Turn It Off
By Barbara O'Neal | July 27, 2011 |
In my writing classes, I often suggest to writers that they turn off the internet until they have written their pages for the day. Better yet, turn it off
completely on a regular basis and do other things.
This has become more and more challenging for all of us. More and more of our world is online. This is where we talk to our friends, touch bases with editors and agents, find out about market news and trends. We keep up with each other and all the other writers in our genres via Facebook and Twitter. With the advent of ebooks, the potential for spending even more time on line is exponential.
In his essay, “On Distraction,” Alain de Botton writes,
“One of the more embarrassing and self-indulgent challenges of our time is the task of relearning how to concentrate. The past decade has seen an unparalleled assault on our capacity to fix our minds steadily on anything. To sit still and think, without succumbing to an anxious reach for a machine, has become almost impossible.”
Ring any bells? Over and over, tests reveal that our concentration is becoming fragmented by our attachment to electronics. I know that I can be sitting in a comfortable place, watching a movie or reading a book, and will suddenly be overwhelmed with the desire to click open the email client on my phone. I am a natural magpie, as many of us are, easily distracted by the bright, the shiny, the new fact, the intriguing bit of history. (Kathyrn Rusch calls this syndrome popcorn kittens (and really, watch the video)). I try to resist, but often I do not.
One of the most challenging aspects of writing a novel is the fact that it takes awhile. A long while, usually. It requires a tremendous amount of focus. If your attention is being fragmented, dragged away into Facebook or yet another Twitter, or the latest Google newsfeed, or your email dinging (how often is it important, really?), how much focus do you have? Even if you’re just looking up a fact, you are fragmenting, losing focus, taking yourself voluntarily out of the book world.
You might think you don’t have a problem. I challenge you to keep track of your time on the internet over the next week. Every time you open an email program on your phone. Every time you check your Amazon numbers or reviews on Goodreads. Every time you pop in and Twitter or lounge around on Facebook. Every time. Write down the time you begin and the time you end.
I am not suggesting the Internet is a demon. Not at all. It has to be one of the greatest technological advances ever.
However, it can undermine good writing in a number of ways. The first is that falling out of the book world, the lack of focus I mentioned above. All by itself, this is harmful to the work. More insidious is the fact that when we are on the Internet, we are not doing any number of other things. Walking and observing nature or the world around us, for example. Daydreaming, always a cornerstone of writing novels. Gardening, reading, talking to other people, leafing through a magazine, drawing, shooting photos, taking a class in French cooking.
You see what I mean.
If you recognize yourself in this blog, I have a few suggestions for you.
1. Turn off the Internet completely while you are working. Don’t have an automatic sound to alert you when a new email comes in. Do not allow yourself to check anything. Turn it OFF. Stay with the book world.
2. Related: do not turn on the Internet before you begin writing. This is one that aggravates me almost every single work day of my life, I confess. It seems idiotic that I’m not checking email, facebook, Twitter, headlines, etc, etc, etc, like everybody else. Instead, I’m walking the dog, then facing the blinking cursor on my MIP. This is not me being superior, you understand. This is me saying I hate doing it, but it works. Try it for a week.
3. Give yourself an hour or two every day during which you are not connected to any machine of any kind. The phone is off. You are away from the computer. You are not watching television. Read, perhaps, or knit, or take a walk. Lie on the couch and stare at the ceiling. Play with a kitten. Cook something. See how it feels.
4. Try some simple meditation. It has been shown to offset the fragmented thinking born of the onslaught of information from which we are all suffering. For more information, here is a super-easy, religion-free explanation.
5. Give yourself a reward when you accomplish an hour of focused, Internet-free time. An apple maybe, or a token that goes into a jar for a big treat.
Do you have any other suggestions? Howls of horror? Talk to me quick because I have to get back to my Facebook page work.
Barbara O’Neal is the author of more than a dozen award-winning, bestselling novels, including the runaway bestseller, When We Believed in Mermaids, which has been published in more than 20 countries and spent many months on the Amazon Charts, as well as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller lists. Barbara lives on the beach in rugged Oregon with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent and their zoo of cats and dogs. You can find more information on her newsletter and where to find her on social media at barbaraoneal.com.
