The mountains of Quito, where I was distracting myself a few weeks ago Back when I worked in an office, I imagined that once I moved away from land and on to the boat that I’d have tons of time for writing and other things that kept getting filed in the “I’ll do that later” pile. It turns out that distraction is everywhere, especially in those places I tend to go. As I write this, I’m looking out at a beautiful beach with surf coming in to the grey sand shore. In some ways, it’s the most conducive environment for writing I’ve ever had, and in others it’s almost impossible to get anything done. It’s hard to sit down in a chair with a laptop when you could be out surfing, looking at ruins or otherwise hanging out with all the other merry-makers. My point is not to spark envy among all of you freezing in offices, but rather to point out that there’s no such thing as the “right” environment to get things done. The only way anything ever happens is if you make it a high enough priority and just make the time for it.