Turn Off the Internet When You Write
Author: MoneyNing | Categories: Writing | Posted on September 5, 2008
One of the secrets I accidentally found was that I write much better if I turn off the internet when I write blog articles. They turn out more complete, better structured and flow much better.
I used to write all my blog articles through the wordpress editor (which is a great editor btw), but while traveling for business one day, I decided to start writing on the plane. Even though it gets noisy at times and sometimes your neighbor likes to look at what you are typing, I find that I’m much better able to concentrate and get into a groove while I type away on my keyboard.
Why is That?
Curious about why that is, I spend some time thinking about it and here are some reasons that I came up with.
Distractions
With instant messaging, skype, emails and twitterfeed all turned on, it is very hard to concentrate with so many little things popping up on the desktop. When I was on the plane, none of these would bother me because I didn’t have access to the internet.
Alternatives
When I’m on the plane, I open Microsoft Word and that’s the only thing on the screen. Since I’m extremely bored and there’s nothing else to do, I end up typing on the screen and not trying to compare writing blog articles with something else that I could be doing during the same time.
There is No Rush
When I’m on a 5 hour plane ride, I’m stuck in the chair for a long time. Unless there is a TV in front of me, there is really not much to do. When I start writing on my article, there is absolutely no sense of rush. I know I have a ton of time to finish the article so I take my time to gather my thoughts and just write. I noticed that taking my time ends up making me more efficient and produces a better article in a shorter amount of time!
Try It
Since I’m not always on the plane, I started to turn off my internet connection while I write. For those that get many phone calls, I would even turn off your cell phone. This way, you can enjoy writing your article without interruption and I’m sure the quality (and quantity) of your articles will increase dramatically! All you need to do is try it and you will realize the difference!
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I hear ya! It’s just too tempting (and easy) to start reading other blogs rather than write.
Mike
I totally agree. However, sometimes I still need my connection to double check links and reference sources. Still, I’m never on Skype or instant messaging when I write, so I do what I can to minimize distractions.
Jon: Actually, I would go as far as writing the article, and then going back to check the links. It’s too easy to get distracted for me since my firefox has twitterfeed that pops up notifications so any ties to the internet is no good when I write!
Wow, interesting. I will try that — I might be able to come up with better posts! No more annoying IM buddies to distract me while I’m writing. Yay!
Lucas: Glad I could help and good luck!
I agree wholeheartedly with you. In fact, I write most of my posts using the desktop blogging client ECTO, which I highly recommend. And I double-check links as a last step. For very short posts, tho, I still use the WP online editor.
Tom: Many people seem to write articles with ECTO. I will just have to check that out!!
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I agree. Most of the time the best writing comes when you’re more concentrated.
Absolutely agree and keep remind to myself to follow this rule with discipline.
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