Dr Safvat is a fully qualified and highly trained Specialist Plastic Surgeon, Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS), and a member of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) which is the peak body of Specialist Plastic Surgeons in Australia.
As a Specialist Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Dr Safvat provides a broad array of Plastic Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgeries. His particular interests and expertise are Cosmetic procedures such as Body, Breast and Facial Surgeries, Skin Cancer removal, Reconstructive and Hand Surgeries.
Dr Safvat’s consulting rooms are located at Miranda (main room), Concord and Bowral. Dr Safvat’s dedication to ethical values, integrity, and genuine caring nature combined with his expert and perfectionist approach in surgery makes him a dedicated Plastic Surgeon whose aim is to achieve natural results and best possible care for his patients.
My philosophy is to treat and care for my patients as I would like my own family to be treated and cared for with respect, care, expertise and professionalism.
My first and foremost aim is my patients’ best health interest. Every patient is important to me, whether I am doing a minor procedure, cosmetic surgery or a complex reconstructive case, I strive to provide best possible care and outcome for my patients.
Thyroid medications are amongst the most commonly prescribed medications in the world. In fact, in Canada, thyroid medication is the 3rd most commonly prescribed drug behind anti-depressants and lipid lowering agents in women [1] (thyroid disease is more common in women than men). Given the fact these medications are used so much – patients and doctors are often met with a common scenario: the lab values simply don’t correlate to how the patient feels, even during thyroid hormone therapy.
We often use certain lab measures to assess thyroid function. To review the basic anatomy, physiology and routine lab work, please click here.
As a quick reminder, we typically look at TSH, and sometimes T4, and maybe T3 in the blood. Their relationship is supposed to tell us if the thyroid is under-functioning, over-functioning or working optimally [2]. Oftentimes the lab values relate perfectly with the patients signs and symptoms. However, we regularly find the lab work doesn’t make sense for one reason or another [3], [4]. An article on confusing thyroid blood work can be accessed by clicking here.
As a reminder, T4 is one of the thyroid hormones the thyroid gland releases. T4 needs to be converted to T3 to have biological activity. The other chemical name for T4 is thyroxine. Levothyroxine is a synthetic form of T4, prescribed to patients with low functioning thyroid glands. Levothyroxine is the generic name; brand names you may recognize are Synthroid and Eltroxin [5]. We also refer to Levothyroxine as L-T4 for short – as I will do for the remainder of this article.
Remember, Levothyroxine (L-T4) is given by doctors when TSH is high and T4 and or T3 are low. Doctors will determine the optimal dose by aiming to ‘normalize’ these numbers. Doctors will have targets for each lab value and tests should be done every 2-3 months until the correct dose has been determined. Once dose is determined, yearly check- ins are all that’s needed. Most patients feel better once T4 is in the upper half of normal range (110-165 nmol/L) [5].
Often a source of confusion, patients on Levothyroxine (L-T4) may not get the changes they expect. Oftentimes, blood work reflects improvement, yet the patient experiences same (or worse) symptoms of hypothyroidism. How should this be treated? Should dose be adjusted? What are a patient and doctor to do in this scenario?
It should be noted, that it is also normal for someone on thyroxine replacement at normal physiological dosage to normalize TSH levels and get mildly elevated free T4 but normal Free T3 [2].
