Your computer is a magical writing machine. It holds piles of reference documents. It switches formatting at the click of a button. It puts a world of research info just a search away. And it checks your spelling! But it might be too magical, because it’s your distraction machine too. And since almost all our writing is done online these days, it takes a special approach to focus when writing on a computer. The key to that approach is separating cognitive tasks so the very tools that make the magic don’t accidentally turn you into a frog. Frogs can’t type.
Gather reference material before you write
Bernice is putting together a blog post explaining why Audrey II’s, despite their tendency to snack on household pets, are actually the ideal plant for a suburban lifestyle. Her essay is complicated by the fact that next week is a total solar eclipse. As everyone knows, Audrey II’s and eclipses are a bad combination.
But is that true? Although Bernice adores raising Audrey II’s, she’s never done actual research on them. So she finds herself bouncing between Microsoft Word and Wikipedia, slowly grinding out a draft that is … basically a summary of Wikipedia. After deciding she needs to look at more scholarly sources, Bernice ends up on a website for cute kittens dressed as fruit.
Bernice has fallen victim to distraction! That’s because she’s trying to write and research at once. That’s a recipe for disaster. (Though not for the owners of the cute kittens website, which made $103 dollars in ads from Bernice’s visit.) It’s hard for brains to switch from information intake to creative construction. So jumping between research and writing, like Bernice, burns time and energy for no good reason. Plus there’s no time to digest the new information so we can form nuanced opinions and original thinking. And of course, the web is made to distract, so there’s always a devastatingly tempting cute kitten website just a single click away. When we research as we write, there’s a good chance we’ll blandly reproduce our source with each paragraph. But if we research first, we can group our information in more logical and interesting ways.
Research first. Take dedicated research breaks. Find the books, articles, and other sources you’ll use and put them out on your desk. Use highlighters or sticky notes to mark passages and quotations that seem useful. Now you have everything at your fingertips to find, copy and paste a quotation when you need it, instead of having to stop and research in the middle of your focused writing.
For internet research, open all the tabs you need at the beginning of your writing session. If you need a break, save them in bookmarks. In Chrome, choose Bookmarks > Bookmark All Tabs. In Safari choose Bookmarks > Add Bookmarks for These Tabs… Those will save your open tabs as a folder in your bookmarks bar. The next time you need them, right-click on the folder and select Open all Bookmarks In New Window Once your tabs are open, disconnect your computer from the internet by turning off your Wifi or unplugging your network cable. That way you can’t distract yourself with new research, social media, or other projects.
And by the way, put your word processor into “full screen mode.” On the Mac, almost every program uses the keyboard shortcut command-control-F to start and stop full-screen mode, so it’s super easy. Now, you won’t be tempted to stray from your writing by the site of your web browser in the background. (See what I did there? “Site” of your web browser? I should win an Emmy. Really, I should.)
Format for filing and structure before you write
Bernice has all her sources together, and is ready to draft her blog post. She writes furiously for hours, and almost has a solid draft. But she doesn’t notice that her Audrey II has been happily chewing through her computer charger. And alas, her computer dies in her lap before she has a chance to save her work!
Bernice has made the vital mistake of getting too keyboard-happy. Always create, name, and save the files you need before you write. Before you start typing in a new document, make sure that document is saved in the right directory. Doing this won’t just reduce the chance that you’ll lose your work if your computer crashes. Saving your files first will also keep you from getting distracted the first time you need to save. When that time comes, just hit Command+S and keep typing away.
Proofreading should always be the last thing you do.
Once you’ve organized your writing at the filing level, spend some time organizing each document’s structure, too. Decide what the takeaway of your writing is and write it at the top of each document. It can be hard to start writing when you’re staring at a blank page, so stating your purpose at the start is a good way to ease your mind into letting the words flow.
Next, make an outline based on that takeaway. A big reason that outlines work is that they let us break down the writing process into two main parts: structure and content. If you can plow through structure without the details of content dragging you off course, you’ll save lots of time.
Use placeholders to mark needed research while writing (then do it later)
Bernice is finally ready to start writing. Her research is all out in front of her and her outline is near-perfect, already saved twice on multiple hard drives. Everything is going according to plan, until Bernice gets to her passage about proper Audrey II bathing techniques. She’s always been skeptical as to whether Audrey II’s really need to be bathed. I mean, it’s an eclipse, right? It’ll be dark? No one will notice a few marinara sauce stains around a petal or two.
She decides to do some research to be sure. Bernice turns her internet back on and starts looking through proper plant-washing guides and … surely there will be no harm done by a quick glance at cutekittens.com. Oh, my goodness! Look at that calico kitten licking it’s paws! Squeeeee!!! She’s back on the cute kitten website. This blog post may never get done.
When you hit something in your writing that makes you want to do research, don’t do it now! Type an obvious placeholder, like “INSERT RESEARCH HERE” in all caps. Jot down the research you need on a piece of paper for your next research break, and then keep writing.
Make at least one full pass using your current outline and research notes, using placeholders as needed. Then do the research for any placeholders that involves a related topic, all at once. Then go back and write in the missing information. Remember, flipping between mindsets breaks your focus, which costs you time. When you’re researching, research. When you’re writing, write.
Polish for publication last
Formatting should be the last thing you do. No matter how much time you spend messing with indentation, paragraph breaks, and font sizes while you write, you will almost always end up changing them again before publication. So don’t obsess at the start. Quickly choose a font and indent style that suits your writing workflow. Then go back afterward to make sure it’s formatted “perfectly.” (air quotes!!) Also, if you’re short on time, you can feel secure knowing you captured the actual information part of the writing.
Speaking of perfection, proofreading is also a polishing task you should save for last. There’s no point in polishing work that won’t make it into a final draft, so often when that dreaded red squiggle distracts you, it’s distracting you for nothing. Keep spellcheck turned off while your writing’s still in flux. Then turn it back on only for your proofreading pass.
Bernice never finished her blog post on Audrey IIs and eclipses, but she ended up with a beautifully formatted, wonderful blog post about calico Kittens who can balance fruit on their heads. I hope there’s nothing important about Audrey IIs and eclipses that she should have taken the time to learn.
Computers are your BFF and your Evil Nemesis when you’re writing. Bring out the best in your writing tool by separating cognitive tasks: gather reference material online and offline, structure, write, research, and proofread as separate, dedicated cognitive tasks. You’ll write faster, tighter, better, deeper, and more insightfully than ever before!
I’m Stever Robbins. Follow GetItDoneGuy on Twitter and Facebook. I coach executives in leadership, general management, and communication skills. If you want to know more, visit http://ift.tt/1l2uWN6.
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
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