Distractions R Us: Three things to do when life distracts

I’m in the middle of line edits for Shadowed by Grace. As often happens, life has thrown a few curveballs my way during this crunch time. Maybe it’s because my husband’s traveled, I’ve had three finals to grade and classes to wrap  up, and homeschooling to fill my days. Maybe it’s bad news that filled my head. What doesn’t change is that this all results in one thing: DISTRACTION.

So how’s a girl to refocus?

For me it involves a few things, and I’d love to hear your strategies, too.

1) Dive back in somewhere. Where doesn’t really matter. What matters is the act of starting…again.

2) Build in cushion in the calendar. If you know something is due May 16, then make sure you plan accordingly. Make sure you exam events that you know will fill time — say, running the mini-marathon — and build in some extra work time before or after to account for the time away.

3) Give yourself permission to be pulled by different things, but then get back to work. Sometimes when bad news hits, we need time to absorb it. Then we have to get moving again.

What’s one of your strategies when life throws distractions your way?