Normal physiological variant: To abolish symptoms and normalise TSH concentrations, some individuals exhibit mildly elevated FT4 (possibly reflecting less efficient conversion of T4 to T3); free T3 is typically normal [3], [4]
Malabsorption syndromes: L-T4 malabsorption occurs with various gastrointestinal conditions, such as celiac disease, achlorhydria, lactose intolerance (lactose is a constituent of some L-T4 preparations) [6], [3],[4]
Increased thyroid hormone binding capacity: Oral estrogen therapy or gonadotrophin-induced rise in estrogen concentrations (e.g. IVF treatment) results in a marked increase in thyroid binding globulins and hence thyroid hormone binding capacity, necessitating an increase in L-T4 therapy; similar effects are seen with SERMs and mitotane [6], [3],[4]
Change in LT4 preparation: There are various L-T4 preparations. They differ in potency and bioavailability. Changes in preparation are generally best avoided but, if necessary, should prompt more frequent blood testing monitoring [6], [3],[4]
Poor compliance: Owing to their differing half-lives, intermittent thyroxine ingestion may result in normal or even elevated thyroid hormone concentrations, but fails to normalize TSH [6] [3], [4]
Resistance to thyroid hormone: Typically seen following inappropriate thyroid ablation or concomitant primary hypothyroidism in a patient with a genetic mutation in the human thyroid hormone receptor β (THRB) gene [6] [3], [4]
As you can see, there are many factors that go into L-T4 metabolism, excretion and utilization. This information is not intended to provide a template for dosing adjustments; it is merely to inform patients and doctors alike that these factors all play a role and potentially complicate blood testing associated with thyroid health. If you fall under one of these categories, please see you primary care physician to discuss.
[5] Thyroid Foundation of Canada, "Fact Sheet: Medications for Hypothyroidism and Interaction of Thyroxine with Other Medications," Thyroid Foundation of Canada, 12 Feb 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.thyroid.ca/fact_sheet2.php. [Accessed 18 July 2017].
Screen Australia provides a standard spreadsheet template for all their funding applications. This is known as the A-Z Budget and is a long-standing standard in Australian Film & TV production. It is an essential tool if you are going to apply for the Producer Offset. The current A-Z Feature Budget is version 7.7.
Once there is more than one bookkeeper or payroll master the accounts must be kept in a proper system. If you want to import that A-Z Budget chart of accounts into any professional accounts system you are in for hours or days of manual manipulation and pain.
I’ve gone through this too many times so I’ve made a csv file that has account codes and budget categories to match v7.7. This should allow you to easily set up an A-Z Budget chart of accounts in MYOB, Xero, QuickBooks and other accounting packages. Just ask in the comments and I’ll email it to you, remember to tell me what accounting package you are setting up.
There is a version of the A-Z Budget in Movie Magic Budgeting 7 but it is hopelessly broken and out of date. I have created a working file for MM Budgeting 7 for my clients.
Specific criticisms of theA-Z Budget Spreadsheet follow. Scroll down to the comments if you want to skip the painful details.
The A-Z Budget spreadsheet has a terrible User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX). That is not the end of the world as once you get used to it you can navigate around the ugly beast. Did I mention the Budget tab defaults to 1558 lines before dealing with 14 separate detail tabs?
This spreadsheet has grown over the years with many owners and target uses. Therefore it is absolutely Byzantine in structure and layout. Budget categories are coded A to Z (hence the name) with some having logical structure e.g. C.1-C.24 under C. PRODUCTION UNIT FEES & SALARIES.
But C.16 VISUAL EFFECTS & ANIMATION does not have the word “Crew” that most of the departments have. That’s the sort of sloppiness that creeps into legacy systems when they get updated. When the A-Z Budget was developed there was no Visual Effects Crew only practical special effects.
Worse is U IMAGE POST-PRODUCTION whose subcategories go from a. to n. with no reference to the U parent, it just suddenly jumps from U on row 1285 to a. on row 1289 all the way to n. on row 1375. It’s easy to get lost. The same thing happens again at V SOUND – POST PRODUCTION, suddenly we have a. to e. disconnected from the parent account.
How about Above-The-Line E(a) PRINCIPAL CAST with subcategories E(a)1 OFFSHORE CAST – Non-resident and E(a)2 AUSTRALIAN CAST – Australian residents. At least you know there is an E category with subcategory (a) and then 2 sub-subcategories.
This is why you can’t just import the unmodified A-Z Budget. Not rational accounting system understands the accounting levels Screen Australia has created for us.
There’s a whole different post coming on accounting for QAPE (Qualifying Australian Production Expenditure) which you require if you will apply for the Producer Offset.
