Overcoming Small Obstacles
On Fridays, I usually meet a couple friends (who also work from home) at Starbucks, and we work from there for a few hours before heading back home. And I didn’t realize just how bulky my laptop was until we started our Starbucks ritual.
You see, both of the aforementioned friends have Mac laptop computers, and I’ve got a bulky HP that sits more than an inch high when the screen is closed. At our little Starbucks table, my laptop takes up most of the table top real estate. (As a side note, that’s one reason I’m trying to switch to Mac.)
So, what does that have to do with writing? Well, it’s been a while since I’ve gotten any real writing done, but when I DO write, I usually pack up my laptop and head out to the nearest Starbucks, away from the distractions of home. I know a lot of writers prefer to be hermits, locked away in a dark corner of their houses, but as I mentioned before, in my full-time job, I work from home, so by the end of the day, I need a change of scenery.
Anyways, if you’ve ever tried to pack up a 17″ HP Pavilion zd7000 laptop and take it to Starbucks, then you know what a hassle it can be. By the time you’ve packed it up at home and unpacked it at Starbucks, you’ve wasted a good 5 minutes that you could have spent writing. Now 5 minutes may not seem like much, but when you’ve got as little free time as I do, 5 minutes is a treasure!
If only I had a Mac Book Pro! They’re so much lighter and faster and easier to transport!
So, what’s my point? Am I trying to get everyone to buy a new Mac? No, of course not! My point is that when you’re writing, you need to examine all of the things that hinder you from getting that done . . . no matter how small they may be. If there are any little things you can do to increase your productivity, it will definitely be worth it in the long run to get rid of those obstacles. Even if it just gives you 5 extra minutes of writing time, won’t it be worth it? Think about it, if you write 5 days a week, then adding 5 more minutes of writing time per day will give you 25 extra minutes per week, 100 extra minutes per month, and 21 EXTRA HOURS of writing per year!