For years, I’ve been preaching against getting distracted while writing.

However, if you are like me, you can get lost in your story and find yourself sitting in your office chair for hours before you move around. That’s not good for your back, neck, shoulders, weight—even your mind.

I tried setting a timer at intervals, but I just kept resetting it, rationalizing that I was at an important juncture and needed just a few more minutes…

Those minutes turned into hours and I found I was no better off than before!

That ding of the timer needed a call to action. And I found what I needed when I paired it with a purpose.

So now I use doing the laundry to get me out of my seat—hearing that the washer is done and clothes need to be put in the dryer, then the buzz of the dryer to coax me into removing them so another load can go in, and so on.

Of course that only takes care of one day of the week. For my other writing days, I write a list of tasks unrelated to writing next to my computer and set the timer at the desired interval. I find that being able to cross each item off my list with my favorite turquoise marker is all the reinforcement I need.

Some of the “tasks” might be “walk around the block”, “take a bathroom break,” or “call to make an appointment,” and so on. The point is not what one does, but just to get moving.

What do you do to get yourself away from your computer throughout the day???