How can I protect my work environment from distractions and interruptions

[Adrienne Diamond]

For the first time in my entire life, I'll be getting a place with an extra room so that I can have the studio that I've always dreamed of, and the space to work on my art projects as well as have the exact environment (without distractions and interruptions, good lighting, etc) that I need. In the past I haven't been very successful at producing much artwork because it was next to impossible for me to have the space I needed and without a secluded area to work in, there were just too many distractions (noise, radios, tvs, people, family in and out). But now that I'll have my space and can achieve the environment I need how do I: #1 Protect it against interruptions and distractions? I'm afraid people will be knocking on the door or coming in and out of the room where I'll be working, and #2 How do I handle it with my family wanting or needing my attention? When I get to working I hyperfocus (which I enjoy and need to do so I can produce) without them feeling I am neglecting them, cutting myself off from them, or giving me all the time I need to do my work without them coming and knocking or interrupting me. I don't have any small children, they are all grown. Its mostly my husband who gets very upset with me because he thinks I'm closing him off and don't want to be with him most of the little or extra time I have to do my artwork. How do I.......How can I handle this without offending anyone?

[brian]

Hi Adrienne,

Your concerns sound identical to what I had to deal with and continue to deal with. I too have a room, a workshop in my basement and although I find time to get down there, once there I have a very hard time getting myself to actually take action. To help focus myself and block out distractions, I bought an iPod, not so much for music but for audio books. I didn't think I would be able to keep my attention on listening to someone droning on and on but I found that it created an envelope around me....not quite white noise because part of me was listening and paying attention but it allowed me to then sit at my workbench and dive in. Time seems to just cease to exist for me until I need to run to the bathroom and then I'll realize I haven't moved for the past 3 or 4 hours. I love audio books because they can be as long as 20 or more hours which means a lot of sessions for me at the workbench before needing to go back to the library to find something new.

As for interruptions, with a wife and 3 teenage kids in the house, I am not always able to keep from being interrupted so I have had to pick and choose when I warned everyone that I could not be disturbed. I'm not sure what type of art projects you are working on but when I know I need a certain amount of time, like when I need to use my paint booth and airbrush, and can't be disturbed once I get started, I let everyone know and so far it's been working out very well. It's not a perfect system but it has allowed me to get more accomplished than I have in the past.

I've also tried natural sound audio cd's, like ocean waves, but it quickly becomes just white noise. Sometimes that works but not nearly as well as audio books. Music is ok sometimes but with the changes in tempo and mood, it can distracting. Maybe it's the mental images that the stories evoke that keep part of my brain entertained just enough to allow another part to break free and be creative. It almost feels like I have to trick myself in order to get started but it's working for me so I haven't analyzed it too much.

Is it possible for you to find a set time during the day or a set day during the week that everyone would understand is your "creative time"? I'm not able to do that myself, so I try to take advantage of time as it makes itself available but I'm not always feeling creative or artistic all the time but I'll still spend time in the workshop hoping inspiration will strike :)

Hope this helps.

brian

[Adrienne Diamond]

Thanks so much for your input. You gave me some really good suggestions. All of you guys gave me some good input and things to try. I'm working on it. I live in this close-nit apartment complex with not very many tenants which makes this community a very social place. Its nice on one side because the people are so nice and so friendly, but on the other side when you need time to yourself it makes it almost impossible. I even put a sign on my door to the outside saying DO NOT DISTURB. Guess what? It didn't make a bit of difference. Its like I didn't put a sign up at all. Residents just ignored my sign and would knock or just walk right in to just come and visit or shoot the breeze for awhile.....all at their convenience might I add. So I had to get more hardcore about enforcing my boundaries and had to start telling the residents to look for my sign and to please honor my request not to be disturbed. Its helped some, but there are still those ones who seem to have ADD worse than me, and can't seem to focus on the sign on my door.

[ronald Sorenson]

Same here, what I have done is talked about not only my time but others with me such as family members as well as friends, it took a while but giving them as much info as possible about our way of thinking and now they all understand. i tried everything, the time or day thing does not work for me as creativeity comes when it wants and I want to and will always be ready to hang out with it they call it creativeity because it just comes bye and if you dont grab on to it it just withers away and then it can get me upset for not taking this time and time is the only commodity we own so invest it and spend it wisley dont get me wrong alot of the creative time is when im with the ones I love.

Hope this helps you, just chill out and tune in to you.
Peace

[DANA]

Hello Adrienne!

My situation is similar to yours, except that it is writing articles that I am working on at the computer. The computer is not in a private or quiet location, which definitely pose challenges for maintaining a quiet and uninterrupted atmosphere. If I have articles that I need to write for a job or a deadline, it is crucial that I have no interruptions and no loud noises so I am able to focus on what I am writing.

My kids do not appear to understand that I need total cooperation from them to successfully complete writing articles on time. It never fails.....As soon as I am getting all wrapped up in what I am writing and I am in the swing of things, suddenly, the phone is ringing, the dog is barking, my son is loudly jamming on his electric guitar and my daughter's want something to eat! Grrrrr!

I have come to the conclusion that I have to set firm boundaries with my family if I am to accomplish any writing or research for writing articles. I have to verbally state out loud what my intentions are, explain the that there is a deadline to complete the writing and that I absolutely can not be interrupted. Setting boundaries is not 100% effective, but it does promote a higher chance of maintaining more privacy, less noise and much less distractions.

Adrienne, my suggestion would be to firmly and politely state what you need, state that this is important to you and communicate exactly what your expectations are in advance to promote the necessary time and space that you need to yourself. Best wishes!