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News, Fiction Updates & General MusingsA Lot of a Little Adds Up to a Lot
Writing away on my work in progress, I didn’t think I was all that far into it.
It feels like I’ve had a pretty slow September for some reason. I’ve been averaging around a scene a day, maybe a scene and a half, which is pretty low to me. Figured I’d have to up my game in October, especially if I want to achieve my ridiculous targets for the next twelve months.
Funny thing happened: I checked my wordcount and I’m at the 40,000 mark. So just over half way, by the looks of things.
I’m not sure why I thought I was at a much lower count, so I stopped and had a think about it. How could I be at 40,000 and over half way through a novel, especially only getting a scene or two done per day?
And then it hit me: I’m doing a lot of a little.
And a lot of a little adds up to a lot.
The Great Writing Lie
The problem with most big projects–not just talking writing here–is that we go out to tackle them head on. We see a mountain, and we ask ourselves how the hell we’ll ever reach the top. We see an elephant on a plate of food in front of us, we ask ourselves how we’ll eat it.
Ignoring the fact that only a cruel weirdo would eat a full elephant on a plate, the answer is the same: we take things one step at a time. One bite at a time.
A lot of a little adds up to a lot.
It sounds like common sense. And that’s probably because it is. Just we’ve had it drilled into our brains so much that writing a novel is such a singular, mountainous task, that many people just stop walking and turn away rather than getting their hiking boots on and climbing the thing.
Every day of every year, people set out to do the Land’s End to John o’ Groats cycle in the UK. That’s a journey from the bottom to the top of the UK, for anyone wondering. This cycle spans nearly a thousand miles, and lasts ten to fourteen days.
Now, do you think those cyclists set out with the intention of getting to John o’ Groats right away? Do you think they sit on their bikes and think, “Right, John o’ Groats, here I come. T-minus one thousand miles/fourteen days”?
Of course they don’t.
They sit down and plan for the next lunch break. Plan for the next ten miles. Plan to reach a place to sleep for the night.
They might only cycle fifty miles in one day. Fifty miles is nothing compared to a thousand miles.
But if they do those fifty miles every day, they’ll reach their destination in twenty days.
A lot of a little adds up to a lot.
The task of writing a novel is daunting. In itself, it’s a huge commitment. It’s a journey up a mountain. It’s a bike ride from Land’s End to John o’ Groats.
But break that mammoth task down into smaller goals, smaller increments, and the whole journey surprises you with how much it speeds by.
You’ll probably enjoy it more, too. If you’re constantly worrying about reaching the end point, you’ll likely get caught up in that future without actually enjoying the present, and your fiction might suffer as a consequence. So instead of thinking about the end (other than in terms of reaching a climax), focus on the present scene. Focus on maximising that scene to its full emotional, character, plot intensity.
Be present, and you’ll reach the end of the journey with some fantastic fiction, much like those cyclists living in the moment finish their journeys with loads of positive memories, with strong tests, unpredictable twists and turns in the experience.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you cycle from Land’s End to John O’ Groats? One mile at a time.
How do you write an engaging novel? One word, one scene, one chapter at a time.
Enjoy yourself. It’ll show.
Cycling image from Özgür Mülazımoğlu via Flickr. Creative Commons. No changes were made to the original image.
The Mid-Book Struggle: How to Conquer it
So, day one of my new blog a day for a year regime, and I think I’ve got exactly the topic.
At first, I sat down with a pad and noted down a few blog ideas, but then I decided it’d be best if I just tackle issues I’m experiencing, or things I’ve learned. I like to learn something new every day, so technically, this shouldn’t be hard.
And this particular topic is something that many, many writers struggle with, both amateurs and long term professionals: the mid-book struggle.
The mid-book struggle is exactly what it says on the tin. You can start up a new project, go into it with enthusiasm, passion, with clear thoughts. You might have a target of a thousand words a day, finding yourself smashing that target and raising the bar.
And then something happens.
It’s around the middle. Always around the middle. You start thinking about new ideas. Start imagining new books, new characters. The writing becomes a slog. The average daily word count dips to around your target, and then before you know it your target is a struggle, and then there just “isn’t enough time in the day”.
