This quarter, I’m focusing on writing.

I’ve had a writing habit for a long time, but since I became a professional copywriter, it’s been harder to write the type of content I want to. So, I’m focusing on my writing habit.

The only problem: distractions!

There are so many of them all over the place. Sometimes I’t barely a minute between sitting down and when I get swamped my emails, notifications or a youtube rabbit hole.

My cure? Making a focused creation device.

Enter the iPad.

A creation iPad

My goal is to remove the apps that distract me, and leave only the ones that allow me to create. That way, I have a device geared to creating new things rather than scrolling the endless feed.

There are a few apps I use to create

  • Procreate
  • Drafts
  • Obsidian
  • iA Writer

Then some to play

  • OnSong - a sheet music application
  • Paprika - A recipe management app
  • Kindle/iBooks/Scribd et al - reading is play, right?

And there are a few apps that distract the hell out of me

  • Safari
  • YouTube
  • Messaging apps
  • Social networks (Instagram & Microblog. Yes, even you.)

Plus some which are kind of distracting but I still need to use sometimes, like mail.

Not an anti-consumption device

You might have noticed that there are some consumption apps there like the kindle and Scribd. On the one hand, these are not creation, they are consumption. If I wanted an anti-consumption device, I should remove them. And yet the kindle and other ebook readers are some of the highest value apps on my iPad.

Sometimes the ideas within the books I read provide the impetus for new creative works. And while that can also occur with youtube or another service, the hit ratio is lower and I’m more likely to choose one of them instead of creation.

So I’m happy (for now at least) leaving them on my iPad as I try this experiment.

Will it work?

I’ve debated doing this in the past and always found it tricky.

No single device seems to be a perfect “distraction free” or “creation” device. There are times I need to look up data on the mac, there are times I want to check a message on my phone, and my iPad is arguably the best web browsing experience.

But I think this is the best action to help me create more.

Procreate, after all, is ONLY on the iPad. And using the ipad as a distraction free writing device is great (as long as you have a keyboard to go with it).

So I’m giving it a go and I’ll report back later.