JULY CARTOON ivacheung.com/2026/07/stop... #AmEditing

Navina Khatib

This week, we hosted a #StetChat about managing distractions. In this blog post, we’ve rounded up the questions we posed and some of the best answers from our #StetChat about managing distractions. stetchat.com/managing-dis... #amediting #freelanceeditor #edibuddies

For all the folks saying that bodydoubling or editor sprints help them focus...we've been thinking about hosting editor sprints on this account. Any interest in that? 👀 #StetChat

This takes immeasurable strength 🫡🫡🫡 #StetChat

The Life Of An Editor #StetChat

A7? I don’t think of distractions as necessarily being “bad.” Sometimes it’s just information about the environment and you’re reacting to it. Understanding who you are and how you get things done is the key. #StetChat

Whelp, accidentally got distracted from editing by #stetchat and their discussion on distractions while editing! 😆

A7: I highly recommend trying out a fidget cube if you find your hand straying to your phone a lot. Those ms sections that don’t require a lot of typing with both hands have me looking for sometimes to fiddle with more often and using a fidget cube has really helped with my focus for them. #StetChat

Would love to know your thoughts ✨ #StetChat And thanks as always for dropping by during our chat hour!!

A6A: Trying to ignore the distraction and power through it doesn't work for me. It'll just keep nagging at me. No, I can't rise above my animal desires for that shiny object I HAVE TO have right now. #StetChat

A7: I already mentioned this, but if anyone uses Windows 11 and doesn't know about the multiple desktops thing: support.microsoft.com/en-us/window... #StetChat

A6: “Just do it.” Or any other kind of pep talk. It just won’t work. Sometimes scenery changes will work really well, other times they just introduce more distractions. Oops. I also thought working through heavy rain would be relaxing, but turns out that’s too relaxing. 🤣 #StetChat

A5: Following the impulse to give myself a break or shift my focus tends to work for me pretty well. #StetChat

#StetChat I copyedited a neuroscience manuscript earlier this year, and napping for health came up! My author recommended ~30-minute naps before 3 pm to restore focus without messing up the circadian rhythm.

I listen to a lot of video game music, which works in a similar way. Favorites are Skyrim, Oblivion, Assassin's Creed, and God of War. #StetChat

A6: Telling myself I can't get up until I hit a mark usually fails. I am super resistant to myself as an authority. Very much "you can't make me! you're not the boss of me!" 😂 As a self-employed editor, I like to say that my boss is a tyrant and my employee is unreliable. #StetChat

Giving up and trying another day is an underrated strategy! #StetChat

How many tabs is too many tabs? Asking for a friend. #StetChat

It's a great part of being a freelancer! I love being able to take off a half or full day during the week to do life stuff. #StetChat

I can handle a max of 4 hours in a row of actual editing, but I do need small breaks during that work time. Anything longer than that and I'm absolutely not at full brain capacity. Editing takes a lot of concentrated thinking. I'm personally most productive in the mornings. #StetChat

A3: I'll write down whatever's nagging at me. Sometimes that's enough. Sometimes that process clarifies something I have to do or get out of the way so that I can focus. #StetChat

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Q3: Welcome to my Ted Talk. 😂 But ADHD means that small external things become big distractions and every day, there’s at least some (if not a lot of) struggle to get my focus up and working. Finding novelty, interest, or curiosity in what I’m doing is the best way to get my focus back.

#StetChat A3 Coffee!! (Sort of) caffeine for ADHD is my self-medication so it can help. But sometimes I have a bad focus day and just give up. I decide not to work that day and try again on a different day.

A2. Time-sensitive household responsibilities, including caregiving. And the fact that the internet I have to use for my job is the same internet with all the rabbit holes. ivacheung.com/2016/01/fact... #StetChat

#StetChatters, please introduce yourself. Remember to use the hashtag #StetChat for all your answers today. #StetChat And remember, if you miss a question, you can see all the questions under the Media tab on our profile.

Welcome to today’s #StetChat. Let’s talk about managing distractions! Remember to use the hashtag #StetChat for all your answers and label your answers A1, A2, etc. so we know which question you’re responding to. Missed a question? You can see all the questions under the Media tab on our profile.

Join us for our #StetChat about managing distractions at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT this Wednesday, July 1. We'll post the questions throughout the hour and we can talk about managing distractions! #edibuddies #amediting #freelanceeditor

We’re 30 minutes away from the start of #StetChat about managing distractions! Just type in that hashtag to the search bar, look at "latest," and you'll find the chat. You can also find the questions at the Media tab on our profile. #edibuddies #amediting #freelanceeditor

Today! ⤵️

Our #StetChat about managing distractions is this week on Wednesday, July 1 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT! Put it in your calendar so you don’t forget to tune in and chat about managing distractions. #edibuddies #amediting #freelanceeditor

What's on your plate this week, #edibuddies?

This Wednesday, July 1! Join us for a #StetChat about managing distractions!

Missed our Red Flag Roulette #StetChat? We’ve rounded up the chat’s questions and (some of the) answers into this recap post. stetchat.com/red-flag-rou... #amediting #freelanceeditor #freelancing #editing

I will not accept an argument that art and creativity have been uniquely democratised in the last few years since the invention of genAI. What a disservice to human history. How little regard you must have for the billions of souls that struggled through unimaginable suffering to express themselves.

Put these upcoming #StetChats on your calendar: 📆 July 1: Managing Distractions 📆 July 15: The Value of Editing 📆 Aug. 5: Worldbuilding 📆 Aug. 19: Editorial Certificates & Courses Which #StetChat topic are you most excited for? #amediting #freelanceeditor #editorsky

It's easy to edit when it's cold or raining, but when the sunshine is beckoning you, it can be hard to stay focused. Join us next Wednesday for some strategies for managing distractions. #StetChat

"Writing retreat?" Weaklings! I am on a writing advance! A writing conquest! I will not surrender and withdraw. The book is the one who shall be finished.

Join us for our next #StetChat about managing distractions on Wednesday, July 1, 4–5 p.m. ET | 1–2 p.m. PT #amediting #freelanceeditor #editorsky

The goal is not always more, more. More audience. More books sold. More “exposure.” The goal is living a life with art (and living with yourself, frankly).

Poets: you can be as quiet as you want. The right readers will find you.

david lynch didnt sell newspapers for five years while scrambling to fund eraserhead as 5 stuffed woody woodpeckers gave him divine instruction just so you could tell me that ai is inevitable

The Fund Drive is still on! There are still rewards available including signed books and our super cool limited edition patch that is only available during the Fund Drive! 😎 Donate ⬇️ www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...

happy pride to all my buddies who are too tired to create anything for pride and are just focusing on existing

Do not speak to me of "barriers to entry". Every act of creation is slicing out a thin sliver of light from the existential darkness of the human condition. You not being able to pick up a fucking pencil and risk failing does not even register.

spending all day stressing about your writing DOES count as writing!! 🎉🎊🥂🥳

I am still in shock that I get to represent @anjahudson.bsky.social and her incredible queer gothic historical. This was a “just one more chapter and I’ll go to bed” book until I didn’t actually go to bed at all. It’s gorgeous and tragic in the best way, and I’m obsessed!

So incredibly proud of all your hard work and dedication!! So happy for you, and beyond thrilled to read whatever stories are to come!!! Wishing you an amazing journey! 🥳 🎉👏💜✨️🎻💗📝🎊