Hell, if you’re a believer in falsehoods, you might well just convince yourself you’ve caught a bout of the old writer’s block.
The truth is, the mid-book struggle is a very real thing. And I believe there are some very good reasons for it. Some technical reasons. I’d say scientific, but I’d be bullshitting, so we’ll go with technical.
And with all things technical, there are ways to conquer this slump and get you enjoying your book as you power towards the end.
A little context: I’m working on a book called Sunlight at the moment. I’m about 40,000 words into the first draft. Like all of my projects, I came into it thinking it was the best thing ever. Now? I’ve reached the mid-book struggle.
How do I know I’ve reached the mid-book struggle? Well, for me, I start finding other things to do. Finding ways to distract myself. Taking the dog for a walk. Doing other “productive” things like blogging (guilty as charged). Raiding the cupboards for biscuits.
But I experience other hurdles too. Like, my keyboard actually feels different. My words feel clunkier. My focus drifts. I can’t wait to just get started on the next project.
If I were a quitter, or if I believed in the falsehood of writer’s block, I wouldn’t have seven novels to my name right now. I’d be just another failed aspiring writer.
But as it stands, I do, and I’m not. So I must be doing something right.
How to conquer the mid-book struggle
I believe that the first step in conquering the mid-book struggle is this: accept it.
Yes, I did just tell you to accept something that seems to be wrecking your work in progress. But it’s like all things in life: you can accept the things you’re terrified of, or you can deny them.
Deny them, while you procrastinate some more.
Deny them, while you tell yourself that dipping below your word count for five days straight is fine.
Deny them, when you ditch this project, and then the next project, and then the project after that.
The mid-book struggle is real. It’s a psychological block. A barrier that we put in front of ourselves. I’d say those of us with short attention spans (*hand in the air*) suffer from it slightly more, but we’re all susceptible.
Me? Like I say, I get bored easily. I want to create new characters. Play in new words. Some people struggle because they want their first draft to be perfect, others get fed up and stop “finding the time”.
Accept the mid-book struggle. Ask yourself why you might be experiencing it. Pin it on the wall above your desk to remind yourself about it when you’re struggling again in future. For acceptance is the first stage of conquering a problem.
What’s the second step?
Start your book afresh.
Wait, what?! I’ve already got 40,000 words down. Why the hell would I start it again?
Don’t worry. I’m not suggesting you throw your work away. Rather, remind yourself what it was that excited you about your book in the first place. That might be going back to your plan, making a few tweaks. Or if you’re a pantser, it might be going back and reading the story in first draft form so far, thinking up new ideas all the way.
But mostly, it’s just learning to take a deep breath and going in to enjoy the project again. Reconnecting with the raw energy that inspired you to write the damned thing in the first place. After all, what’s the point in writing something if you aren’t enjoying the process? This is creative writing at the end of the day. It shouldn’t be a chore, no matter what anyone tells you.
It’s playing on paper.
I tried going back to the start and messing around with my plan. What if I’m still stuck in a rut?
You’re not going to like this answer, but it’s as simple as this: get yourself down in the chair and write some frigging words.
They don’t have to be amazing words. Don’t try to be Shakespeare. Just sit down and write. Advance your story. Enjoy yourself.
The problem with the middle of any book is that it doesn’t have any set rules. You can write what you want as long as it is advancing the core conflict of the story.
Many people find this terrifying. For at the start of a book, you are setting up events to come. In the final act, you are concluding them. No surprise that the middle of the book is the area that most critics disagree about. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find two people who agree about the exact mechanics of the middle of a book.
So change your perspective of the middle. View it as LIBERATING rather than scary.
You have a chance to play around with words. A chance to advance your story. A chance to develop your characters, make them more complex. So just enjoy yourself. Tell yourself a story.
After all, isn’t that the point? The mid-book struggle stops becoming a struggle when you blow a few things up, metaphorically or literally, so blow shit up! Enjoy it!
Before you know it, you’ll be at the end, and then it’ll be on with the next book that you were so excited about during that mid-book struggle.
The mid-book struggle is real. It’s motivationally based, and it’s motivationally conquered.