I thoroughly recommend a programme called Freedom. You can download it quite cheaply from macfreedomDOTcom and it disables your internet connection for up to 8 hours. I always use it when I’m writing and relish in the flow of concentrated work.
Simply excellent, Barbara. Thank you for the encouragement to unplug. Doing that just now, for more writing. Thanks!
This is so important! I started doing this for a while and found I was much more productive. It’s easy to slip back. Thanks for the reminder.
The Internet is such a mixed blessing. I need to do every thing you suggest.
You are absolutely right, Barbara! As much as I hate to admit it, I know my concentration is scattered. I know that my impulse control is harder to well, uh, control. As much as I rail against other people doing all of this, I’m doing it, too. It’s way too easy to check FB while doing almost anything at the same time. It’s a bad habit that I must break. It’s one more thing we have to manage. And I thank you for writing this. Here I am up in the middle of the night online. I used to write scenes when I woke up like this. But now I’m going to recall your words and your example about taking time off from the internet and keeping my head in the book world. Thank you!
Honestly, I do my very best work when I’m not connected. Sometimes I have to take out the internet USB and give it to my partner, which he doesn’t give back to me until I’m done. It’s amazing the difference it makes, especially as its such a simple act!
Great post, and so true.
I resolve to do this almost everyday and then weaken…. I like your idea of tracking all the time I spend on the Internet as well as writing before any Internet time. Hopefully with these new tips, I will be able to carry through on my resolution — I know it will make me a lot more productive!
Some good ideas; thanks. I write first thing in the morning on an old laptop in my kitchen. The laptop does not have a connection to the internet nor a wifi. My pc is in another room and doesn’t get switched on until after I have done my hour’s writing and had breakfast.
I chose this way because my pc is too far from the kettle so I switched to an old laptop in the kitchen so I can get my hot cup of tea. I can see the benefits of not being online whilst I am writing.
So my suggestion is get an old laptop and just put Word on it or whatever writing software you use. Then use that machine exclusively for writing; preferably in a different room to where your pc is. But make sure you back up your writing every day on a memory stick or whatever – I do two back ups onto two different memory sticks stored in different places – the joy of experience….
One hundred percent true. I love to multitask and click and just check-one-more-thing but when fiction is on the menu, it takes complete concentration. I’ll try these tips.
I’m trying to retrain myself to not check emails first thing in the morning. It leads to so many rabbit holes in the morning of checking links, blogs, etc. I’m not there yet, but working on it.
great advice!
there always seems to be one more article to read…
i have added an exercize goal, read internet on ipad while treadmilling =)
Amen.
I’m logging off for a while!
I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but even as I was reading this post, I kept checking Twitter and Facebook. I’m one of those people who really need to unplug!
I’m going to be the odd one out here and disagree, but not with the principle of the argument.
I do agree that all of our connections split our attention in a dozen different directions and I also agree that for most people, this is a Very Bad Thing.
Having said that, it is next to impossible for me to get anything done if I’m staring at it for a length of time with nothing else to do. I do not function well with only one thing to do. You say to make a note of when you close facebook… but I don’t ever close it. I have twitter, FB, G+, my blog, Google Reader, Deviantart, Yahoo groups- all of these are open at the same time as my Google docs where I do all of my writing. My phone is next to me. I have written thousands of words when I can type a sentence, text a friend, type a sentence, visit a blog, type a sentence, check out some art on DA, type a sentence…
There are some combinations of work that make me more productive than others. I will listen to writing podcasts and/or TED talks while I’m surfing Deviantart. I can check facebook and G+ and Twitter all at the same time, they’re basically the same thing. I give Goodreads it’s own slot of time because I’m still learning about that site. Writing fits into all of these, siitting right in the middle of my life. I write on Google, I write on my phone, I’ll write on napkins if that’s what it takes.
I can type something and talk to someone at the same time.
