Article Marketing Tips: 5 Ways To Avoid Getting Sidetracked While Writing

It can be so challenging to write and submit articles, especially if you're working from home. There are all sorts of distractions that are pulling on you--your kids knocking on your door to show you their latest work of art, the dog barking at the mailman, the phone ringing, the television going in the other room--the interruptions are endless.

Even if you're at home by yourself, you can still be lured away from your writing by programs on your own computer--Twitter, Facebook, Skype messages popping up, and that ever distracting "You've got mail" chime from your inbox.

It takes a little strategy to create the most productive writing environment possible. Here are 5 article marketing tips that you can use to avoid getting sidetracked while writing:

1 - Write in a dedicated work space.

It really helps your concentration to have a special space set aside just for working. This can be a guest bedroom that has a desk in it, a little corner of your attic that is nice and private, or an actual room dedicated to be your office.

This space would ideally have a door that you could close as a way to separate you from the rest of your household when you're working.

2 - Communicate your work needs to others in your house.

When you work from home, it's just natural that kids and spouse might not understand that you need to be left in peace for a certain amount of time. They think they'll just "pop in" to ask you something, but they don't realize that these little visits are distractions that are keeping you from getting your work done.

Talk to your spouse, kids, and the other people who live in the house with you. Ask them to save their less urgent questions for times when you're taking a break from work or for the end of the day.

You might also ask them to pretend like you're not there for the most part (of course unless there's a real emergency, and in that case bang on the door!).

3 - Get rid of attention zappers.

Not all distractions can be attributed to other people--sometimes we've got so much going on on our own computers that we can't get our thoughts straight.

Turn off your IM program and close Facebook, Twitter and any other tempting sites.

Close your email program, and better yet make sure that your new emails will only come in when you manually press the "Check Email" button.

Turn off your cell phone, and turn the ringer off of your landline.

4 - Block out sound.

If you've got some unavoidable noise happening at your house or wherever you're working, put on some headphones and listen to your iPod. You might also try one of those "white noise" machines. The idea is to block out the annoying noise with something that is less distracting.

5 - Write outside of your home.

If all this fails, you can always take your writing to the library, the cafe, the park--any place where you can settle in and be left alone for a while. Even if the coffee shop where you're writing is noisy, it might help that at least no one is coming up to you trying to get your attention. A change of atmosphere can also help you concentrate. It gets some adrenaline going, and that can help you focus.

Writing requires concentration and creativity, so you need to find a way to get your mind to focus long enough for you to gather your thoughts and get them on paper. Communication with family and friends about boundaries when you're working and eliminating technological interruptions all work together to help protect your writing time.


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Steve Shaw is a content syndication specialist. Do you own a blog? Need content? Join thousands of other blogs and get free high-quality, niche-focused, human-reviewed content from quality authors sent on auto-pilot - and it's all 100% free! Get free blog content now.