My biggest time waster
September 27, 2007 by Deb Ng
Filed under Freelance Writing
So today as I’m writing up my latest article for About Weblogs, I started doing a little research. That took me off on a tangent and the next thing I know, it’s 90 minutes later and the school bus is outside honking. It wasn’t a wasted effort as I was mostly catching up on a favorite problogger’s blog, but still, 90 minutes.
I’m easily distracted.
I was thinking back to the early 90’s when I first started working as an editorial assistant. Only a couple of the office computers were hooked up then, and I wasn’t one of the privy. I got a lot of work done. Don’t get me wrong. I like to think I have a pretty good work ethic, but sometimes my cable modem just calls to me. You know what I need? A computer with no Internet access. One where I can work without saying, “Hmmm…..wonder what’s going on in my favorite blogging forum” or “let me check my stats.”
So that’s my biggest time waster. What’s yours?
You’ve described my big time waster too. Recently I’ve found I can get more done by writing longhand with good old pen and paper, simply because I can do it anywhere, ie. well away from the internet. I’ve also set up an old laptop with nothing more than Word installed so I can work and not be tempted to hop online or check my email.
Same as yours, Deb. But much worse because I have too many “online hobbies”. I think I should also do what Fiona has done. It will keep me focused.
I check my email way too much. Usually when I’ve applied for jobs and am praying for someone to contact me. The good thing is that every once in awhile they do.
Getting up dozens of times a day to help my children with the schoolwork, food fetching, etc. is a big time-waster for me. I tend to return to my laptop in distracted mode and it takes me a while to re-focus my thoughts.
What was I writing about, anyway?
Email!!! I have an intense love/hate with email. I also can NOT refrain from seeing what jobs are available. I tell myself that if I do not see the jobs first then I won’t get any of them.
I know, it’s an illness
Amelia
E-mail, phone, fridge, not always in that order.
Mary Ann>> I also do that too. I check my email once every five minutes praying someone gets back to me. LOL.
Message boards – so much to see, so much to discuss, whatever the topic. Tabbed browsing in Friefox doesn’t help either because I tend to keep things open in my tabs while I’m working.
Sometimes I just have to tell myself, “OK, I can check it after I finish X amount of work.”
You hit the nail on the head for me. I’ve been doing tons of “researching” on how to write, what to write, and how to write better — only problem is, I’ve been reading so many blogs I haven’t actually done any writing! Even when our family was on vacation last week — the only reason I got anything written was because my 8-year-old wanted to use my laptop (to check on her Webkinz) and there was only 1 internet connection in the room at a time!
Writing it out longhand works wonders
Same here, Lisa B. I just need to bust out a legal pad and get to work!
First time commentng over here. (figured I’d take a break from checking my email again, for the ninth time)
Thanks guys, just figured out how to make a buck! Back to the good ol’ pen and paper. Anyhow, the truth is that one tends to think over the computer screen and sometimes this allows for more ‘loose’ thinking. Just today, I found that the paper and pen method helped consolidate my thinking and got me out of the ‘fish and scan’ mode. Much better.
Thanks Deb again for all that you do!
And that goes also for Jodee, of course!
When I lived in Queens, it took me an hour each way on the subway to get to my job in lower Manhattan. If I got a seat, I’d write. The only problem is that I would come home and have to retype it so I could turn it in.
For Christmas one year (I think 1999?) my husband bought me an iPaq so I could write on the train and import the text to Word. What a Godsend! When we went on vacation that same year, my husband presented me with a small keyboard for the iPaq so I could work if I needed to.
I’m thinking I probably got a lot more done during two hours on the subway than some of my 8 hour days here! I find I procrastinate the most with the most unattractive assignments though.
If I spent as much time and energy going after gigs and writing as I do fooling around on forums, then I would be a full-time freelancer as many of you are.
I really need to work out a more disciplined system…write for 50 minutes, fool around for 10, but I am a weak, weak woman.
