Buckle down

Today I had to revise a short piece I wrote and then write a long profile article on a very interesting company. I love this kind of writing. Honestly, I do. But sometimes it's impossible to concentrate. I mean it's beautifully sunny and warm out today. I sat in one Panera and was so cold from the blasting AC that I needed to leave before I lost my finger tips. I moved to another Panera and had two tables that seemed to be in a 'who can talk louder' competition.

All of this is to say, I was mega distracted. I allowed myself a 30 minute blog-reading distraction, filled up my cup with Dr. Pepper and then put my headphones on and told myself I wasn't allowed to get up for anything until everything was done. And... mission accomplished.

Sometimes, I think we need to work at psyching ourselves out. Give in a little and then buckle down. No distractions. Shut up twitter. Put your phone on silence in your bag. Pick music that is simple and non-singalongable. And then attack the words and thoughts ahead of you.

What do you do to concentrate and get that pending piece done? Any tricks?

In college I used to wear a study cap. Whenever it was on my head I knew that was the time to do nothing but study. Oddly enough it worked wonders.