Through all this I must have music playing- I have to have multiple imputs or nothing will get done.
Such great advice, and so hard to follow in the face of advice to get online and network. Whenever I manager to turn the Internet off, I do get so much more done. I must not be very smart because, just because I manage to unplug one day, it doesn’t follow that I’ll do so the next.
I write on my laptop which is NOT connected to the Internet in any way, shape, or fashion. In fact, the lone computer in our house that is connected to the ‘Net is downstairs, so if I want to go check email or FB or whatever, I have to leave my office on the second floor and go down two flights of stairs. That’s not a big deal, but when I get the urge to abandon the WIP in favor of checking email, I have to put everything down and literally leave the room.
Since I am on the computer all day at work through the week, I am hardly on it at all during the weekends. This is my time to write and unplug and I crave it.
For some reason, my laptop wouldn’t connect to the Internet at Panera, and I’d often go there to work.
Of course, my writing would be full of placeholders, like, look up indigenous plants for this area, or find out what kinds of cars the cops use for unmarked vehicles.
I find I tend to be most productive toward the end of the day, when all the plugged-in business is over.
This seems to be the theme of what I’m reading today–sitting here reading blogs rather than getting ready for work or working on my WIP or walking the dog. UGH.
This is true true true…I waste way to much time online. The funny thing is, though when I have gone “internet free” to write is exactly when I need to quickly look up some word-usage or some random how-to thing on the internet for my book. ha! Obviously, the answer is to just put some sort of “look this up later” tag in the text and keep typing, but it is funny how often I’ve come to rely on google to help me let my protagonist do things I don’t already know how to do.
So, I’m getting offline right NOW to get some stuff done!
Barbara:
You hit the nail on the head. I think we are all feeling this pain. There are days the “craving” to be attached to something shiny with bells ringing is so overpowering that it resembles addictive qualities. Actually, the need to constantly check EVERYTHING (email, blogs, twitter, facebook, linkedin, and now, gplus) is an addiction.
After I created my twitter account, immediately followed by a gplus profile, I became extremely overwhelmed. I identify with the need to stay on top of industry news, networking, and self-promotion. But I’ve forced myself a time limit. I have to. How easy we get sucked into this mess.
Now it’s time to unplug the hardware and go outside and play. Thanks for this wonderful reminder. I’m printing your list and tacking it to my bulletin board.
Enjoy the sunshine. Kerry
Charlotte, it is my partner who is in control of the Internet settings. Otherwise, I’d just cave in and fix them. (I *can* check on my iPad, but I leave it downstairs while I work upstairs in my office. Ditto the iPhone, which is uberconnected.) I could just wander into beloved’s office, right next to mine, but his PC takes forever to boot and I just don’t.
Sometimes, between books (as now), when I’m meandering and thinking, I have him turn it back on. Which is why I can be so chatty this morning. :)
Great suggestion, Christopher. (I need my kettle, too.) My son told me an anecdote about Jonathan Franzen & the internet. His advice was to rent an office away from your home, and make sure it doesn’t have a wireless connection. Then, buy a laptop just for this purpose, and a connector. Plug the connector in with SuperGlue, then break it off and throw the rest away. Then take laptop to office and work.
I laughed my head off.
Awesome, Tami, if it works for you. Just wondering, though, if you’ve tried it the other way?
Such good points! I’ll have to try some of these tips, especially since I’ve been battling my compulsive phone/FB/Twitter checking habits lately. I remember just a few years ago I had a much longer attention span, and I think it’s because back then I wasn’t blogging or Tweeting, and I didn’t constantly feel like I might be missing something if I wasn’t online.
I want to get back to that simpler time. One thing that’s worked for me is having a completely unplugged day at least once a week (usually Sunday). I don’t even turn on my computer–if I want to write, I write by hand.
Totally agree.
That’s why I do most of my drafting on an old word-processing keyboard called an AlphaSmart, unconnected to the Internet. It gives me the freedom of a laptop, without the temptation of web-based distractions.
I give myself “a coffee’s worth” of internet before I get down to business. My big, bad addiction was TV, but I got my cable cut off a while back and so my vices are limited!
