If you’re anything like I am, getting yourself to sit at your desk and write for an extended period of time can be challenging if not impossible. Email! Facebook! Twitter! YouTube! So many distractions calling your name, each one begging you to stop what you’re doing. Before you know it, you've spent an hour looking at cat videos.

Here’s how I’ve learned to turn my proclivity for procrastination into productivity:

1. I identify a handful of projects that need my attention
2. I allow myself to pivot from working on one project onlyif I then focus on another project

Voila! I’m putting things off while still getting things done. 

For example, this is what my current pile of projects looks like:

• Project A: Write a blog post
• Project B: Put out a newsletter
• Project C: Reach out to book bloggers to see if they want to review my latest novel/follow up with book bloggers who already have the novel but haven’t reviewed it yet
• Project E: Read the articles on publishing that are piled up in my in-box
• Project F: Type up my notes from my last writing class
• Project G: Work on building/nurturing my network 

This approach satisfies my urge to procrastinate in doing any given project by shifting to another on my list, and it keeps me away from the fruitless time suck otherwise known as surfing the internet. Not that I don’t slip up and fall into the black hole on occasion, but now it happens less often.

Do you have strategies to keep yourself on track and focused? If so, please share in the comments. We writers are a curious bunch, so I’d love to hear from you.

Maria Murnane writes bestselling novels about life, love and friendship. Have questions? You can find her at www.mariamurnane.com.