Are you a constant contrarian, interjecting heated points into lukewarm discussions? Do you escalate things, directing conversations into your level of enthusiasm? On Twitter, do you tag users’ names after they’ve stopped responding? Do you reply after the fact, when no one’s paying attention?
Rather than contest a social norm, do you argue semantics, choosing abstract targets to sound politically correct? Are your rhetorical questions veiled attempts to express your feelings? Joking about sensitive issues, do you reveal too much truth in your jesting?
Is your profile page a minefield of polarizing statements, you wish someone would step on, just to give you a reason to go off on a tangent? Do you see yourself as a delegate for your beliefs or their defender? When you champion a cause, do you lead with a white flag or a bayonet?
There’s no shortage of assholes on the internet, but ask yourself: if you run into more of them than any other type of person, who’s the real asshole?
Don’t worry, there’s help. You can still hold your chin up without having to perform complicated mental gymnastics.
The goal of this article is not to scare you into the middle, to sway you from ever bringing religion or politics to the Twitter table. Its aim is not to whitewash your sense of humor, to take the teeth out of your sarcasm, or the venom from your satire. I’m not interested in silencing critics, getting psychoanalytic, or converting cynics into romantics.
I’m here to help you avoid transforming into a troll and to give some tips for dealing with those who have.
When designer Rob Sheridan posted a video on the internet’s shrinking attention span, I was so eager to recommend Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows, that I paused the clip right before it mentioned the book. Seeing my Tweet, Sheridan called out the irony of my actions. I had no choice but to agree. Humble is the user who favorites posts that call them a Jack-Ass.
For someone who Tweets a lot about writing, I really ought to proofread more. Undermining my authority, my typos betray me. That’s why when someone calls out my mistakes, I try not to make a scene.
If a grammar fascist comes knocking, my personal policy is to thank them for their services, and hope they move on. I’m always seeking evocative adjectives to spice up my musing. Sometimes I mix up words that don’t mean what I intend.
Someone called me out for substituting ‘unrequited,’ as in unwanted love, for ‘unsolicited’ as in free advice. Having swapped these two out for so long, I forgot that I’d taken an artistic license. Maybe I needed to be made a laughing stock to learn my lesson. The trick was to laugh with my unrequested editors.
If someone catches me using “prey” instead of “pray,” like “I prey the Time Warner Templars aren’t aloud to join forces with the Cult of Comcast.” my default response is “It’s National Homophone Day, I’m just raising awareness.” It’s my way of saying, I recognize my mistake, thanks for catching it, now we’re both in on the joke.
I also celebrate Opposite Punctuation Day whenever I use an apostrophe in the possessive pronoun “Its,” and Dangling Particle Day whenever my sentences confuse the relationship between two nouns and a verb.
If you put a lot of content out there, you’re increasing your odds of someone spotting an error. There are funny ways to admit your mistakes:
– Mislabeling the tragic “ironic,” I’m the king of irony, misusing the word as an homage to its actual meaning.
– I literally used the word “literally” in place of “figuratively” to see if you knew the difference. Congratulations, you passed my test.
Sometimes I need a reminder that “loose” is the condition of my pants without a belt, and “lose” is what happens to my pants if I run without that belt. Sometimes I just have to fess up to my Freudian slips, hang a lantern on my redundancies, and make a monument to my oxymorons.
Watching my favorite authors’ Twitter feeds, I’ve noticed a trend: the more followers they have, the bigger targets they become. You have the power to put out a flame war before it ever gets started. Here’s some of the best methods I’ve seen them use.
This is the art of using a troll’s force against them. Put their insult in lights for all your followers to see. Usually, Twitter users can only see conversations when they follow both participants, but if you put a dot in front of the other user’s Twitter handle, you broadcast their ravings to everyone you know. Another trick is to take a snap shot of the troll’s posts in case they try to delete them.
Troll Jujutsu is a great method to draw awareness to harassment campaigns. If you blog about sexism, only to find yourself besieged with sexist trolls, rebroadcasting their behavior can draw out supporters.
