Writing is so tricky, especially when there are many stimulating environments at my disposal, just waiting to be used. One of them is my Mac (not my phone), which I use for studies and work, as well as for entertainment, blogging, self-hosting, and programming. Whenever I open my Mac, I fall into a world of endless possibilities, where I can do almost anything–I can run some simulation for work, or I can just read news; I can read Physics books, or I can check my server to monitor self-hosted services. Another way to escape from hard work is to simply ignore the work and find something new to self-host.
Despite having many important things to do, including going for a run, reading books, or writing blogs, I usually end up (you can guess) doing only browsing, browsing, and more browsing. Although I am fortunate enough to be out of the social media trap, browsing for mere curiosity, in the end, leaves me feeling empty and dissatisfied.
I survived in this distracting environment for a long time with regular failures and rare successes, and yet the effect of these failures was minimal. However, during one of the most crucial time of my career when I needed to sit and write my PhD thesis, the effect of distraction was so strong that it took me two months to get my shit together and start writing. Then, once I started, every morning just to begin writing was so hard that despite trying many popular strategies–including waking up at 5 AM, blocking the internet, using the pomodoro technique–I failed miserably many times. What worked for me was a combination of Stoic wisdom obtained from a few books 1 and an expensive gadget, reMarkable2–I am not advertising this gadget as it should not be the only solution, but limited time forced me to opt for this solution. Thanks to the books and my fancy gadget, I submitted my thesis last month after 14 months of rigorous writing, reviewing, and rewriting. You can read my journey here.
I am proud of myself for finishing this project, which shows that it is possible to focus for a long time in this distraction-filled world. But I am also a bit sad to say we need fancy tools to achieve it. Despite this big achievement, it feels like every day is the same battleground between me and distractions. Sometimes distraction wins, and sometimes I do, but the victory often leaves me exhausted.