So get sat in the chair. Get pounding out the words, even if you hate them. It’s much better than the alternative: another scrapped project.
Play with words.
New Blog Happenings
Hi all,
I think it’s been quite a while since I blogged, which is strange considering I used to blog here three times a week (at least). If you cast your minds way back to April, I started and failed a weekly outline of my routine. Really, I just got bored of it. I felt uncomfortable talking about myself and my routine, which may come as a surprise to some. I’m actually quite a private person, and I like to keep things that way.
Anyway, I wanted to hit a reset button. Inspired by one of my personal writing idols, Dean Wesley Smith, I figured it’s time to hit the reset button. Truth be told, I’ve just been dwindling along with the writing these last few weeks. Sure, I’ve been writing, but it’s been pretty low daily amounts. And I find myself just getting bored too easily.
Time for some new challenges.
I sat down after today’s writing session and figured out what I could do, both with my fiction and with my blog. Because I’ve had a very successful year with both. In fiction, I’ve released two seasons of Dead Days, as well as four novels. I’ve got two novels launching in October (more on that in a minute), and a few others in the pipeline. So yes, a very prolific year.
And the blog does well too. I get a lot of hits, a lot of people click out of it and go on to read my stuff. So thanks for that.
But I still think I can do even better with both. So here’s how it’s going to go.
1.) I will publish twelve books in the next year.
Yes, you read that right.
Truth is, I write a lot. I do it 9 til 5, every day. When I’m not writing, I’m rewriting, editing, revising, polishing. So I’ve no excuses not to be putting out work on a regular basis.
So starting 1st October, I want to publish a novel every single month.
Full disclosure: I’m cheating a little bit here. I already have three novels ready written over the last year to publish in October and November. And I’ve got a few other books planned out, mapped out and ready to write–even partly drafted in some cases–so that takes the total to about seven. Still a hefty challenge, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Two of those books ready and professionally edited to launch next month are the very first books in the new Blake Dent series. Yes — the first two books, called Bubblegum Smoothie and Cucumber Coolie, will both be launching early October.
On the same day.
Don’t say I never treat you.
Here’s the amazing covers, designed by Cormar Covers, who also did the McDone books, The Hunger and Sinkers.
Amazing, right?
Seriously, these are two of the best covers of all my works. And I have some damn good covers, so that’s saying something.
I’ll talk more soon about Bubblegum Smoothie and Cucumber Coolie, the first two books in the satirical mystery/thriller Blake Dent series. So dark, so entertaining.
Anyway, back on to the point — I want to publish twelve novels in a year. That sounds loads. And it is. But if I break that down into smaller goals, it becomes much more manageable. Helps that I already have three written, too. Of course, I’ll have to allow time for rewrites, editing, things like that. But I’ll work it out. It’s part of the challenge. Part of the enjoyment.
Hope you’ll join me for the journey!
2.) I will write a blog post every day for a year on the topics of writing and publishing.
I get a lot of emails asking for my regular publishing blogs back. I kind of went on hiatus from that back in January or something, but I always said never say never about returning.
Well, it looks like now’s the time.
To challenge myself to stay motivated and talk about the things I’m passionate about, I will publish a daily blog post on the topics of writing and publishing. This could be anything from my views on a TV show I’m watching, commentary on big publishing events, writing craft advice. Or even just repostings of blogs I find very helpful, if I’m feeling lazy one day.
I want to bring some structure back to this blog. For me, it’s something I’ve failed on this last year. But I don’t get down about failure. I use it to inspire new goals.
So a daily blog for the next year. How’s that sound?
What if I fail?
The chances of failure are highly likely.
Twelve books in a year is a lot. And it’s not accounting for illnesses or holidays, anything like that. There’s a chance I’ll encounter editorial delays, or need to do more work on some books than others.
As for the blog, no doubt some days I’ll just be too tired. Have nothing to say.
But still, by setting a high bar, there will be no shame in failure.
Say I do miss a few months. Let’s say I miss a quarter of the year of releases for some reason or another. That’s still nine books over a twelve month period.
And then I’ll challenge myself to do ten the following year.
