Writers: How to Avoid Constantly Being Interrupted—And When to Embrace It

Disruptions, from phone alerts to sick days, can derail our writing. Four authors talk about how they manage to (mostly) maintain the flow, with the help of timers, candles and compartmentalizing.

Illustration by Molly Fairhurst/Narratively archive

You’ve done what feels like the hardest part of writing: You’ve sat down to actually do the thing, gotten through those first sticky words and finally your writing is flowing. Then your phone buzzes, the leaf blower next door starts up, you remember you need to make that doctor’s appointment. Or an interruption takes even more of your focus: a sick family member, a move, even something wonderful like a wedding or a promotion. If you’re a writer of any kind, you’re probably familiar with this pattern. I’ve been there myself many times, only to come back to the page minutes or months later, unable to remember how to get started, what I was working on and sometimes even why I was writing in the first place. 

Over the years, I’ve tried many things to ward off the interruptions I can prevent. I’ve worn construction headphones to muffle street noise; other times, I’ve used internet-blocking productivity apps like Freedom and Pomodoro timers …