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You are here: Home / Archives for distraction

Distraction

Distraction is really a sub-theme of Optimizing Focus. In addition to posts with this tag you might also read Optimizing Focus: 3 elements to consider and others in that series.

A person checks their phone while sitting at a desk with a laptop in front of them.

The work you wish you didn’t have to do

Posted on November 29, 2018 by Jo VanEvery

Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · The work you wish you didn’t have to do Something that a couple of members shared at the end of A Meeting With Your Writing session reminded me of an important point. Sometimes the reason you think you’ve not accomplished much (in your writing, or in your work in […]

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A woman with red nails and a coral pink top holds her phone in her hands ready to turn it on while sat at a black desk with an analog alarm clock sitting in the background

The impact of time available on your focus

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Jo VanEvery 2 Comments

In Focus: 3 elements to consider, I outlined three elements that affect your focus during a writing session: the task itself, how you are feeling, and the context. This article is updated from one published 21 April 2014 to connect it more clearly to that framework. I use the term “optimize” purposefully. Your goal is […]

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Image of dictionary page with definition of "focus" in focus

Optimizing Focus: 3 elements to consider

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Jo VanEvery

Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Optimizing Focus: 3 Elements to Consider Everyone struggles with focus. This is why I prompt participants in A Meeting With Your Writing to think about what they’d like to try that day to optimize their focus. In this rather long post, I set out the fundamental principles that underpin […]

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A pair of glasses rests on the keyboard of a laptop, focusing the screen which shows a few open windows of code and program settings

Optimizing Focus: Choose the task to suit the context

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Jo VanEvery

In Optimizing Focus: 3 elements to consider, I outlined three elements that affect your focus during a writing session: the task itself, how you are feeling, and the context. I have written a series of follow up articles going into more detail about what that framework looks like in practice. I use the term “optimize” […]

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A cluttered desk space with pc monitor is viewed from above

Focus and the desire for distraction

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Jo VanEvery

Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Focus and the desire for distraction I’ve written about focus and distraction before. A recent question during A Meeting With Your Writing has helped me clarify an important underlying principle. There are 2 parts to getting distracted: the trigger where you go once distracted These two elements are not […]

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Is this Real Writing or procrastination?

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Jo VanEvery

A recent Twitter interaction with another writing coach helped me clarify some of the principles that underpin my approach to academic writing. Please, please, please remember that what is good advice for writers of young adult fantasy is not necessarily good advice for early career researchers! #AcWri https://t.co/hY9GjO51ml — Thomas Basbøll (@Inframethod) January 31, 2018 […]

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A phone is turned face down on a circular marble table with a small child playing with colourful bricks in the background

Distraction: not the usual suspects

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Jo VanEvery Leave a Comment

Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Distraction: not the usual suspects Distraction is the enemy of productivity. There’s all kinds of time management and productivity advice telling you to track what you are doing and get rid of all the meaningless tasks that don’t contribute to moving your project forward. There are apps and strategies […]

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A row of vintage lightbulbs hanging without lightshades from an industrial building ceiling and glowing a warm yellow colour from the visible filaments. The lightbulbs represent multiple ideas happening at once.

When another project is distracting you from this one

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Jo VanEvery Leave a Comment

This post is part of a series on Optimizing Focus. Finding it hard to focus is normal. Self-flagellation does not work to improve your focus. Furthermore it takes time and energy that takes you away from your writing; it is another distraction. I firmly believe that you can approach your work compassionately rather than violently. […]

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Break time

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Jo VanEvery Leave a Comment

One of the principles about focus that I really like is the value of breaks. Whether you take them every 25 minutes, every 90 minutes or something in between, taking breaks actually improves your focus. Breaks create containers for your focus. Breaks also shift how you view the inability to focus for long stretches of […]

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knitting

Knitting in meetings

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Jo VanEvery 13 Comments

I’m a knitter. Maybe you also knit, or crochet, or do other needlecrafts that are small and portable. I knit in meetings and in other public places. I knit in the pub while talking to friends.  Can you really do that without looking? This is probably one of the major issues that is going to […]

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