As for the blog–sure, maybe I’ll miss a day here and there. But I’ll feel guilty about it, and I’ll come back on here for that reason to post simply because I don’t want to let myself–or others–down.
So there’s my two goals. They start now, and they end on September 26th 2015.
Twelve books.
A blog post a day.
The ultimate goals: to double my readership and become a respected writing guru in the community.
Those are the big goals. To get there, I need to achieve the little goals.
Better get to work.
Karl Pilkington On Writing: An Accidental Genius
I’m a huge, huge fan of Karl Pilkington.
For those who aren’t aware, Ricky Gervais’ best mate is adoringly known as “An Idiot Abroad” by the British public and beyond. He was fantastic in the Ricky Gervais Show, with Monkey News and Karl’s Diary some of his highlights, and I could pretty much listen to his ramblings all day long.
The hilarity of Karl comes from the fact that he isn’t the cleverest of chaps. He has some naive, innocent views of the world that match those of children. And he takes the jibes that come his way with such good humour that he has become a global phenomenon.
So imagine my delight when I saw Karl has a tutorial video out from way back in 2009 on how to write a book.
I braced myself to laugh. Braced myself for my sides to hurt, like they always do whenever I watch anything Karl Pilkington related.
Funny thing happened. Sure, I laughed. But more importantly, I was amazed.
Amazed because I can’t believe how right Karl is in his guide to writing.
The full video is here, and it’s well worth watching, even just for some of Karl’s hilarious remarks. But I wanted to break down this video point by point. The thing to remember is that Karl’s views generally go against common opinion. So it’s amazing to see how spot on he is about writing and publishing. He is a genius after all.
1.) “You just write.”
Spot on! Karl makes the point that writing a book isn’t as hard as a lot of people make out. And he’s totally right. If anything, writing a book is fun.
Sure, us writers like to hide behind the “tortured artist” facade. But the truth is, we have a blast writing our stories. And the best way to write stories? Just “write what’s in yer ‘ed”, as Karl says! Find the time. Get motivated. Dare to be bad. And just get the words down.
2.) “I write the way I speak, as well.”
Again, Karl might not realise this, but he’s absolutely nailed the idea of a successful authorial voice.
A lot of us writers get bogged down with trying to be too fancy. By imitating styles, or trying to sound like someone we’re not. Funny thing is, we’re actually at our most original when we just write in our own voice. Sure, it reads boring to us. But to others? It’s original. It’s unique.
It’s the difference between a run of the mill novel and something a little different.
“There’s no point trying to be clever ’cause I think you just get caught out.” Indeed, Karl. Just stay true to yourself.
3.) “A book’s based on word count anyway, so it doesn’t matter whether you use a word with fifteen letters or not.”
A bit more of a comic point, but again, Karl’s right.
Don’t throw fancy words in just for the hell of it is the key thing to be taken from this point. As argued in the last point, just stay true to your own voice, your own vocabulary.
“Stephen Fry can throw big words in and get away with it.” He’s right. Stephen Fry is a master wordsmith. Only use what you’re confident using. Keep learning, and new words will just seep into your work without having to force them in.
4.) “I tend to spend ages trying to say what I want to say instead of using one word…”
Again, I’m not sure Karl realises this, but he’s hit two things on their perfectly round heads here: the concept of show, don’t tell, and the idea of pacing.
While Karl admittedly argues his case is simply to get the wordcount up, he’s right that more words are often better than one in certain situations. Sure, it’s easy to say, “the guy was sad”. But isn’t it better to say, “I saw his eyes were bloodshot. The letter in his shaking hand was covered with small, damp teardrop patches. When he spoke, his voice crackled. I could smell sweat on him, see the unshaven beard sprouting from his face, his kitchen counters coated in ready-meal-for-one cartons…”
Hammy example, sure, but showing something is almost always better than telling, unless summarising, which is a whole different topic.
5.) “Short chapters…”
I literally punched the air with this one, as with point 1. Yes! He’s so right.
“People these days have short attention spans. There’s too much going on… music on everywhere, people texting, emails coming in…”
The short chapter is really important in modern fiction, I believe. Or more specifically, a short scene. Lester Dent talked about it in his Master Plot Formula, which went on to inspire a whole generation of literature.