I’m also currently underemployed and spend a lot of time looking for full-time jobs and an inordinate amount of time writing cover letters. Having trouble getting hired is a new one for me, and I’m getting fed up! In my most recently completed cover letter, I refer to myself as a data dork. If that doesn’t get me an interview, I don’t know what will!
My biggest distractions, in order of distraction level:
1. My toddler (wanting food, milk, stories, to play ball or just a cuddle)
2. My baby (diaper or milk)
3. Email
4. My husband (he likes to watch tv and we only have one room! All the shows he watches are far more interesting than my work)
It´s pretty distracting around here and as you can see, my main distractions are offline! Although I have to admit there are some times when my Stumble bar calls my name.
I think for a lot of us it isn’t necessarily ‘time wasters’ as much as it is trying to find the right balance with all we are doing. Trying to give attention to one area sacrifices time in another that we can’t always afford: yet, we have so many things pulling at us, and so many things we NEED to do. Here’s a little ‘justification’ for ya, Deb: reading other blogs can help teach, inspire, and keep you up-to-date on important things you need to be aware of. (Did ya like that one? *Laugh*) Ok, it’s not really a justification. . . it just goes to show how much we all are struggling with trying to find the right balance.
Thank you, Dorit!
I check e-mail a lot….and I read celebrity gossip (a guilty pleasure). I sometimes listen to music through my headset while I’m trying to work….bad idea, because I can’t work and listen to/sing along with Bon Jovi at the same time! Go figure.
1) The internet
2) Windows Media Player + iTunes + CDs
Lol, Genesis. That’s a big part of the reason I started up the blog I have. I was always critiquing the things I saw on television and in the movies. Time spent watching cut into time spent writing, so I combined the two.
The tabs in FireFox are both a blessing and a curse for me as well. Although, with the automatic pop up telling me I have mail the moment it comes in helps cut down on the mail checking distraction. I can just keep it open in the background and forget about it until I get a mail notice.
I also have the toddler distraction. I’m thinking about taking up the pen and paper method at the kitchen desk and then transferring to the laptop once my husband brings it in from work. That way I’ll be more available to my toddler, who is currently saying bye-bye to the beloved afternoon nap way too early for Mommy, and avoid the allure of internet distractions.
Yes I am addicted to e-mail too! It’s the possibility of a job that beckons to me too. I find games and forums call to me also.
I really like what Fiona said about writing longhand. Good tip!
My biggest time waster, apart from the ones you mentioned, is applying for jobs that turn out not to be jobs. I recently received an answer in response to a job I applied for and got this response. This is just an excerpt and is supposed to be the renumeration package:
“1. Every eiuoo group is involved in CGO Plan while the group is established.
2. At early of every month, eiuoo.com calculates group’s cost at previous month, 15% of the cost is the prize and is transited to CGO account.
3. The prize is eiu dollar, precise in 0.01 eiu dollar.
4. CGO can charge the prize, and distribute the prize to group member.
5. The prize is started to calculate at 00:00 first of every month. CGO receives the prize before 00:00 sixth of every month.”
The English is so bad it’s almost funny. In fact it would have been funny if it hadn’t been a waste of time. I did find this job posted here, and I don’t blame Deb or Jodee because they make it clear that the jobs posted have not been checked out at all. I am thinking of setting up a pre-screened “Freelance writing Jobs Blog” Would anyone else be interested in that, because I spend too much time writing for jobs that are either so low paying it’s not worth the trouble or like this. Not to put too fine a point on it, I am fairly new to writing for money, but also fell for both the Laray Carr scam and the Vancouver keyword article. On top of applying for jobs like this one above, I waste too much time to even think about.
I forgot to mention, if anyone is interested in a laugh, I posted the entire letter here:
http://markpknowles.com/wasting-time-applying-for-jobs-that-dont-exsist/
the news, the internet, cleaning the house, cooking..etc. I’m a better procrastinator than writer! Of course I THINK about my writings as I do all those other things, but then the hubby comes home and I get mad at myself for only THINKING and not WRITING! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Mark>> it’s very common I’m afraid. As of reading your post, I just received a similar type of email from an ad I had responded which turned out to be a spam ad by Helium.