One of my favorite Tweeters has her writing advice challenged constantly. People have called her a self-indulgent narcissist, point blank.
Her’s is a method of non-violent resistance. Some users take abuse in stride, a sure sign their following is big enough to take on strays.
Another one of my favorite social media figures, automates her Tweets, posting links, quotes, and articles on writing 24/7. She replies, retweets, and writes live statements too, but some users are critical of her presence when she’s obviously sleeping.
Her response, “I’m just trying to run a business. You can always mute or unfollow, you have options.”
Why argue with a troll’s reasoning when you can defer them to pages that have refuted their claims in advance?
YourLogicalFallacyIs.com is an excellent resource for this, cataloging and defining unsound statements, from the classic Straw Man: misrepresenting an argument to make it easier to attack, to the Middle Ground, claiming the point between two extremes is the truth. Each example has it’s own page so you can copy and paste the link when needed.
Not only is the site a great collection of comebacks, it’s a way to challenge your own style of arguing. Reading through the definitions, I can’t believe how many of them I’ve been guilty of.
If social media is your business and your profile is your brand, you might not have the time or energy to deal with escalation.
I’ve posted a couple of articles with the hashtag #GayRights, and I’ve got some hateful responses. These trolls never bother to click on the links (one article is on how hate monger Fred Phelps struck an accidental blow for gay rights, and the other is on how laws that deny rights to gays, on religious grounds, should deny rights to left handed people too). These trolls just searched the hashtag #GayRights and carpet bombed anyone who posted anything.
These weren’t hearts and minds I could win. They weren’t worth my time. That’s why I just hit the block button, end of discussion.
Even though I know better, I still have to fight the urge to air my grievances in online forums, to give into my reactionary nature and harass public figures.
When it comes to arguing points, it’s hard to make irrefutable statements in 140 characters. This is what a blog is for. Writing editorials in the longer form, I see where they work and where they need to be reinforced with research.
If you’re known for flying off the handle, letting the Tweets flow every time you turn on the news, don’t be surprised when you hemorrhage followers. You can bring light to important issues, but don’t forget to offer your readers something that’s distinctly you.
The best way to avoid becoming a Twitter troll is to balance your tirade to praise ratio. For everything you dump on, you’ve got to find something worth celebrating. For every polarizing statement, you’ve got to put out something magnetic. For every irrefutable claim you make, you need to ask questions that invite participation.
In the past, every time I championed a cause my followers left me to fend for myself. It wasn’t that these causes were toxic, it’s just that my tone was. One of the hardest lessons Twitter keeps teaching me, is to err on the side of positivity.
I just did the narration for Willow Becker’s 500 word fiction piece Commando, over on her site. Check it out.
I used to work for the retail side of a tech company. Our goal was to demystify technology, to lower the entry barrier, to smooth out the learning curve. It didn’t matter if you’d purchased a device in our store, or if you received it as a gift, if you brought it in we’d teach you how to use it. Since no one worked on commission, we didn’t have to be selling, we spent most of our time informing.
When two giggling women walked in, with a tablet still in its shrink wrap, I was happy to get them going. Claire won her tablet as part of a work promotion, her sales numbers were the highest in her region. Diane was along to drool at her friend’s new toy.
Showcasing the dictation feature, I spoke into the microphone, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
Tapping the screen, I highlighted the sentence, hit COPY and PASTE, replicating the line over and over again. “And this is how you recreate a scene from The Shining.”
I gave them the grand tour of their technology, from photo manipulation to location based notifications. Helping Claire setup her email, I learned she worked for Rodan + Fields selling ProActiv skincare products.
Looking out into the mall, Claire pointed to a kiosk I’d never noticed. Opening the YouTube app, she typed a search for an advertisement. She narrated, “A lot of men use ProActiv, see: Justin Bieber… P. Diddy…”
She tapped the screen, “Adam Levine uses it too.” Claire latched onto my bicep like a barnacle. “Oh, don’t you just love that song Moves Like Jagger?”