1,500 is the scene length sweet spot. Karl’s right. Again. Wow.
6.) “You need quiet…”
Okay, so some people prefer to write with music, but I think Karl hits on something else right here: distractions are a killer.
In Karl’s own words, “There’s a person who goes up and down our street on an office chair, she’s like the local mental woman, and it’s fine if you’re not writing a book…”
In slightly more eloquent terms, cut out distractions. Cut off your internet while you write. Put your phone in another room. If there is noise outside, put headphones on and listen to some white noise.
Or you’ll never finish a book.
7.) “People always say, ‘write about what you know,’ which is all very well when you know something.”
Ha! Again, unintentional genius from Karl.
I’ve long been allergic to the idea that you should solely write what you know. While drawing on real life experiences–real life emotions–can be key, it’s easy to get too autobiographically bogged down in it.
So sure, use your own experiences. But don’t be afraid to write about stuff you don’t know about, too. As long as you do a tiny bit of research, just let your mind wander. That’s the art of creativity.
8.) “Most books, you don’t want a challenge. You don’t want to feel like you’re doing an exam when you’re reading a book. You just want a bit of filler. Toilet books, that’s what my books are.”
Hilarious, but more truth beneath the comedy.
Commercial fiction’s sole purpose is to entertain. To take readers away from their actual daily lives for just a short while. To grab the reader, drag them down into the story and hold them there. That’s the goal.
Although “toilet books” is a funny way of putting it, what Karl gets right here is that books don’t have to be unnecessarily clever or complex. They just have to be a good, fun stories that keeps readers coming back for more.
If it is to the toilet for more… so be it. Just prepare for some upset family members.
9.) “It’s all in the marketing.”
A real-life Nostradamus, this man.
“There’s loads of books out there that aren’t even that good. Just because they’re marketed, sales go through the roof.”
Okay, so we all like our own books a bit more than Karl likes his. But he makes a key point, once more. A good bit of marketing can work wonders on the sales of a book.
How to market? Advertising through Bookbub, Bknights, Booksends, etc. Facebook and Twitter interaction. Blog posts. Mailing lists. All of it, marketing. All of it helpful.
And for a nice modern twist on the idea that eBooks are forever: “The Bible, at the end of the day. Dead old. But every Sunday, there’s a vicar somewhere doing a book reading in a church, and someone thinks ‘Ooh that sounds good, I’ll buy a copy of that’. It’s all in the marketing.”
I hope you enjoyed these genius Karlisms. He’s so right about so many things, so much so that my respect for him has just gone through the roof. Well, into the clouds and beyond — it was already way through the roof anyway.
Check out the Ricky Gervais Show podcasts. Or An Idiot Abroad. Or The Moaning of Life. All hilarious, classic Karl.
And remember. Just write. That’s the key.
You’re gonna have to believe Karl on this one.
Ryan Casey Winter 2014 Preview: Dead Days S4, McDone 4 & More…
Hi everyone.
Somehow, summer’s done with. Yes, my favourite season of the year would just drop by, fly past, and disappear without as much as a kiss goodbye, right? Now time for the over-romanticised autumn leaves, followed by the hell that is a snowy winter.
I’m not bitter. Promise.
Seasonal drama aside, Winter 2014 (from now to the end of the year for the sakes of this blog post) is set to be a very exciting time of the year if you’re a fan of my fiction, and a very busy time of the year if you’re… well. If you’re me.
There’s new stuff on the way for Dead Days and Brian McDone fans, as well as two entirely new projects altogether, one of which I have an exclusive cover reveal for below.
Here we go…
September – Bubblegum Smoothie (Blake Dent Mysteries Book 1)
First up in the hectic schedule is Bubblegum Smoothie, the first book in the Blake Dent mystery/thriller series that I’ve been working on this year.
How does Blake Dent differ from, say, the McDone series? Well, it’s got a sense of humour, for one. And although it does have that trademark darkness (it wouldn’t be a Ryan Casey work if it didn’t), there’s plenty of laughs and banter between the main characters along the way to add a bit of a smile to the mix.
