The start of my freelance writing career was a careful balancing act. I’d recently quit my job as a barista to force myself to find bigger and better things. The first work I found was a gig with the content mill Demand Studios, and it was one of my first experiences without a boss telling me what to do. To make enough money to pay the bills, I determined I would need to write about eight articles a day, five days a week. I had to write thousands of words per day or I was screwed. There wasn’t much room for error.
Like most people, I work better when I’m focused. Also like most people, I’m live in a world full of distractions. Every text message, e-mail notification and clickable link threatened to take my mind off the task at hand. It was a battle between me and the tech. At first, the tech and I would split our battles. I turned the tide when I got as far away from the comfort of home as possible. I took my laptop to the gym, so I could use it after a morning workout. I went to the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago. I tested out coffee shops and restaurants. Location was a major help, but it couldn’t solve everything. Every so often the tech would still win. It compelled me to return home, watch Hulu and Netflix the rest of the afternoon and chalk the day up a loss.
Since then, I’ve devised several ways to defeat the tech when I can feel its pull on my susceptible brain. Using these methods, I’ve been able to defeat the tech from getting in the way of my writing over 90 percent of the time.
1. Going Dark
There is something beautiful about turning off your cell phone. In a completely connected world, you can become unreachable. I grew up in a cell phone-free world and being off the grid was the norm. Going back to that world is very calming. It takes away more than half of your potential writing distractions. I’ve rarely regretted turning the phone off while I write. And that dire call you’re always worried about missing? It’s unlikely to ever happen. Even if it does, it’s likely someone else will be able to take care of the issue for you.
2. Laptop free in 2-0-1-3
I have a great laptop and I love it, but when I need to do a lot of writing and paper and pencil are too slow, I break out my NEO 2. The NEO 2 is essentially an electronic keyboard that displays four lines of text at a time. You can’t access the internet on it. You can’t check your e-mail. But you can write. It’s as fast, if not faster, than your standard keyboard because there’s nothing else getting in the way. It runs on double AA batteries and lasts over 700 hours.
I only got this device a couple of months ago, and it’s made a world of difference, particularly on this blog tour. I get to leave the house without my laptop while still possessing a device that lets me type quickly. It’s light. It’s simple. It’s a tech rollback of about 10-15 years, but it’s totally worth the $120 price tag.
3. Pencil & Paper
On the days when the tech has me in its grasp, I turn to the trusty tools of my high school days. Let’s say you’ve been sucked into a video watching session for 20 minutes but you only have an hour to write. Instead of giving up one-third of the way through your allotted writing time, you can dash out of the house with a folder, a few sheets of lined or blank paper and a pencil and find some place completely tech-free to write. I’ve used a random park bench, the back of my wife’s car, the beach and a host of other places to do my last-ditch scribbling.
Is it slower than typing? Definitely. Can it help you out of a jam if you can’t force yourself to type on a laptop or desktop? Certainly. I find myself experiencing far less writers block when I go old-school with a pencil and paper. Perhaps the inability to write as fast as I can think allows me to catch up, never missing out on where the next idea can take me. I have loved using old school tools to fill my free time with writing.
—
I still do most of my freelance work on my laptop. It’s faster and more connected to the utilities I need. When I’m writing for myself though, I prefer going backwards tech-wise. I’ve found I’m way more productive and that I get a hell of a lot done. If you find yourself checking Twitter more often than you finish a paragraph, consider my tricks to help you make significant writing progress.
About the Author: In honor of his new book, Cohen is hosting the “1,000 Prompts, 1,000 Dollars” Writing Contest on his website. Click the link to find out how to enter! Click the next link to check out the rest of Cohen’s blog tour!
Bryan Cohen is an author, a creativity coach and an actor. His new book, 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, Volume 2: More Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More is now available on Amazon in digital and paperback format. His other books include 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, The Post-College Guide to Happiness, and Ted Saves the World. He has published over 30 books, which have sold more than 20,000 copies in total. Connect with him on his website, Build Creative Writing Ideas, on Facebook or on Twitter.