“My multi-tasking mind is STOPPING me from finishing my book!”

Q –

Hi Angela,

Each time I start trying to write, ideas and thoughts start to fly around in my head. So, then I start taking separate notes because those ideas don’t fit in the part of the book I’m writing, or aren’t part of writing my book at all.

Now, I find I have done far more note-taking than writing. And, each time I try to get back to writing, the ideas start all over again and MY BOOK ISN’T GETTING WRITTEN!

Any advice you can give me?

M.B.

A –

I TOTALLY understand! I have a very active (okay, OVER-active) brain as well and, when I’m doing one thing (writing), my mind is often separately going in a million different directions. Some of those thoughts are related to the book (and, yes, I take notes on the side, too) while others couldn’t be farther from the topic of the book (i.e. “I need to remember to check Mason’s English lesson,” “Did I add Thousand Island dressing to the grocery list?” “Do I have any appointments tomorrow?” “I only have one pair if clean undies left…must do laundry tomorrow!”).

The best advice I can give you is to sit down with a cup of coffee or tea every morning, before you even check your email, and write for an hour. If your overactive brain invades your writing, IGNORE IT. Those thoughts and reminders will come back to you later in the day. DO NOT WRITE THEM DOWN.

Even if it’s a difficult writing session, and if you have to rewrite that part later, at least you’ll have something to go on (lead you) the following day. Also, it helps me immensely to read what I wrote the previous day just before I begin writing anew in the morning.

And, finally, don’t try to edit what you’ve written until that hour is up. Your productivity will be much higher if you resist the urge to go back and tweak the spelling on something, or change punctuation. Write now. Edit later.

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“My multi-tasking mind is STOPPING me from finishing my book!”

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