Blake Dent is a bounty hunter who catches criminals for a living. He lives by the mantra that he’s retired until he needs money to get by, which he spends on lavishly indulgent boy’s toys. His only goal in life is owning a curved TV, to add to his enormous technology collection.
But when someone starts brutally murdering people, Blake is forced to catch the killer by the inept and under-funded local police. Lured by the promise of a life-changing sum of money and blackmailed with the threat of jail for an act committed way in his past, Blake must stop the killer before their horrifying puzzle is completed.
Take one portion of darkness, add a large handful of humour, and sprinkle a helping of mystery on top, and you end up with Bubblegum Smoothie, the first book in the Blake Dent Mystery series launching this September.
Sound intrigued? You should be! It was an absolute blast of a book to write, and there’s some fun references to my other series characters in there too.
Oh yeah. I promised a cover reveal, didn’t I? Well, seeing as you asked nicely…
Nice, eh? Great job from Yoly at Cormar Covers, as always. Yoly also designed the McDone series, as well as Sinkers and The Hunger. Always delivers a fantastic and original design. Cheers, Yoly!
Bubblegum Smoothie will launch in the next couple of weeks, but we’ll tentatively say “the end of September” for now.
So make sure Green Day wake you up in time for that one.
Oh, and something else. I might have a little surprise on launch day, too. So stay tuned…
October – Sunlight (Working Title)
Not a lot I can say about Sunlight right now, other than it’s one that will excite Dead Days fans very much.
The truth is, a writer often takes some time to really understand which stories they enjoy writing most. For me? I love writing post-apocalyptic stories. And I love character driven drama. I like to hope that Dead Days delivers on both counts, and I’d like to think Sunlight will too.
Okay, a little more of a teaser. Just a little.
Sunlight is about an unusual pairing in an unusual situation. It’s about three people pulling together, against all odds, in the most dangerous of post-apocalyptic scenarios.
It’s something that will intrigue fans of Dead Days, as well as appealing to new crowds.
At least that’s the hope!
More on that soon. Got to edit the damn thing first…
November – Brian McDone Book 4
Yep, McDone is back! For his third mystery of the year too. Hell, he’s getting way too old for all of this.
But hey. Criminals don’t give a damn about McDone’s age. He’s got work to do.
The fourth McDone book is probably the strangest of the lot, and I mean that in a good way (I hope). Strange in terms of the crime–it’s unique, it’s challenging, it’s something that gives our grumpy detective many a sleepless night. I’m really excited about this book. Really excited about the twisting, turning nature of the core mystery. Really excited about some of the links to the past.
Oh, yeah. There are little nods to the past. So maybe now’s a good time to get started on books one to three if you haven’t already…
I’m currently writing this one, so I don’t want to talk about it too much. I find it takes away from the creative process a little. Rest assured: it’s classic McDone.
December – Dead Days: Season 4
Ahh yes, the big one.
No point dancing around the truth: Dead Days is by far my most popular series. In fact, many of you readers would be perfectly happy if I just wrote Dead Days all the time, from what I’ve gathered. And I thank you all for that. I am humbled and proud of the response this baby of a series is getting. Thank you.
Season 4 is all planned out, and I’m so excited for it. Season 3 was, in my opinion, the best yet so it’ll take some topping. But I’ve got some really cool plans that will hopefully thrill you Dead Days-ers as much as they thrill me as a writer. After all, if a writer can’t be positive about their project, what’s the point?!
Dead Days Season 4 starts with a bang. The chess pieces are all there, and you’ll likely be surprised at just how quickly it gets going. There are so many little character arcs I can’t wait to explore. So many plot twists set to unravel, secrets to be explained…
Dead Days Season 4 will also be slightly more hopeful than Season 3. I won’t say it’ll be “positive,” because that’d be lying. But Dead Days Season 3 was really dark. That was in the pits of darkness. The characters have been there, pulled through (or not), and they now must live with those scars. Which isn’t positive at all, I know. But there’s hope there this season. Real hope.
It’ll also be infinitely more badass. That I can promise.
