Last week my husband was gone to a conference (the first time we’ve been separated overnight since we were married 4 1/2 years ago!). While he was gone, Toby and I did ok until Wednesday, when we both woke up with runny noses. Oh yes, and I had a lovely sinus headache.
All my plans–keeping up with the housework, exercising, and getting extra writing done since Justin wasn’t home–were dashed. For the next couple of days Toby and I lazed around, ate cheese sticks, fruit, and veggies for almost every meal, and watched TV. A couple of days after Justin got home, I started feeling better and noticed just how messy the house had gotten. How had this happened in just a few days?
Then I remembered writing. And how far behind I was on my get-done-before-Realm-Makers list. So I dove in. The problem was, I quickly became frustrated because I had an inability to stay steady on one project. Instead, I bounced around like a toddler on caffeine. I had three different windows up on the computer, trying to simultaneously rewrite one story, edit another, and plot another.
I tend to have multiple projects going–usually a 1-draft or rewrite project alongside an editing project–and try to do a little on each one every day, but I have never before bounced from one project to the other because I couldn’t focus. Well, until last week, that it.
Over the weekend, I had to stop, take a deep breath, and remind myself that I couldn’t do everything all at the same time. One thing at a time. Head down, barrel through until you’re done. I feel as if I should already know this lesson. A couple of weeks ago, I barreled through a friend’s notes and my personal notes on Forged Steel in just three days. I’ve never done any sort of editing that fast before, but I know it was because I kept my focus tight.
Maybe I need to write that on a Post-It note and stick it on my monitor. FOCUS. ONE THING AT A TIME.
Do you have every problems with too much skipping back and forth between projects?
Focus is one of my biggest problems, too. Paying work, church work, writing…and all of it calling to be done right now!
Funny thing is, I’m teaching a seminar on time management tomorrow, and reviewing and updating my lecture notes is reminding me just how much I’ve let all these principles slip. It’s a constant vigil…
[…] Last week my husband was gone to a conference (the first time we’ve been separated overnight since we were married 4 1/2 years ago!). While he was gone, Toby and I did ok until Wednesday, when we both woke up with runny noses. Oh yes, and I had a lovely sinus headache… READ MORE HERE. […]
THREE windows open? Sheesh. I have 11, and 10 tabs in my browser, and that isn’t at all above average… :P