Part of my struggle as a writer
is that I’m easily distracted by ideas.
It’s because of that attention problem that I have so many irons in the
fire, or in my case stories in the binder.
It has been my battle for years.
I have several novels halfway finished as a first draft and the notes to
complete them, but another idea grabs my attention and I immediately purchase
another notebook, scribbling away even before I have any background
completed. The girls believe this is
merely my way of buying more writing supplies.
However, it truly becomes my butterfly that keeps me from finishing the
garden.
Last year, I was able to start to
turn it around and focus more. I made
some decisions and commitments to myself and others that helped keep me on
track and, even with Life tossing in a few speed bumps here and there in an
attempt to slow me down, I was able to remain fixated on my goal. I still become distracted once in awhile, but
I’m learning gimmicks and tricks to help me keep my eyes on the finish
line. Part of that was learning two
important things. The first is what I
need to be focusing on in order to make my dreams a reality. The second is knowing what to turn a blind
eye toward so as not to lose that focus.
I have always made lists. Sometimes I would even look at what I put on
them. In the latter part of last year, I
began making better use of my lists and keeping them where I would always see
them. Post-it Notes have always been my
friend, but this year they became a partner.
I have them stuck everywhere with lists of projects and projects within
projects, To Do lists and further goals.
My word count goes on another to later be recorded in my journal and a
spreadsheet helps me keep track of my progress.
All of this helps me with my goals and pushes me to strive for better
numbers and more words.
My calendar has also become a
partner, helping me keep track of my time, so that I can make the most of every
minute. In order to achieve not only my
writing goals, but my family and financial ambitions, as well, I need to be
able to see my time, to schedule the lesser things around the more
important. I need to be able to say, “No,”
to those things that are distractions to my goals instead of stepping stones to
reaching them. It also needs to be where
I can’t ignore it, placed somewhere prominent.
I look at it daily as I set my To Do list and I don’t commit to anything
else without first seeing what my Calendar Assistant says.
This process works better if you
know what things you need to ignore in order to remain focused. If you’re trying to achieve a financial goal,
you need to first see where the money is going.
Then, you may need to say no to dinner out with friends in order to make
that vital purchase. It’s the same with
my writing. Coffee with a friend sounds
great, but when I need to be parked on my back porch working on my revisions;
it goes from a good thing to a butterfly drawing my attention away from the
garden I need to be weeding.
I'm the first to say that sometimes those butterflies are
necessary in order to keep us from getting burnt out. If all we ever do with our money is pay
bills, we will soon grow bitter at our jobs, never seeing any real reward, just
survival. If all we ever do is work
without ever taking time to enjoy ourselves with friends, we will grow to
despise life. However, the impulses need
to be limited if you are ever going to reach your dreams. Sacrifice comes before reward, work before
play. I’ve had to turn down some great
projects in order to focus on Reaping the
Harvest. It’s because I did that
last year that I will be able to assist in some this year. Some opportunities may be forever lost, but
at the time they had to be on my Ignore List to reach my goals. It’s a matter of choosing the best over the
good. It may sadden you to miss out on
some things, but the prize at the end is well worth it, and it’s that prize
that you truly want.
Many moons ago, I was a paper
carrier. The hour of the night sucked,
but the solitude and quiet was perfect for the germination of creative
ideas. When I first began, the end of my
route was a big stretch of A1A on the beach with hundred of dead end roads
leading between the beach and the river.
I had to go up and down each street tossing those papers while dodging
the annoying wild rabbits that loved jumping in front of my car on suicide
runs. If I drove from the beginning of
that stretch of highway to the end of my route, ignoring the roads I was
supposed to take, it took me twenty-five minutes. However, because I took each of those small
lanes I wound up being on that stretch for two hours.
Your Ignore List is the same as
those dead end streets. They are only
delaying you from reaching your dream at the end. For me at the time, it was my bed and sweet
slumber. Impulse buys are the
equivalent. They delay you; some may
even derail you, from reaching your goals.
Butterflies are pretty. Distractions are quite often fun. Yet, to reach your goal, stay focused and
then once there, you will have all the time in the world to sit back and enjoy
the butterflies as they flutter in the garden you worked so hard to build.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR from So. Oregon!! I sure know what you mean about being distracted when coming up with new idea's!! Everyone keeps asking ME if I started a 2nd Book yet!??..I say NO!....not really...just SO much pressure and just don't know where to Start!!..lol..Catherine
ReplyDeleteI always reply..Yes, and a third, and a fourth..now if I could finish one...lol. Thanks for visiting and commenting, Catherine! Good luck in your writing!
DeleteHi Robbie, I'm glad to know distractions make their way into others lives as well as mine. Mine are like pixies, tempting me to come flitter away in the meadow under the waning moon where I shall be lost forever in faerie music. Little did they know I was the Fae queen in disguise! I turned frittering into work! haha. Seriously, thank you for your insights. Some will remain to do me good. ~Sherry
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sherry, and for the imagery. Well done. May we both be able to turn our distractions into great creative works.
DeleteExcellent post Robbie Cox. I too suffer from the never-ending distractions. Great tips here for focusing one's energies & great metaphor of the butterfly for a way of understanding this issue. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Theodore! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for visiting.
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