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You can do a lot of things without focusing your mind on the task at hand. But writing is not one of those things. You can’t write successfully with only part of your mind. You have to concentrate. You have to focus. You have to be internally “centered.”

Always center yourself before doing any actual writing. It’s painful to attempt to write when your mind is diffused. It’s like trying to put a bunch of cats in a box. While you’re putting one in, the others are escaping.

To write well, you must be centered so you can focus on the job at hand and push other thoughts and distractions out of your mind. Look at the following photo….

Let’s say that the foreground leaves are the subject of your writing project (in a symbolic sense). From what you can see in the photo, could you write clearly and accurately about those leaves? No. Why? Because they are out of focus. When I took the photo, I focused on a point in space between the leaves in the foreground and the foliage in the background, making everything a little out of focus.

That’s how most of us are when we write. We’re not in focus. We’re not centered. Our phones are ringing. Other people’s phones are ringing. People are talking. People are coming and going within our space. E-mails are piling up. Few of us have the luxury of having our own soundproof writing room with a red, flashing sign outside our locked door that announces, “Writer at Work. Do Not Disturb!”

Look at the next photo….

Could you write clearly and accurately about the leaves now? Yes, because the foreground leaves are in sharp focus. You can see their tiny dots, veins and color variations. The background is blurred and does not compete for attention.

That’s what you have to do when you write. You must focus on what you’re writing and try to put the rest of the world in the blurred background where it won’t distract you.

To do that, you must center yourself within. But how can you do that when you’re surrounded by the noise and motion of your less-than-serene environment? Different people use different techniques to get centered. Here are a few of the more common and effective methods. Try them, but if you find other techniques that work better for you, use them.

Breathe deeply.

To breathe deeply, the sages say you should visualize inhaling each breath all the way down to your toes and pushing it completely out of your body through the top of your head. Do this powerfully for even just a few minutes and see how you feel.

Close your eyes.

Stop looking at everything happening around you for a few minutes. It will help you center yourself, especially if you focus your attention on your breathing.

Listen to unobtrusive music or “white noise.”

Random noise is distracting. Put on your headphones or insert your ear buds and replace the noise with music or a recording of natural sounds or “white noise.” These can mask out the commotion around you. However, make sure the music or sounds you choose are not distractions in themselves. (Stephen King listened to hard rock when he wrote, but he was Stephen King.) Stick with calm, mild music, waves rolling onto a beach or similar sounds.

Meditate.

People who have become proficient at meditation can sit in noisy, distracting environments, tune the world out and center themselves. A one- or two-minute meditation, properly done, can place you in an inner space that is conducive to writing.

Take a walk.

You’d be surprised by the number of writers who love to walk. They say the physical act of walking allows them to calm their minds and get centered. A quick, five-minute walk can do wonders in helping you calm down, focus and center yourself.

Focus on an object.

Look at something. Really look at something. It could be a blossom, a candle flame, a stone, a pen … any simple object. Tune everything else out. Think of nothing. Just look. If you do this intensely for even a minute, you will be surprised what will happen.

Count breaths.

Breathing – and the act of focusing on your breath – is a powerful meditation technique. Try this: sit with a straight back, close your eyes and breath very deeply, counting your breath cycles (a cycle is one inhale and one exhale). Start at 10 and work your way down to one. Do your best to think of nothing but the number of the breath you are taking. Don’t lose count. This gem of an exercise takes just a minute or two, but if you do it mindfully, you will feel wonderfully more centered when you are finished.

Special Note: Send Me Your Problems!

Some of you have asked if I could help you with specific writing issues. My answer is yes. Send me a comment with a piece of text you have written (nothing too long, please) and tell me what has you stumped or doesn’t seem right. I’ll do my best to get to the bottom of it and we’ll invite others to comment with their ideas or suggestions. Let’s make this a valuable, interactive learning experience. To contact me, click here.

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