There is an article by Benedict Carey published in the NYTimes on study habits, "Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits," which cited research on study locations that runs counter to traditional thought: studying in different locations can be good. We make subconscious connections with our environment, helping us think through the same problems in different ways.
I assume the same research findings might apply to writing. Perhaps use novel locations for free writing, which I already practice when I write more experimental blog entries. For now, I am trying to keep consistent hours at the desk in my home. But I'll try to keep track of any variations in my writing when I write in coffee shops, in other people's houses, at the library, in the outdoors, etc. I'll try to supply updates here.
Oct. 6 - So far: writing at coffee shops presents a host of distractions & writing in the morning may not be any more productive but it leaves me in a better mood the rest of the day.
Oct. 12 - blogging offers a site to digress a bit more than I feel is appropriate in Microsoft Word. Even creating a "swimming" doc of loose ideas are better described through my blogs. However, blogging does border on rabbit holing, taking long tangential breaks.
