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Hello Best Life, Raelyn Barclay, Richard St. John, Ted Talks, Therese Walsh, time management, videos, Writer Unboxed
NOUN: 1) the center of interest or activity, 2) the state or quality of having or producing clear visual definition.
VERB: 1) (of a person or their eyes) adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly, 2) pay particular attention to.
I’m drawn to the first definition for the noun and the second for the verb. (Which is not to say the other two definitions aren’t equally compelling.) How about you?
My time study got me thinking – How can I be more productive? Or perhaps, be more mindful is the better way to think of it.
Don’t multitask. Multitasking is inefficient and the enemy of mindfulness. Our brains are better suited to focus on one thing at a time. Focusing on multiple tasks means we’re probably doing one or more of them in a mindless way—on autopilot.
~from Lindsay’s post on Mindfulness
It all seems to come down to focus. Focus reminded me of Richard St. John.
My boss travels to conferences frequently. One of the perks, if you will, of my job is that my boss often shares videos of the keynote speakers. One such featured was Richard St. John.
Ah-mazing speaker.
Of course, we were watching with a business mindset. However, as I listened I could not help but think about how his points apply to other areas. How I needed to implement them, somehow, in my life.
Are you passionate about what you’re doing? In other words, would you still do what you’re doing even if you weren’t getting paid?
I suspect most writers would answer with a resounding, “yes!” (He even used an example of AUTHORS serving READERS at one point.)
My ah-ha moment came when he mentioned focus and how you should focus on one thing and work to be great at it.
He talked about how you could have success or you could have balance (family, etc.) but not both at the same time. He used the founders of Google as an example. These two men worked hard, focusing only on getting their business up and running and successful. Then, they took time off to focus on family…balance.
This is similar material:
Then I read this Monotasking post, which supports St. John’s (and Lindsay’s) point.
So, how can I be focused and still meet the many and varied needs of my life?
Yeah, loaded question isn’t it?
I’ve been mulling it around in the ol’ gray matter for weeks now. I created a template and it has helped with the familial obligations. Getting the writing, social media, blog writing and visiting, and all those things I hoped in my quest for writing to be more career than hobby…not so much.
Obviously, I still don’t have an answer. At least not one that resonates with me.
Thanks for letting me ramble.
Interesting. I saw someone on tv say the same thing about multi tasking. Greg and I discussed it and we think we must have a different definition of multi tasking than the expert.
For example, if I’ve painted a room, before I put my supplies away, I let it sit. I go off and do something else, tend animals, do some research on a cover, start dinner–anything that will take me away for a couple of hours.
Then I come back to check my painted (dry) walls to see if I missed anything. If I did, I touch up, if not, I put away my supplies.
My day is kind of like a jigsaw puzzle. I try to fill my waking hours with as many activities (or chores) as I can in an 18 hour day. Where they best fit in is my real goal to be the most efficient.
I give every task my full attention. (I can’t do otherwise because I’m so picky.) When I’m at a stopping point, or finished, I do the next thing on my list.
I wouldn’t call that multitasking either. That’s being productive 🙂
Multitasking to me is more along the lines of talking on the phone about one thing, answering questions about another, and maybe working on something else. Something I do a lot at work.
A friend and I were talking about the Pomodoro method the other day. Great system if you aren’t likely to be interrupted (thus having to start the 25 minutes over). However, my life is one interruption after another…so I’m constantly putting out fires. Not real productive.
Once upon a time, I was like you, my friend. She got lost somewhere around the third wee beastie, LOL
Thanks for stopping by Maria.