D W Stratton

Focus: a central point, as of attraction, attention or activity.

Picture of me this week

What is the focus of my life? I believe that would be a difficult, or even impossible, question for anyone to answer. We each have many points that have our attraction, attention or activity. I am a father, a husband, a son, a brother, an uncle, a cousin and nephew. Each of those aspects has its own responsibilities and requirements. Then there are the work related focuses. I am a project manager, a coworker, a subordinate, a contributor, an activist, a visionary and a catalyst. In my personal life, I am a woodworker, a reader, a musician, a writer, a gardener (of sorts), a homeowner, a repairman, a gamer, an advocate, a friend and a believer, just to name a few.

How do we do it?  No wonder I am tired and often feeling like I am not getting very much accomplished. I know I often feel this way, especially when my areas of focus conflict. I want to be successful in all these areas, but there are only 24 hours in a day. Am I alone in these feelings? Apparently not.

A friend of mine started a blog this week. Apparently, she is feeling it, too. Life is busy. We keep adding more and more things. As I was thinking about this over the last couple days, wondering what is the solution. Is running faster the solution? Is eliminating roles the answer? Is it better to do one or two really well or a bunch mediocre? Am I doomed to just running around all the time? Am I just spinning plates or actually keeping all the balls in the air?

Help came, as it often does, in Tara’s blog post. She has an uncanny ability to post what I need, just when I need it. Tara homes in on the answer: Focus. When I am being a Dad, be a Dad. When I am a wood worker, be a wood worker. I have a tendency to work in one area of focus and beat myself up because I am thinking about another. If I would just focus on the moment and what I am doing, I could finish faster, be more satisfied and be able to move on to the next more quickly.

The last couple days I have been making a conscious effort to be who I am at the moment and not even think about the other. I have found myself dropping into flow for the first time in weeks. It is wonderful. I have been sprinting so hard in so many directions for so long, I had let myself forget how to do it.

My advice for today is to focus on just being yourself, whatever the focus is at that moment. The dishes will be there when your done. So will the report that is due on Friday and the car that needs an oil change. Take things one at a time and focus on it until it is done and give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it!