Claire continued as if I’d already answered. “So do I. That’s why I’m working for a trip across Europe. That’s the great thing about ProActiv, you can work as much or as little as you want. It gives you that freedom. You’re just selling something that helps people at the same time.”
She was giving an essay answer to a question I hadn’t asked. Her lips smiled, but her eyes did not. I couldn’t help but notice that she’d changed from the first person to the second.
Diane tagged in, “The reason we bring this up is there’s a lot of opportunities for men in the company. Men want the product, they know it works, but they want to buy it from other men. An extroverted person, like yourself, would be leading your own team in no time.
Looking at my reflection in a monitor, I counted the zits framing my forehead. Still, these women were telling me I could be the face of their acne treatment.
Tapping the tablet, I realized I was the only one still interested in it. “Before I send you on your way, let’s just review what we’ve done here…”
The pair exchanged a look. Their smiles flickered into frowns. Their upbeat tone took on an undercurrent of desperation. They asked for my phone number, for my email address, and the name I went by on FaceBook. They offered to take me to dinner. When I said I had plans, they offered to buy me lunch the next day.
For someone with an expensive cutting edged piece of technology, Claire acted like she was struggling to earn enough to eat.
These women weren’t interested in buying anything, they were scouting. They weren’t shoppers, they were headhunters. They took advantage of customer service specialists, because we were captive audiences. We had to be nice, we were taught not to use negative language.
These scouts went to retail establishments to push a sales pitch. Exuding positive vibes, they made themselves appear easy to work with. Smiling, they kept on with a steady stream of compliments. Cults refer to this technique as “flirty fishing,” or “love bombing.” Multi-level marketers call this “cold sponsoring.”
In America, we’re taught that hard work and perseverance always pay off, that with enough gumption anyone, no matter their circumstances, can pull themselves up by their own boot straps. We’re taught that if someone isn’t a success, it’s their fault for not putting in the effort.
This encounter with the ProActiv pushers shows that’s not always the case. Some systems limit upward mobility by design.
Multi-level marketers make very little off their sales. They give the biggest cut of their profits to whoever roped them into the project. That’s why they work so hard to recruit a team of sales people beneath them. Technically, this isn’t a pyramid scheme, but the cash flows in the same direction; to the people at the top.
This article isn’t going to focus on the quadrilateral shape of these scams, but the tactics used to sell them. When you’re exposed to these methods, you can spot them everywhere.
Working out of coffee shops, I’ve sat next to many multi level marketers, offering desperate people “exciting new careers.”
Shifting in their seat, the marketer says, “My personal philosophy is that you can have anything in life as long as you help other people get what they want.”
Exalting the infallibility of the system, marketers blame the ones who can’t make it on their own. If you’re a blogger, some of this might already sound familiar.
The myth of the self-made person casts a long shadow over the internet. After all, this is the new frontier, where anyone can launch a self-publishing career.
There’s no shortage of social media gurus, echoing the sentiments of multi-level marketers. They talk like we live in a meritocracy, where talent and ability are always rewarded, setting the expectation that a good blogger will find success early on. You’ll go in thinking your cream will rise the top, your smart observations will corner the marketplace of ideas, and your merits will ensure you the best seat.
Putting in your best work, you’ll assume that an audience will magically discover it. The first person who lays eyes on your prose will share it with everyone they know. Now you’re watching the clock, expecting to become an overnight sensation.
The hard-sellers will tell you that blogging is a full time job, that you should post daily, that no matter what you’re writing you should give it all your energy. If you build it they should come, and if they don’t, it’s something you’re doing wrong.
The gambler’s fallacy has you believing that your loosing streak will turn, so you stay the course, doing the exact same thing, waiting for it to come out different.
I watch a lot of people lose heart, when their following stops growing. I’ve written about how this manifests in Twitter tantrums. I’ve watched people commit social media suicide, telling off their readers for not appreciating them more.