This advice is SO hard. :) As a work at home Mom, sometimes it feels like my only “connection” to adults is through this box!
That said, I agree — without concentration, I can’t produce the fiction I love. So I need to unplug. And keep meditating. Thanks for the reminder!
I’m a big believer in a little bit of something each day adding up over time, so my word quotas for each day are not ridiculously high (1000 words), and I just discipline myself. No email or Facebook until I get those words down. Sometimes it’s hard to get started, but once I hit my stride, I usually finish before I know it and it gets easier over time. If I’m really struggling because I’m waiting for something online, I might allow myself a quick check every 250 or 500 words–but again, by then I usually have hit my stride and keep going, or I limit the amount of time I can check those things online. It took some practice to build up that habit, though.
You have made happy by posting this totally true and totally agreeable ideas as I’m already practicing some of them. I’m looking forward to try your 4th and ‘supposed to be more productive’ suggestion, “Try some simple meditation.”
Natalia, great idea to unplug for one day a week. I can usually manage to get through the day, but then fall to the darkside at night.
What’s funny is that when we travel abroad, it’s much too difficult (and expensive!) to check email & Facebook for very long. And I almost never miss much of anything!
Cathy, that’s true. I feel that isolation sometimes, too.
Just thought I should say that I’m currently monitoring Twitter, reading these posts and texting my niece. So…you know…it’s not like I’m some queen of unplugging.
Great post, Barbara!
Something we all know, like “we shouldn’t overeat,” or “I have to remember to exercise,” keeping our internet time under control is important; however, as it is doubtful that in today’s world few are able to “turn if off,” I suggest setting aside an hour (or whatever time one can afford that won’t interfere with writing), setting a clock/alarm and diving in/enjoying. When the time’s up…it’s up. Works for me! -James Mayor (www.jamesmayor.com)
Love this reminder. One thing I’ve noticed about myself is that I THINK that surfing the internet is relaxing . . . but really it just agitates my brain. It’s like watching TV before bed. I don’t sleep well unless I read (i.e. a BOOK) before bed. I think the internet, while so helpful for research, blogging, connecting, makes me feel twizzy. Kind of like a veinte quad-shot Americano with lots of sugar. Writing, as we all know, requires about ten different kinds of discipline. I guess that’s why writers get paid the big bucks. :)
I needed this. Thanks. The hardest one on your list for me is #2–not to check email first. I think I might try it, but no promises!
What has worked for me, at least for the last couple of weeks, is a little schedule I created for my writing day. I’ve allotted myself time for email and reading blogs. It has helped immensely, and freed up writing time, because I’ve compartmentalized those tasks rather than flitting back and forth from one to the other.
And you are absolutely right–when I’m writing, the email program has to be closed. Twitter off. Et cetera.
I’ll be doing NaNoWriMo this year, and I’m going to HAVE to learn how to not sit at my computer until and unless I’ve done my word count for the day.
Or join in the 48 Hour Dark Experiment!
So timely – I just announced a marathon run of my internet-quitting boot camp. Every so often when my addiction gets out of control, I run a detox for myself and my friends: 48 hours straight of no internet. I get SO much done and I come back sober.
Since the thought of unplugging gives me the shakes it’s probably time to do something about it. Thanks for this inspiration.
I love this, I needed, and I’m up for the challenge! No question my writing habits and lack of piling pages has changed dramatically since my writing days pre-internet. It’s far, too, easy to click away from the WIP when I hit a rough patch and wander online to see what’s doing everywhere else rather then sitting there stumbling around the words and getting back on track. For me, when it comes to honest change, the most effective method for turning it all around is straight-on cold turkey. No gentle weening, because then I start making mental excuses for slipping back into bad habits.
For me, the plan will be that when the file for my WIP is open and in front of me on the screen, I’m right there will it. And then I’ll stay for the duration :-)
Like Melissa, I have two computers, only one of which is connected to the Internet. The other isn’t. Which one do I do my writing on? Yeah, the second one.
