5 Distractions--Confounding Catch-Flies that Discombobulate my Creativity

We all have priorities and we all have goals and we all have things we like to do as opposed to those things we feel we should do. For me, writing still seems like a guilty pleasure. Now that I’ve decided to really give it the old college try, many things get in the way. These are my 5 greatest distractions.

5—Day Job. Really, I have the perfect day job. It’s online so nobody knows I’m sitting cross-legged wearing my pjs with hair that looks like last year’s haystack sipping Scotch at 9:30 in the morning. It’s only part time and though that lessens the money I make, it leaves me with more free time than I’ve ever had before.  But it’s still  a distraction and sometimes I feel guilty for not paying more attention to it.  I used to be an over achiever so I took on extra duties and did all those things that you do to get noticed. Been there; done that. But now, I’m not up for that. It’s a weird feeling and, after all, I do have an obligation to meet. I mean, these unwary people are paying me money to do what I do and that money pays for certain luxuries I’ve come to enjoy—like food, electricity, and Redbox movies.

I remind myself that the dayjob is transient, much like my in-laws. It will not last much longer and when it’s gone, I’ll barely remember it. 

4—Gardening.  Right now my garden is just getting underway. I enjoy yardwork and gardening but, let’s face it, I’m not as young as I once was and a couple of hours digging in the dirt or mowing the virulent herbage I call a yard takes a lot out of me. I can only do so much before I have to crawl into a vat of anti-itch, anti-pain ointment. This distraction will calm down as the summer goes along, but right now the mournful call of unplanted zinnia, the plaintive wails of sprouted parsley yearning to breathe free, and the moans of under-watered seedlings waft into my office on every spring zephyr.

3—Housework. I do like a clean house, but you can’t tell by looking. I learned long ago that housework is happy to wait for you—it will still be there later in the day and the world will keep spinning even if I have dirty windows. My mother and my sister are immaculate housekeepers. I am not. So I am torn between the knowledge that housework is not an essential task—I mean, as long as the place isn’t in such sad shape the health department needs to be called—and the desire to live up to the standards I grew up with.

2—Reading and watching TV. Consuming other people’s creativity instead of producing my own. Oh, this is a problem. I can always rationalize that the fresh murder mystery I want to read is actually research or the hilarious, offbeat comedy I want to watch will provide inspiration. The truth, of course, is that it’s easier to veg out in front of the TV or with a book than to get busy and get to work. If anyone knows a way to solve this—do tell.

1—Family. My kids are great kids and are busy with their own lives. When they drop by, they are the priority so I have no qualms or regrets about spending time with them. They are lots of fun. Right now, I have a huge distraction in the kid area because my daughter is pregnant with my first grandchild. This is a miracle beyond belief because 1—she always professed an absolute and abiding non-interest in children of any ilk and 2—she successfully reached the age of 40 without producing a child or any reasonable facsimile thereof. Now we have a little girl in the oven and—drumroll—she is due on my birthday.

This is a sign from the Universe so I am fully invested in this experience. Trouble is my daughter is in Germany—choosing to hang around the father of said girl-child instead of living in my basement in the OutBack miles from anything faintly resembling civilization. Go figure.

I’ve told you mine. Now tell me yours. What distracts you from doing what you want to do? AND HOW DO YOU MAKE IT WORK ANYWAY?