Common wisdom tells us the biggest damper to creativity is fear. For me, it's another F word: focus.
I wander. I daydream. I'm easily distracted by shiny objects. I stop writing poetry to doodle on a novel and then put that down to pick up scissors because I have an awesome idea for a collage but I really need to paint a canvas first and I think I'm going to paint it black to make the colors pop and that reminds me maybe I should bake brownies for dessert.
You get the idea. And, yes. Painting the canvas black can remind me of baking brownies. If that transition doesn't make sense to you, imagine how poor Tom feels when I start my conversations mid-thought and don't know why he isn't tracking.
Sigh.
So, this week, my focus is on focus! I'm going to divide the days into 45-minute chunks and do one thing for 45 minutes. At the designated minute, I'll make an executive decision: Continue what I'm doing or mindfully switch.
What's keeping you from being your most creative? Think about it. Decide how to fix it. Then, do it!
I'll let you know how my attempt goes. But first ... I was about to start a sock monkey when I started writing this post ...
4 comments:
Ah, yes, focus. I find it's harder the older I get. Maybe it's tied into memory issues? :) But hey, I want to come over and make a sock monkey with you!
Boy, do I get what you're saying!
Must. Stop. Checking. Email.
I am turning the speaker off on my computer. I lose focus with every "ping" of an incoming email.
Jan,
Great idea on focusing. I use a cube timer that sits on my desk. Your 45 minute time blocks are ambitious. I find that I can work at a high level writing, thinking, or creating for only about 30 minutes straight before I need a break to stretch my legs.
The timer keeps me on task and away from web browsing and phone answering...
Post a Comment