I also check email first thing in the morning and do as much online networking (FB, Twitter, blogs) as I can before heading out the door to drop off my children at school and go to the gym. Afterward, I write. I check my email/FB/Twitter once more in the evening. (That’s the plan anyway! I do have to get online to research/query agents and post blogs, but I try to do that after I do my Really Important Writing: my WIP.)
My attitude to the internet and TV is the same. Turn it on to watch/do somethng specific. Then turn it off. It’s one of the best decisions I could have made for my productivity.
I think this is implied in your post, but thought I might make it explicit. The writing on the internet, for the most part, is not enhancing our lives or our thoughts as writers. Writers need to read great writing. We have limited time. If our reading time is now given over to blogs, tweets, etc, how are we feeding and challenging and refueling our inner world?
Dear Barbara,
This couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I just read the other day a blog called, “Creative Kryptonite and the Death of Productivity” and essentially you are saying the same things. Our brains are becoming scattered and it’s difficult to focus. The other blog goes more into the brain and the details of neurons and such but yours is way more interesting and says it in a way that’s easier to understand. When I read how FB and Twitter and G+ are all mind sucks, I am beginning to agree. I find myself acting like an addict in the way I behave regarding social networking. I do it, I read about it, I take classes about it, I read books about it. And I’m not writing. I am at a stalemate and have been for months. Now I’m wondering if I should place the blame on myself and feeling overwhelmed by my need to network….
Patti
Oh, how I need to work on this. It’s not like trying to write a novel with a 7 year old and 4 year old in the background (fighting? spilling?) isn’t distraction enough. I spend too much time “just checking in” on twitter, FB, my blog, other blogs. I agree with Natalia that my attention span used to be longer. I find I have to drag myself back to the moment more often now, even when I’m reading. (How many times did I just re-read that single sentence?) Like Sarah, I get “twizzy” from too much internet, even when I think it’s relaxing.
I love that you give concrete suggestions here, Barbara, and I’m going to put them into action. Today. I’m clicking out of here and turning off the net until my writing is done for the day.
Great article and great suggestions. I think I’ll try this tomorrow, sit quietly on my meditation cushion, flip through an inspirational book and slowly read a passage, go for a walk, dream out the window and write what I see.
It’s so tempting to check email and facebook throughout the day… It’s that rush of reassurance that someone cares about us, that we’re liked and okay. So I think actually taking the step of disconnecting from the internet before working is really helpful because just saying you won’t go on is much harder! And it helps you train yourself to be less dependent on the attention and approval of others. :)
Well said, Jade–that rush of reassurance that we all crave. And we are intermittently rewarded for our action, which psychology tells us is the most powerful reinforcement.
intermittently rewarded for our action, which psychology tells us is the most powerful reinforcement.
It’s true, and I wish there were a good way to apply that to the writing life. Picture: Every few hundred words a little door on your screen opens up and presents you with a chocolate marble or something. Someone needs to invent that.
I have trouble unplugging — but have found that when I do, it can be very “rewarding” to go back online and have more than one email and lots of updates to check. It’s convoluted, I know…but it works. Sometimes.
I also believe (or have convinced myself) that because I don’t live with another adult that it’s my way of just being connected to people other than my kids.
It’s good advice to take to heart — and I think it’s more beneficial than we probably know.
Such great advice, thanks for the reminder! It’s the sort of thing one tends to “know” and yet always put off until, you know, checking email, twitter and then email again . . . which not only distracts from being able to really focus in on anything, but leaves you (meaning, of course, me) always slightly on edge, craving that dopamine rush of clicking on that email link, because maybe I won a lottery I didn’t even know I’d entered. One thing I did on that level that helped was (and this is really a hard one) is that I email permanently disabled email on my cellphone because I found that everywhere I went that same tension went with me. It was shockingly refreshing not to have it. It literally felt like an addiction, broken. And, it made going home that much more exciting, because, hey, maybe I did win that lottery, and I had email waiting . . .
Fantastic article. I would also add, for my fellow facebookers, to black any and all game apps.