This is what happens when success is the assumption, you refuse to learn coping skills for when it doesn’t come. The short sighted saddle up and ride, assuming no one will ever buy what they have to sell.
Bloggers don’t just make themselves, they’re made by their community. Word of mouth doesn’t spread over night. Going viral isn’t a given, it’s a rarity. If at first you don’t succeed, you’re doing it wrong. Mix up your approach, come at it again.
Next time you see an article giving you the hard sell, examine the salesperson. Don’t just look at the volume of their followers, but their engagement. What I’ve learned, is that bloggers who say building a following takes years, usually have one.
Many bloggers promote themselves as a resource to authors looking to promote their work, authors who go on to write articles on promotion of their own. Spectators become mentors to other spectators. The cycle goes on, while less of us are actually writing. For a prospective author, social media has value, but a tight manuscript should matter more.
Don’t give someone else bad directions just because it’s the path you’re on. Don’t give someone the hard-sell to justify your buyer’s remorse. There’s more than one way to get to the top of the mountain, don’t say that yours is the surest when you’re still at base camp.
We all glorify do it yourself promotion because that’s the method we’re using, but it’s not the only one worth choosing. We all want to feel like entrepreneurs, but we shouldn’t close the door on traditional publishing either.
Blogging isn’t a full time job if there’s no profits. If you’re not making anything, you can afford to take a step back to perfect your craft. A massive following doesn’t mean automatic sales. It can help, but only if you’ve written something worthy of word of mouth. Hard work doesn’t guarantee success, but good work gives you a better shot at it.
This rant is for anyone who took an English literature class course and still didn’t loose their passion for writing, for anyone who can read something without having to search for a hidden meaning, for anyone who thinks that symbolism should come secondary to a good story. Continue reading Clarity is Cool (Audio Blog) →
Part song, part spoken word anthem, the above piece is a mantra for getting writing done. It’s creative advice served with a side of synths, and a beat worth bumping to, a metaphor for writers trying to keep stressors from stalling their fiction.
Think of it like this: you’re a director charged with delivering a film on schedule. Your story is the production, your imagination is the location, and every aspect of your personality are the stage hands.
What happens when the morale shifts, the spirit of the set turns toxic, and the forces behind the camera get overtaken by doubt? You grab yourself a megaphone, and you own your production. When Inspiration goes on strike, its up to you to shut Fear, Anger, and all the other scabs out.
You’re filming on a closed set, kick Heartache off of it. You’re not about to go wasting film on Self Pity’s vision. Narrow your focus through the right lens. You’re not about to give a panic attack all the best lines. The name on the director’s chair is not “Depression.” It’s high time you took back your imagination. Continue reading Take Back Your Imagination (Audio Blog) →
The internet has changed the way I process information. Watching TV, I can’t help but sift through browser tabs at the same time. Playing video games, I listen to an audiobook about the information age’s diminishing attention span. Multitasking, I shuffle down the sidewalk, texting while cycling through internet radio stations.
This instant gratification for sensory stimulation has done a number on my brain. Last time the power went out, I stocked up on battery extenders for all my mobile devices. I couldn’t help but imagine all the casting announcements and movie spoilers I’d be missing.
Given my condition, it seems like the only way I could get any writing done, would be if I moved to a cabin, with no wifi or cellular reception. Like a doomsday prepper, burying busses underground, I’d need prolonged isolation before I could hear my internal monologue again. Stealing three extra walls, I’d have to convert my workspace into an actual cubicle, a hyperbaric chamber in the middle of the call center.
In his book On Writing, Stephen King says he writes behind a closed door. I can’t help but imagine a bank vault with wall mounted laser turrets, a retinal scanner, and a terminal to read his palm print. A fortress of focus, where he writes not on a computer, with its frenzy of features, but a quill and a piece of parchment. Whatever his method, it works for him.
If only I came of age in a time of such discipline, a time before the laundry list of notifications filled my screen, before I felt phantom vibrations when my phone was still plugged in, before I had social media pen pals asking me to share chain letters every morning.
