Writing: what distracts you

For the last week, our household has been upside down because we have the builders in.

Now before I go on I must say that they have been great; arriving on time, working hard and even better clearing up after themselves. But isn't it odd how the slightest alteration of our routine puts us out?

And this isn't a minor alteration - we're having our kitchen re furbished. So we have been camping out and the contents of our original kitchen are distributed around the house.

On one level it's a reminder not to take anything for granted because one day we had no power all day and floorboards up and for a short time no water.

On another level it's an object lesson in focus and concentration. That's because my work didn't stop and since I work at home, then the normal 'office' conventions didn't apply. I found myself instead working in short, sharp bursts of activity.

The odd thing is that I rather enjoyed the challenge. I didn't have the luxury of taking my time so I powered through work that I might have spread out far longer in normal conditions.

Just as in office time management, the experts always say that a large percentage of working time is not effective, so my office suddenly because super efficient.

Made me feel smug at the end of the day how much I had achieved 'against the odds'.

Human nature loves a challenge doesn't it. Now my challenge is when we finally see the back of the workmen, how can I capitalise on that increased efficiency?