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If I asked you to compare your writing to an animal, is it possible you’d say you enjoy writing like a shark?
When you read the headline “writing like a shark,” you might have thought I was going to talk about writing that is aggressive, relentless or fearless.
Nope. Not my intent.
Instead, I’m referring to how sharks sleep.
Sharks sleep with their eyes open because they don’t have eyelids. They have to keep moving to ensure water flows over their gills, which is what allows them to breathe. And, of course, this behaviour also allows them to stay alert to predators (such as larger sharks, orcas and Nile crocodiles). So, even when they’re resting, they’re often semi-conscious.
And here’s how this relates to the work you do.
If you’re writing like a shark, you’re probably…
…Writing with your phone sitting next to you — just in case an important client calls or your boss needs immediate attention or there’s an emergency at your kid’s school.
…Writing with your email running, which means you’re interrupted as soon as a ping occurs or a message swoops in from the side of the screen or a number appears on the email icon, showing an unread message.
…Writing with a browser operating so that anytime you need to look up a fact, you can switch to researching, which is less demanding than the painful job of writing.
…Writing with Facebook, X, Instagram or TikTok in the background, so anytime you become tired or frustrated, you have somewhere fun to turn.
What are the penalties of never being able to devote 100% of your attention to your writing?
- It makes writing harder and more painful for you.
- It increases the odds of making mistakes.
- It increases your stress.
- It reduces the quality of your work.
- It makes you take longer to finish your writing.
All of this may explain why my favourite place to write is on an airplane.
Why? The freedom of isolation.
There’s nothing to do except watch bad TV or movies in an environment that’s too noisy for it.
No one can bother me except perhaps a chatty seatmate. But I often end up sitting beside my husband, and my intense focus on my screen is enough to keep any stranger from interrupting me.
I never buy Wi-Fi, so email can’t disrupt me, and I have no way of getting onto the internet.
And somehow the confluence of all these factors helps me to understand that even if I write utter and absolute crap, I can always edit it later.
When I started to address my unhelpful writing beliefs and habits — about 25 years ago — I intuitively understood a problem neuroscientists recently defined. Sophie Leroy, a researcher at the University of Washington, first used the term “attention residue” in a paper she wrote in 2009. In it, she described the inherent difficulty in moving between different tasks.
“People need to stop thinking about one task in order to fully transition their attention and perform well on another,” she wrote. And she continued: “It is difficult for people to transition their attention away from an unfinished task and their subsequent task performance suffers.”
Before now, you may have been unaware of the scourge of attention residue, which I call, “writing like a shark.”
But here are five steps you can take to beat it:
1-Know your own habits
Keep track of how you spend your writing time. How many minutes a day do you spend at it? How challenging is it to get yourself to start? Do you allow yourself to be interrupted by your phone or email? Do you have enough time to write what you need to say? Knowing yourself is the first important step in making any change.
2-Set specific times for email
Many of us seem to think that email happens by magic. Instead, it’s a time-sucking task that often takes an hour or more a day. Instead of trying to fit it in around the “edges” of your work (or, worse, when you’re writing), identify the time(s) of the day when you’re going to tackle it, using a timer while you do it. And don’t make that time first thing in the morning. If you start your day with email, you’ll lose control of your schedule.
3-Use time-blocking
I’ve written about time-blocking before, but here’s a quick summary: Each morning, plan how you’re going to spend every half-hour of the day. Yes, I know you think this will be impossible — I used to think that, too — but I’ve used time-blocking for the last six years, and it’s increased my productivity by at least 100%.
I know it might sound like time-blocking would only create attention residue, because it requires you to switch tasks often. But if you want to do deep work, you are also free to schedule four half-hour sessions (120 minutes) for the same task. Me? I enjoy being able to work on different projects, and I start every job soon enough that I can afford for it to take 14 or 30 days if necessary — one half-hour at a time.
4-Consider an anti-distraction app
If you haven’t had enough practice with focused work, your desire to escape to email or the Internet may seem almost insurmountable. If you face this challenge, make sure you let technology help you (instead of hinder you).
Three good options are: Cold Turkey, SelfControl (Mac only) and Freedom.
5-Ensure your goals are reasonable
When I was in my 20s, I was eager to increase my productivity. I remember speaking with a productivity expert, and the question she asked me brought me up short.
“What makes you think you can accomplish more?” she asked.
“Maybe the problem is that you’re trying to do too much.”
She was right. From that day forward, I started asking myself whether each task was something I needed and wanted to do. If not, I swept it from my desk.
Don’t take on too many goals for yourself. As productivity expert Brian Tracy says, “There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.”
Attention residue can derail your writing. Instead of being a shark waiting for the next predator to pounce, choose to be an animal that’s able to focus — and have time off, afterwards.
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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.
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My video podcast last week addressed the safety of entering writing contests. Go here to see the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.
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How do you stop yourself from writing like a shark? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the “comments” section below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by Sept. 30/24, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the “related posts” links, below. Note that you don’t have to join Disqus to post. See here to learn how to post as a guest. It’s easy!
