We live in an age of urgency where everything must be done right now. But is that really true? Does everything in life have the urgency we ascribe to it?

Do those emails have to be answered right now? Do those social media messages and notification need your attention right now? Does that solicitor on your doorstep really deserve your attention right now? Do those dishes and laundry have to be done right now?

Mark Twain said, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” Writing very rarely seems like the most urgent thing we must do, but it’s surely one of the most important. This day will never come around again, and you’ll never have the chance to write again today.

But those dishes, social media notifications, and so many other things can probably wait.

The post What Can You Put Off Till Tomorrow? appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

We’ve talked about the urgency of today many times before on this podcast. Why? Because it’s so easy to lose sight of the present moment when so many things beg for our time and attention.

When you’re in the thick of life, when everyone and everything wants your attention, step back for a moment and remember one thing: you’ll only have this day once. It will never come around again.

When you wake up tomorrow morning, will you be glad you spent today like you are using it right now? Or will you wish you would have made a little time to write?

The world-renowned boxer Muhammad Ali said, “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” There is no such thing as a throwaway day. Every single one counts.

Daily Question: Are you happy with the way you are using your time today?

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In our quest to make more time to write, we tend to focus on the big distractions. It’s easy to feel like the world is against you as you deal with events, meetings, chores, and never-ending tasks.

Those items can make it difficult to squeeze in writing time, for sure. However, there is a more insidious form of distraction, and those are the little things.

It’s the social media notifications. The unsolicited (and unwanted) phone calls. The text messages. The noise of people in the other room. The barking dogs and neighbors clattering around outside—and a dozen other things that steal your attention.

When you sit down to write, those little distractions eat away at your time and attention. They may seem harmless in the moment, but it takes a couple of minutes to get your attention back when it’s stolen away. Those precious minutes make up precious hours, which are the building blocks of articles, podcasts, books, and more.

E.B. White said, “Creation is in part merely the business of forgoing the great and small distractions.” How true that is!

So watch out for those little distractions. They are far more dangerous than you realize.

Daily Question: What are three little distractions that interrupt your writing, and how can you eliminate or reduce them?

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