and, therefore, better writing than ever.
And here's how you can do it.
Defend your focus like your life depends on it (because it does)
Your best life is hidden behind deep work.
And let's be honest: most won't ever achieve it.
Because they're already too hooked on the dopamine, they get drip-fed daily.
But if you start defending what's yours, your focus, you'll achieve incredible things. How? By eliminating distractions.
We're talking:
blocking distracting websites,
NOT giving in to random urges,
phone on airplane mode in another room, and
stop speaking to others while you write.
Writing relies on focus.
Either you defend yours to deliver, or you'll always get stuck in mediocre ideas, lose your dread of thought, and think you could do better but don't know how.
Don't turn yourself into an idiot by giving in to distractions.
Train your brain to think sharp when needed.
Then, do this.
Rely on something most people dread
We live in an upside-down world.
Today, we treat boredom as the enemy.
Although it's the best friend we can have.
Although it's one of the quickest ways to improve your life.
Boredom will teach you:
resilience
patience, and
creativity
All without much effort.
Yet, most people avoid it like the plague.
They make it their arch-enemy and distract themselves all day, every day. I've been there, too, not only last year but in the years before.
And it, of course, felt better in the present moment.
But I always felt burned out, fatigued, and exhausted afterward.
There are reasons an ever-increasing number of people are miserable, and the lack of boredom is one of the biggest.
It makes us think we're entitled to entertainment when all we are is impatient.
Don't give in to that and embrace boredom.
To improve your life and writing, start today.
Once again, it shows that living a great life means doing what others don't.
Defending your focus against distractions and embracing boredom are two of the best things you can do in your life and writing.
And it took me almost crashing my writing business to realize it.
Don't let it come to that.
Instead, focus on what matters the most.
Starting now.
Thank you for reading.
How do you defend your focus and embrace boredom in your life?
Let me know in the comments.