Other disciplines seem obvious, but worth mentioning. We had many school children in the neighborhood in Kansas City, and they frequently came to the door selling candy for school trips. Well, that doorbell would break my focus. So I stopped myself from feeling obligated to answer the door by disengaging the doorbell. I would also unplug the phone.

Most times, the writing was a daunting task. Sometimes I needed to “warm up” to the writing, so I would write a letter to a friend. I would bargain with myself to complete a certain portion of a chapter. If I would write for one hour, I could start a painting. But once I sat down to write, three hours would fly by. And still, I was not censoring. All the while I allowed myself to write stream-of-consciousness. Until the editing stage.