I’m usually pretty good about coming up with goals. I can shower you with goals. I can smother you with goals. I can write a sonata of goals.
But keeping my focus long enough to actually achieve goals? Well…let’s not get crazy here.
If I’m in the happy and unusual situation where I can maintain a stable environment, I can usually maintain focus too. Unfortunately I live in the real world. And the real world pulls me hither and yon and sometimes rips me asunder. Then I tend to wander from one urgent task to the next until a week later I look back and realize I’ve accomplished nothing as far as my goals are concerned.
On the other hand, even if I’m just lounging about at home, it’s hard to keep my eyes on the prize. There are just so many things to do, so many things demanding my attention, so many things that urgently need to be done. So very many distractions. (HelLO, Mr. Social Media!)
For me, it’s imperative that I have a routine if I’m going to maintain focus. Routine helps me to give my day structure, and structure helps me block out chunks of time to do the things I think are important, but are not necessarily urgent or, well, fun.
On the OTHER other hand, it’s not natural to maintain focus all the time, even with a routine. Heck, even a diamond-sharp mind like mine wears down when it’s constantly scratching on something. Not every moment of every day needs to be (or should be) sharply motivated. It’s okay and it’s important to take breaks and recharge the batteries.
My problem tends to be that when I lose my focus, it takes a long time to get it back.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that’s the lesson I still need to learn. I don’t need to learn that I need focus – I know that. I don’t even need to learn that it’s okay to be unfocused once in a while. That just happens.
Mostly I need to learn how to go back and forth between the two states in a sane and yet productive manner.
Or I could just spend the rest of my life surfing the Internet. Mr. Social Media would like that.
Instead of trying to be focused, why not trying to just focus? Take that passive voice phrase and make it active! In real life! Show, don’t tell!
I had lots of experience with this growing up. I have four siblings and I had to learn to deal with interruptions. It is the only way I am able to finish anything these days; my daughter can interrupt me at will, and when she’s on her merry way, I can plunge back into the story.
On the other hand, I only average about 2000 words a week because of all the demands on my time. Social media? I probably am not spending ENOUGH time on it. But you gotta make choices.
And now, I shall go FOCUS on my WIP. 🙂
@Tia Nevitt: Yeah, this is still a work in progress for me! LOL Perhaps the issue isn’t so much “focus” as “realizing what I want to do is important too”. 🙂