I never get distracted . . .
Oh yeah? So you reckon you can work at home, huh?
Sure, you say. I can switch off the phone, lock the door, unplug the Internet . . .
Then the postman knocks.
And the dog barks.
And your neighbour pops in for a chat or wants you to look after her seven-year old for half an hour.
Or the tap drips.
Or the unmade beds are calling you from afar, as is the ironing, the car which hasn’t been cleaned for weeks and that parcel you never got around to posting yesterday . . .
One of my favourite procrastination stories comes from my all time favourite literary Obi-Wan Kenobi, author Celia Brayfield, who reckons that she even got as far as rearranging the pins on her pincushion whilst busily avoiding any contact with her WIP . . .
You see? The odds are stacked against you, O author . . . if there are no distractions at home, you’ll make one up.
So, what’s the answer?
Well, as fellow Roman author, Anthony Riches, discovered, the only way is OUT.
He accepted a kind offer from a friend to set up shop in a spare office at his company HQ. Anthony is now beavering away on the latest in his ‘Empire’ series . . . and making much better progress to boot.
Nice one, Tony.
And, as I reported a while back, I’ve taken similar action, retreating to a quiet granary on a country farm somewhere near the Thames at Pangbourne (one of my totally favourite places, for all sorts of reasons!) to find a little peace and quiet for myself, and of course my close friend, DCI Brendan Moran.
If you too are an author, or indeed a writer of any description, I recommend you do the same.
Have a nosy around – there’s bound to be somewhere just right for you and your laptop.
And just think of all those awful jobs you’ll avoid by not being at home!
Works for me . . .