So stay tuned for all of these projects, whether you’re a Dead Days fan, a McDone fan, or a new reader looking for something dark, witty and unpredictable.
If you’d like to be notified when any of these books are available, as well as receiving the occasional special offer on my books, head over to the following page: https://ryancaseybooks.com/fanclub
Time for me to get back to work.
As miserable as those bloody autumn leaves outside my window make me feel. 😉
Killing Time-Killing: Ending Smartphone Addiction
I have an addiction.
It’s an addiction that I know I’m not alone in having. It’s an addiction that is clear to see at family gatherings, on public transport, even in cinemas and on nights out. It’s an addiction that can affect anyone of any age. It’s an addiction that can cause sleepless nights, headaches, broken hearts.
I’m talking about smartphone addiction.
I’m in my twenties, which means I’m living right in the midst of an information-crazy generation. I grew up with MSN and MySpace through my teenage years, migrated to Bebo and then Facebook when those fads died out. I’ve tweeted, Instagrammed, Pinned. And I’ve been a part of the app boom.
Part of me loves the advances in technology over the last few years. I’m a tech nerd, so the idea of having infinite access to the entire internet in my pocket was mouthwatering when I first got an iPhone. And apps, too–all those fantastic, time-killing apps that fit in a screen under five inches. Perfect. Just what I needed.
Except I don’t want to kill time anymore.
A few days ago, I read an article over at Medium.com. It’s about a guy who went “distraction-free” with his iPhone for a year, and saw a whole host of benefits. As someone who has lost many, many hours to the oblivion of portable internet, or Instagram feeds, or Twitter feeds, or probably all three, I was inspired to try something similar.
I often find myself getting into bed at night, relatively early, only to need to click around on my phone. “It helps me sleep!” my mind tells itself.
2 a.m. comes around and I’m still reading about conspiracy theories and the mysteries of space.
And then the following morning, I wake up a little tired, and I spend a few minutes checking the morning news.
And the morning Facebook updates.
And the morning tweets.
Yeah. All that time, eaten away.
So I decided to make a change. I decided to take hold of my life, even if just for a few days, or weeks, or whatever.
I loaded up my phone, entered Restrictions, and disabled Safari.
After I’d got over that, I delinked my Mail account.
And then I deleted Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Pinterest. Games, news apps, all kinds of pointless apps that I don’t use. Now, I’m left with my messaging apps, a few productivity apps, and the built-in apps.
How do I feel? Weirdly, a lot better. I used to turn to my phone, like many, as a source of comfort in situations where not much is going on. Now, I find myself just enjoying the moment more. I find myself making the most of time rather than wasting it searching for something that isn’t going to change my life in any way.
Granted, I work from home, so my situation is a little different to others. I have a tablet, so I can always browse the web on there. Same with my computer. But a tablet isn’t a phone. An iPad doesn’t fit in my pocket. So usually, if I want to search for something non-essential while I’m in the middle of working, now, I just let it go. In the past, the temptation of my phone was always close.
Sure, I know there’s a case for, “Well what’s the point in even owning a smartphone if you aren’t going to use it to its full potential?!” Well, that’s not entirely true. To one person, having a browser and nothing else might be full potential. To others, it might mean pages and pages of apps. For me, I need my Notes app to sync with my computer and tablet. I need Spotify for music. I need messaging apps to keep in touch with people, Focus Time and White Noise to keep me down in my work. I need data-based applications.
But really, I’m just learning to cut out those little distractions that actually eat up a lot of time over the course of a day. I’m trying to train myself not to reach for my phone. Sure–I might, and probably will, enable all those mentioned features again some time. But only when I’m confident I’m not going to start letting it eat into my sleep, or use it as an easy time-passer.
Smartphones are fantastic. But I do feel our addictions, our obsessions, can benefit from being curbed from time to time. Even if just a brief awakener of just how much of our lives they actually consume.
I’m going to give this a shot for another week or so. But so far, I don’t feel any cravings for the same old Facebook posts. I don’t miss posting an Instagram photo of my dog (sorry Pebbles). I don’t long for Google search constantly being at my fingertips.
I feel kind of free.
Give it a shot, perhaps?