Focus!

Sometimes I have a hard time getting into the writing groove and am fascinated at the range of ridiculous things I find myself doing instead of working on my novel.  Yesterday was amazing – I had a full five hours of productive prose.  Today – not so much.  I have the computer on and the document in the forefront but keep finding myself puttering away at this and that – anything and everything but writing.

   

A few moments ago I was standing at the sink peeling labels off a glass bottle destined for the recycle bin.  This completely pointless task is not even required by the recycle center.  It was then that I realized I must be desperate to avoid sitting down at my desk. 

I’ve been downstairs countless times to check on the fire in the wood burning stove even though it’s been fine every time.  I put all twenty of the dog toys back in the box even though the dogs take them right back out again.  I did an oddball load of laundry – you know, the stuff that lingers at the bottom of the hamper for months, even years.  I put my cookbooks in food style order and cleaned dog nose prints off the picture windows (even though, again, new ones will be back momentarily).

I pacify myself with the knowledge that sometimes the words flow off my fingers with nearly no effort, but when I struggle to put what’s in my mind onto the paper, the end result seems forced.

 

Maybe today wasn’t supposed to be a writing day.  Maybe I got started too late.  Maybe cleaning the grout around the sink and reorganizing the pantry really was more important. 

How do you stay focused when you’ve lost your focus?