I’m right there with you. And I’m an obsessive email checker.
About a month ago, my wireless router quit for no apparent reason. I almost ran out to buy anew one but got side tracked. Since then I’m finding I’m not quite so easily distracted since I have to be “wired” to play. SOmetimes it’s a little restricting, but by and large it makes me shedule time better and keeps me off the net when I should be. I’m still debating over the loww of the router. It my not be coming back anytime soon.
LOL, now this damn post is wasting more of my time, LOL
Internet, Housework, Phone in that order. When I have a tight deadline to meet, I simply go somewhere where there’s no Internet access (e.g. coffee shop, library, etc.], turn off my cell phone and work, work, work. It’s so amazing how much I can do free from distractions…
Well ironically, lately my biggest time waster has been reading people’s blogs, this one especially. Seriously, I get so addicted to stuff like this. I’m kinda glad I didn’t find out about that 400+ post thread until it was too late.
My other biggest time waster is that I smoke, but I don’t smoke in my apartment. So, when I go out to smoke, there’s always some neighbor outside walking a dog, whatever, and of course I have to stop to pet the puppy and chat, because I’m people deprived. Even if it’s only for five minutes, it adds up since I go out like every hour.
Jodee, I used to do the music thing too — singing along while trying to work. Haha. When I first learned how to download music, that was a big big big mistake. When I got this new laptop I made some rules — no downloading music, no watching movies, no playing games. If I want to do those things I have to go to another computer. Now all I have are blogs. *whines*
cool, deb, I just got to your blog through blogrush…I was thinking “hmm, I want to read about this writer who wastes time like me!” and then YOU popped up:)
amy says: “because I’m people deprived”
Amy, I am RIGHT THERE WITH YA! My street has construction going on right now, and every time those guys sit out on my curb and eat lunch & chat, I want to join them!
^LOL! Sometimes I get to feel that way too, especially since my room is located right beside a busy street and sometimes it’s fun poking a head out the window to see people. But most of the time it annoys me because people tend to get noisy!
Allycat, I can completely relate. I was talking to the guys who do the landscaping for the condo next door earlier.
Mariella, I don’t like noise either. Construction outside would be too much for me to handle.
which fav. forum would that be?
Deb, you described one of my biggest time wasters almost exactly. I often get distracted like that when researching articles. Usually I get started researching, which makes me think of something I wanted to look up for my own personal knowledge, and before I know it I’ve been doing my own stuff for an hour or more.
Blogging and reading other people’s blogs is a problem too. Particularly this one.
For the last three weeks, my horse has been a major distraction, too. This week I tried not going to the stables till evening, but that experiment didn’t work well. I think going in the morning is good because I get it out of the way, and then I know better how much time I have leftover for working. (When I’m facing a time shortage I tend to get distracted less.)
Re: the noise issue…
I’m right with you guys there. Today there were roofers working on a house across the street, and I got NOTHING done. A month or two ago, a neighbor had a very large tree removed from their yard, so that was two days of constant sawing, grinding, and running truck engines. Whee.
The last few nights I’ve had a brand-new noise problem: Halo 3 on surround sound. (Anyone who has read my blog post on Halo — like Amy! — already knows my feelings on this.
)
Reading other people’s blogs…yes, that is a major time consumer for me too. But I’m not complaining, it’s fun at times.
I mentioned above that my horse has been a major distraction for me lately. Just today I posted some new pictures on my blog. I know some people on this forum have expressed interest so I thought I’d post the link.
I intend to become a writer for money. I found your site. I read, and read, and read. Haven’t written anything yet.
And it’s been a week already. I guess, trying to learn by reading you guys is a lot of time wasted, but not really “time wasted,” if you know what i mean.