2 Tips To Help You Focus When You Have Too Much Time On Your Hands.

The more I do, the more I do. What happens when I have nothing to do?

If you need a busy woman to get the job done, call on me.

The more I have to do, the more I get done. I may not tick off every item on my to-do list when life messes with my perfectly organized day, but I’ll still score in the productivity department.

But when I wake up with a blank page on my calendar? Oh, Bloody Mary, what do I do with my time?

On days when no deadlines ping me every hour, I need a strategy to get through the day. If I don’t have clients waiting for my final edits, if it’s not the day for life coaching calls or doctor appointments or call backs to friends and fam, I can sink into paralyzing indecision.

I’ll spend 45 minutes trying to decide whether to set up my computer in my kitchen or on the table by the window overlooking the view of the downtown skyline.

That’s after I’ve spent 53 minutes going back and forth between my big screen desktop, my fast MacBook pro with the wonky keyboard or the old MBP that allows me to type like the wind but crashes without warning.

I’ll waste two hours before I’ve even decided what writing project I’ll work on today: the edits for my supernatural sleuth series, the next chapter of my Irish historical novel, or the outline for a new cozy mystery.

Sound familiar?

When my day is jam-packed with projects and deadlines, I use the first computer I lay my hands on, park my bohonkus in the nearest chair, and get to work on meeting my deadlines and ticking off my lists.

What does this tell me? I’m a person who needs structure. I work best with deadlines.

When a client sends me a book to edit and says get it to me whenever, I shudder. No, I answer. Give me a drop-dead date. Because I never miss a deadline, but without one, I can find myself up until all hours editing at the last minute instead of comfortably pacing myself until the due date I’ve plotted in advance.

Now, I’m not talking about days off. Weekends when I just kick back and turn on the TV in the afternoon to watch a game or plug in an audiobook and knit for an hour or seven.

But truth be told, those days are rare for me because even when I’m caught up on work that pays my rent, I’m a writer. I write every day, no matter what.

In my 9–5 days, I’d set my alarm hours before I had to leave for work to sit down and wrestle with my novel. I’d live for weekends with long stretches of time to write.

In the years since I left the corporate world, I’ve done a good job of creating my own structure. I keep busy, as we say. Structure is imposed on me by my clients and my commitments.

Yet, after work that keeps body and soul together, my biggest commitment is to my novels, my characters, who go wanting until I have a day like today. A day when I can pick and choose where I’d like to work. Which computer will best suit my writing style today? Which of my works in progress will energize my ideas and inspiration?

Lucky for me, though, when I feel that first thrum of panic at a blank calendar and I have to choose how to fill it, something inside of me can clutch. Or did, until I found a way to focus without relying on a predetermined to-do list.

I’ve lived long enough to have some experience with myself. I finally know a thing or two about how to beat down the panic I can feel at facing unlimited time, too many writing projects, endless choice.

I fall back on two lessons, one I learned the hard way. Back when I was a youngster of 57, which is what 57 seems like to an 82-year-old like me, I did my one and only marathon. A seasoned runner friend told me, when I began my training, it’s a head game.

No matter what you do, he said, when you set a training target, meet it.

Whether it’s to train for five minutes or five hours, don’t stop a minute before, or your mind will have you where it wants you. Every training session after will be a battle to finish.

But once you declare your goal for the day and you meet it no matter what, you’re telling your whole being you’re in charge. And that advice got this non-athlete to complete a 26.2-mile grueling test of endurance.

The next step is to grab a pad and pencil, virtual or otherwise, and a timer.

Here’s how it works.

You set a target.

My target can be 15 minutes of deciding to write in the kitchen or the bedroom, on my desktop or laptop. To work on my novel or a new story. To iron or tidy a closet. Mostly, I use this for writing, but it doesn’t matter.

I just have to pick a target, a duration long enough to accomplish a task, short enough not to overwhelm, and set the clock. I like 20 minutes.

Set the time and begin.

I’ve learned not to waste time on nonessentials. I can work on any computer, in any room in my apartment. Usually, I pick a project for the day and write a goal of say, 2000 words, at the top of a page.

I set the timer for 20 minutes, then write.

When the timer goes off, I subtract my words written from the goal, and set the timer for another 20 minutes.

I continue this process until I’ve reached my goal. I will only break between timed sessions for the bathroom and a glass of water or a brief stretch. I don’t do research, answer e-mail or texts, or switch to a different project. I focus on reaching my target, and then I can turn to other things.

Often, I’ll continue and set another target, but that’s just me. Invariably, I find I reach my target using these timed prompts faster than just deciding to write 2000 words.

That way, I’ll waste time wandering around my apartment now and then, stopping to check the news, doing some research, or finding myself in front of the refrigerator looking for a between-meal snack. Then I end the day with or without my 2000 words, wondering where the time went.

We don’t all work the same way, but if focusing is a challenge for you, try this technique. If possible, turn off outside distractions like your phone, your internet browser, notifications, etc.

Determine to stick to your goal. If at 1800 words you’re sick of writing, then write, “I’m sick of writing” for 200 words, and bam. You’ve done it.

It’s the goal that matters to that gremlin in your head that may not want you to fail but definitely wants a break from the tedium of writing.

Give in to it, and you’ll find you’re bored at 1750 words tomorrow. The day after, you can’t get past 1500 words. Etc., etc., etc.

But once you’ve hit your target goal, you’ve won, and you’re done. With actual work accomplished. You may even find you finish much sooner than expected, and you can up your target, or finish faster, and get to that between-meal snack sooner.

Keep doing this, using timed prompts and a commitment not to quit before you’ve reached your goal, and you may find reaching the goal easier and easier.

The gremlin in the mind that likes to mess with us won’t go away. But if it can’t get us to quit writing to get to the snack sooner, it will give up. Hence, you’ll find writing to your goal easier.

But don’t worry. You won’t have lost your annoying friend. It likely will try some other way to play the game. Maybe mess with your determination not to eat one more cookie in that package or watch one more episode of your favorite series before bed.

This isn’t a recipe for living a perfect life. Just a tip on how to manage time more easily and focus on a goal. Maybe you can even end up with a little more time to play with at the end of the day.

The ability to focus is a challenge, and also for many, a learned skill. This one helped me. I hope it helps you.

Thanks for reading.

Before you go…if you like this piece, please follow me. That’s one way to support me and help me get to know you.

Here some more of my most popular articles. I

I’m writer and freelance editor Medium with Top Writer status. I’ve published 55 titles on Amazon. I edit fiction and non-fiction for private clients. If you’d like to hire me as your editor for fiction, non-fiction, or business writing, please contact me here. If you’d like to read more of my work on Medium, click here to sign up for my newsletter. Thank you for reading, and stay safe.