I lack the self control to write behind the closed door of my apartment. There are too many toys vying for my attention.
The Playstation’s red light turns green. Spinning, the disc drive says, “You’ve sunk a hundred hours into Skyrim, it would be such a shame if you never finished the main campaign.”
The flatscreen whispers, “You’re a season behind on House of Cards. Nothing a little binge watching can’t fix.”
The free weights peak out from beneath the coffee table. “How do you expect to fight crime with those muscles? Better do a set of reps before you go out on patrol.”
My medley of monitors blink on. My anthology of albums roll out onto the floor. My brickwork of paperbacks topples over. Fearing cabin fever, I overstocked on distractions for last season’s hibernation. Now I have to go out just to get any writing done.
My laptop gives me the freedom to write anywhere, too bad the tool of my trade has so many other uses. This electronic enabler can clog my imagination. My solution for staving off all this thought pollution, is to dip my head in the smog, at least part way.
This is why I work in coffee houses. They give me the sensory stimulation I need to get back to writing.
People watching pacifies my desire to see talking heads on screen. Eavesdropping, occupies my eardrums. My rotating cast of friends distract me from the inherent loneliness of my calling.
These sights and sounds shake keys in front of my subconscious, giving my conscious mind the time it needs to get things done. A little background action makes the perfect filter for my distractions.
If I restrict my headspace, writing in a protective bubble where my thoughts are clean and clear, each word gets the formal treatment. I break up the flow, editing as I go. Crazy notions aren’t worthy of documentation. I get stuck more often, when I get stuck I turn to my distractions, and the cycle begins again.
If writing behind a closed door is like working in a tuxedo, public writing is like working in a Hawaiian shirt: it’s loose and casual, I don’t have to worry about getting mustard all over it, or the quality of everything I’m coming up with. With my doubt diluted, the stakes are lowered. With my inner critic diverted, I’m free to have fun. With my thirst for input quenched, my output flows forth.
There are drawbacks to writing in public. Not every distraction is within my control. I don’t get to choose who occupies my space. I lack the authority to fire coworkers, kick passengers off the bus, or be the bouncer at the bar.
I’ve written articles on how eavesdropping and people watching can help your writing, but that’s only if you have a choice in the subjects you’re observing.
Demanding to be watched, some people are too loud to leave eavesdropping as an option. Turns out, writers have hecklers same as any other performers.
I can’t tell you how many people have given me their best Stewie Griffin impressions, “How’s the novel coming? The one you’ve been working on for three years? Got a nice stack of papers? Got a compelling protagonist? Got an obstacle for him to overcome?–”
I used to have a lot of stormy weather friends, interrupting my process to vent. I could never tell if they wanted advice, reassurance, or acknowledgement. They were broken records who didn’t realize they were telling the same story over again.
Toxic people fill my headspace with negative energy. Tainting my writing, they fragment my sentences. With my thinking cap knocked backward, they make me feel like hanging it up for the day.
Recently, a social bully threw a plastic bottle at me for looking off in the middle of his story. I walked away without acknowledging him. I don’t believe in rewarding bad behavior, especially in adults. I have a zero tolerance policy for people who bring temper tantrums into my writing space.
When I first saw people Tweeting a call for social media silence so they could get some writing done, I thought they were insane. Why didn’t they just unplug and come back when they were ready? Now I get it. It’s like quitting smoking, tell everyone what you’re doing and they’ll hold you to it.
If one of your followers catches you in a chat, they’ll call you out. “Aren’t you supposed to be writing?”
Sometimes I need those checks and balances. Sometimes I try to spin one too many plates at the same time. Sometimes I need structure.
With too much thought pollution, I get nothing done. With too little stimulation, the same thing happens. For me, it’s all about balancing the smog levels in my brain.
A great book on how the Internet is literally changing the way we think is The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas G. Carr.
Writing friends, please share the methods you’ve devise for finding focus in the comments. Continue reading Dealing with Thought Pollution →