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Ten minutes from a phone 

After my talk at WordCamp US on publishing in 10 minutes per day, an attendee approached me and said, “I realized during your talk that I do most of the things you spoke about. But I do them on my phone while I’m rocking my baby, after she’s gone to sleep and I have those few minutes of quiet.”

I loved that he sneaks in writing time in the best way he can fit it into his life: with his sleeping baby in his arms, on a phone because that’s the way he can make it work.

He inspired me. I am writing this on my phone, from the bleachers at the pool on a Friday night while our daughter’s swim team practices below.

I’ve never written like this before. My husband would tease me because I’m a single-finger texter, and I’m super slow. Typing this is no different. It pains him to watch me type on a phone, much the same way watching someone hunt and peck on a keyboard pains me. But he’s not here, so I can type slowly and painfully.

It’s funny being stripped down like this, to only using the WordPress app on the phone. It’s making me realize how distractable I am on a laptop. In the paragraph above, I would have searched the thesaurus for a synonym for “pain” so I wouldn’t repeat the word so many times. But that’s too much trouble on a phone, switching apps and whatnot, so all the pains stay.

This may not be the most brilliant thing I’ve ever written, but I guess it’s always good to try something new. Krista Stevens has written before that the best camera is the one you have with you. We are moving into an era where I think we can say the same thing about blogging tools.

12 thoughts on “Ten minutes from a phone ”

  1. I often “think” about writing a post from my phone, just like I am doing now with this comment. I agree with you, would prevent the “careful” selection of words, to just type and go. Have to do a bit of practice to see how one would flow! Thank you for your post! It has encouraged me to give it a try:)

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  5. Good for you for giving it a try, and this post is certainly well written. Personally, while I absolutely agree about the best camera being the one in your pocket, I resist using mobile for blogging. Perhaps it is a a generation thing. For me, blogging is about writing. Writing requires a bit of reflection, which means taking a step back. It is one thing to capture a Facebook post or a Tweet on a phone (and I even find that challenging!) but WordPress, to me, is a platform for more thoughtful shares. Also, as a reader I become irritated when people post too often for posting’s sake, and don’t differentiate blogging from other social media. For what it is worth!

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  6. I frequently read and comment on other people’s blogs on my phone. As far as writing and publishing from my phone, I used to do that as my almost-always method until Blogging101 showed me many ways to improve my posts and some of those ways are cumbersome on the phone, regardless of which app I use. So, now, I most often do first drafts on my phone and come back later to polish that before publishing ; or I use one of the apps to post ideas and prompts for future articles as drafts so I don’t have to worry about losing the thoughts or where I may be when the urge hits to write that thought up.

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    1. Oh, that’s a great idea to write drafts on your phone! I jot notes in Simplenote and then copy and paste into my WordPress desktop app when I’m back at my keyboard. It didn’t occur to me to type my draft directly into the WordPress app on my phone. Duh. Thanks, Tim!

      Also, regarding what you said about some things being cumbersome on the phone, I absolutely agree. I wanted to link Cheri’s name in the post to her writings about the best camera being the one you have with you, but having to search for the article on my phone, then find the URL, then link it — I felt too lazy for that. Maybe I should do it now that I’m at my keyboard 😉

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  9. I am the world’s worse blogger. I blog in spurts and lack consistency, but almost all of my posts have been made from my phone. I find a certain intimacy in blogging from my smartphone. Perhaps this is all due to some deep-seeded paranoia, but I find that people are less likely to let their gaze drift to your screen when you’re on the phone, verses when you’re on a computer, or even a tablet.

    It may be the larger screen or the clicking of the keys which draws their attention. I’m not sure. Whatever the reason, it feels almost violating to me. Writing is intimate, a private affair. I need to be allowed to sink into the warm safety of my thoughts and not feel accosted.

    I am sure this has something to do with my ex-husband reading my journal (as well as my blog posts, my homework, and my emails) when I was married, but I think it is also simpler than that. Although we know our blog posts are meant to be read, the pre-published work is ours. It’s a matter of ownership, a sacred journey, a therapeutic venture. It should be private unless you ask for help or input. In using my phone, I find solitude in my work at times that I could not find it any other way.

    The population is growing but Earth isn’t getting any bigger. We have less and less privacy and fewer places to find it. If I can’t be left alone to do my writing (which I much prefer), at the very least, I can use a device that detours those that might inadvertently violate the intimacy of my creative process.

    I don’t own a desktop computer and my laptop runs WP at the speed of refrigerated honey. I received a tablet for Christmas and almost immediately purchased a keyboard case for it. My hope is the tablet will replace my laptop for most functions, but I will likely still use my phone from time to time for blog posts. People are simply less inclined to look over your shoulder at your phone screen than they are a less personal device, like a computer.

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  10. Good food for thought. I’ve always wanted to write more from my phone – did it once and even included a picture – but it felt so tedious and didn’t offer me the enough time to edit (which is maybe a good thing!). I’m not saying I won’t ever try it again, but I am way more effective from my home computer where I have more space to hash out my thoughts. I need more than one screen open,too, such as a Thesaurus like you.

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