My mom and the milkman. He would dump his pennies on the kitchen table and she'd take the older ones and pay him back. If we kids were home, we'd join them at the kitchen table!
Yes, you can and should focus on writing. Maybe start with 2 or 3 hours?
I remember your mother and her Mind Control ("better and better" was her slogan?). Isn't there some lady who won a gazillion contests using the Silva Mind Control method? I also remember the milkman letting himself in the house and putting on a pot of coffee then sitting and having a cup with your mom.
You make me wonder if I could still focus on writing. Writing for a living, I would just go into full concentration mode and nothing could distract me. I didn't take breaks (which eventually ruined my distance vision, though, knock wood, I still don't need reading glasses), would try to keep something snacky nearby so I didn't need to get up for meals. Someday I would like to start back writing my fiction book...but I know I need hours of uninterrupted writing time (ideally, at least 7) and there's no way I can get that kind of time for myself these days.
Oh my gosh, I've never met anyone else who practices The Silva Method! Every time I've ever mention it to anyone, they give me a blank stare. I like it well enough, but I haven't been through the entire thing. I seem to do best with just general Zen meditation.
I thought about not getting a smart phone when I moved back to the US, but now there are apps that are necessities. I can't do my online banking without an app. Some doctors offices and insurance companies insist you do things through their app. However, other than audiobooks and podcasts, I rarely use my phone for anything. I don't have any social media installed. All my notifications are turned off. I don't even synch my email to it.
I write on my computer in the morning, but I keep the outside world out until I'm done. I keep my email closed. I don't go to any websites. I listen to white noise (rain).
Attention spans are indeed dropping. Perhaps that is why the "trend" for popular fiction is to write chapters of only around 1,500 words. In fact, several substack writers have also recommended posts of not much longer than that!
I didn't really like the flip phone as much as the smart phone, simply because the latter came with GPS. At one time there were viable alternatives (e.g., MapQuest), but those have gone the way of the dodo...
Yes --better and better!
My mom and the milkman. He would dump his pennies on the kitchen table and she'd take the older ones and pay him back. If we kids were home, we'd join them at the kitchen table!
Yes, you can and should focus on writing. Maybe start with 2 or 3 hours?
Lenny,
Thank you for the comments. ANY comments are welcome. I think that's the nature of Substack.
I remember your mother and her Mind Control ("better and better" was her slogan?). Isn't there some lady who won a gazillion contests using the Silva Mind Control method? I also remember the milkman letting himself in the house and putting on a pot of coffee then sitting and having a cup with your mom.
You make me wonder if I could still focus on writing. Writing for a living, I would just go into full concentration mode and nothing could distract me. I didn't take breaks (which eventually ruined my distance vision, though, knock wood, I still don't need reading glasses), would try to keep something snacky nearby so I didn't need to get up for meals. Someday I would like to start back writing my fiction book...but I know I need hours of uninterrupted writing time (ideally, at least 7) and there's no way I can get that kind of time for myself these days.
Oh my gosh, I've never met anyone else who practices The Silva Method! Every time I've ever mention it to anyone, they give me a blank stare. I like it well enough, but I haven't been through the entire thing. I seem to do best with just general Zen meditation.
I thought about not getting a smart phone when I moved back to the US, but now there are apps that are necessities. I can't do my online banking without an app. Some doctors offices and insurance companies insist you do things through their app. However, other than audiobooks and podcasts, I rarely use my phone for anything. I don't have any social media installed. All my notifications are turned off. I don't even synch my email to it.
I write on my computer in the morning, but I keep the outside world out until I'm done. I keep my email closed. I don't go to any websites. I listen to white noise (rain).
Keeping out the outside world is key.
I too, have never met anyone who went through the Silva Method. Who would have guessed!
Attention spans are indeed dropping. Perhaps that is why the "trend" for popular fiction is to write chapters of only around 1,500 words. In fact, several substack writers have also recommended posts of not much longer than that!
I didn't really like the flip phone as much as the smart phone, simply because the latter came with GPS. At one time there were viable alternatives (e.g., MapQuest), but those have gone the way of the dodo...
I hope it's not "bad form" to reply to oneself, but on the subject of writing less, here is what Sarah Fay posted today: https://www.writersatwork.net/p/write-less-please-updated?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1376077&post_id=145297668&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1mnl46&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email