Keep Your Workspace Clear

Writing is a task as big as the world, and you need all your mental real estate to manage it. The trouble is, your mind is a mirror for your environment. What you see, hear, and feel impacts what you think, how you think, and how much attention remains for the task at hand. Cluttered desktop? Cluttered mind.

So treat your workspace like a temple. Let it be serene and austere, so that you can focus entirely on your work. Put everything on your desk in a drawer. It’ll be just as organized or disorganized if it’s also out-of-sight. Next, do the same to the icons on your computer desktop. And close all those dang browser tabs. Better yet, create a separate digital profile for writing.

Then when you write, maximize the windows you need. Disable notifications. Silence your phone. If you must listen to music, listen to ambient music or binaural beats low enough that it blocks out your surroundings, but doesn’t attract your attention. Go to the bathroom before you start work, grab a glass of water, breath deeply, then begin.