A day spent with technology is inevitably a day filled with distractions. Text messages, emails, alarms, background music, phone calls, app notifications, and the like are all ingrained into our routines and force us to pause. Those pauses are brief but they add up to minutes, to hours. They eat away at your day and we’ve come to accept this consumption as a necessary part of the day.
I’ve been craving disconnection more than ever, a step away from technology to “heal” my writing process. I’m aware of the irony of this post, considering you’re reading it on your phone or computer. That’s the nature of the beast, isn’t it? To share information now means to share it with the oblivion that is the internet. But maybe this small piece of information could help you, a fellow creative, recharge and rethink, too. Below I share the tools I use whenever I need to get my creativity in check. They’re incredibly rudimentary. And that’s the point. This bag of tools shows the abundance writers have right at home. Whether you’re squirreled away in a spare bedroom or cozy up on the couch, use these items to get away from the tech and the pings and chirps of man-made life.
Pens
I told you this would be basic as hell. Every writer will tell you the value of a good pen, especially when pens are so grounding. We’re taught to write with pencil and paper before anything. We see words and thoughts appear before us in our own handwriting. I think there’s something magical about that, more so than typing on a keyboard. I personally “think” better when I physically write down ideas. Everything from fancy words I want to use in a poem to grocery lists stand out better when cast to paper. My favorite pens are the Sharpie S-Gel 0.7MM. They don’t bleed and are immediately ready for highlighting.
Thesaurus
Oh, the reflex to reach for your phone to look up something is DIRE. That’s why I love having a thesaurus in my library. I don’t have to ask Google what another word for “scrumptious” is. I can flip through my trusty thesaurus and find a bunch of other cool words, too. No screens, no ads, and no clicking. I even like bookmarking pages with words I want to use later on for other projects.
Rocketbook
I discovered this handy product last year and we became fast friends. The Rocketbook is essentially an infinite notebook. The pages are washable and you use erasable pens on it. You can take scans of pages with your phone (or just write! I swear you don’t need your phone to enjoy it) and upload them to whatever cloud storage service you use. I find it useful for brainstorming and drafting. On the sustainable side of things, it’s simple and logical. I love that I can just wet a cleaning cloth and wipe away the text for a clean slate, over and over. No more office trash cans overflowing with balls of notebook pages. The company even makes reusable sticky notes. If you’re unplugging for a weekend, take along your Rocketbook to store ideas, lists, or the first draft of your next story. It’ll still be there when you come home to your laptop.
Thermos
You need a good drink when you write. It’s an unspoken rule. Hot or iced, a thermos will keep it fresh and keep your ass planted to your chair while you work. I use a both a tumbler and travel mug from Hydrapeak. They even have food jars if you want to get your soup on while you write. No judgement here.
Sour Candy
A lot of artists and writers need some sort of oral fixation. Smoking isn’t the greatest habit, nor is drinking. Chewing gum helps others but I reach for sour candy to stimulate my taste buds while my brain does its thing. Simple, sugary goodness can be as rewarding as watching a Tiktok (and doesn’t distract you nearly as much.)
A Good Book
I believe it was Stephen King who said, “If you’re not writing, you should be reading. And if you’re not reading, you should be writing.” Creative juices ebb and flow like blood. They can’t always be swirling up a storm in your brain. For moments when you simply can’t conjure up anymore, reach for a good book. Make it something that speaks directly to you and the way you want to write. Make it a story you can’t stop thinking about. In a way, reading is work. It’s research for your own craft. My go-to book is Heartsick by Chelsea Cain. I love it completely, everything from Cain’s succinct writing to the characters to the simplistic brutality of it. Find a book that makes you want to be a writer and keep it close by.
Timer
If you’re into the Pomodoro method or need a way to keep track of your writing session, grab a kitchen timer. This is for those of us who can’t seem to get our hands off our phones, even if it’s only to check the time. Don’t rely on your phone alarm if you’ll be too tempted to scroll. You can buy a cheap timer from any dollar store and the strange metallic racket it makes well be a welcome change of sound.
Curtains
This seems so stupid but it saved me a lot of grief and money. If you want the feeling of seclusion or privacy while you write, put up some curtains. I couldn’t figure out why I hated writing in my office so much until I replaced my sheer curtains with blinds. I don’t like the feeling of someone looking in, passing by, or getting distracted by what my neighbors are doing. I’m a cozy writer; I like small rooms, comfy chairs, and a nice fire with snacks nearby. You won’t find me writing in a beautiful sprawling pasture on a picnic blanket or in a grand library where you can hear a pin drop. The more claustrophobic, the better! You can even make a canopy of sorts around your desk or writing area.
Remember, these are recommendations. You can use a normal notebook with the pens you got from the dealership when you bought your car. You can reread that worn paperback that you love. Throw a blanket over your window and dump whatever you want to drink into a clean mug and enjoy. The whole point of unplugging is to eliminate your technological distractions in order to think more clearly and write more purposefully. I hope you’ll get some use from these basic tricks on your next tech-free excursion.
Haunted by Deadlines 