Focus

It's been a little more than month since I wrapped up my 2013 resolution to write every week for Five Minute Friday. And then the holidays came and went, and voila! Soon January will be half over without a single word written here in my little corner of the Internet.

 

I've been finding every reason, including blatant procrastination, to not write, which is completely ridiculous since I fully enjoy writing and know I need to do more of it, if only as a tool to process my thoughts and stories.

 

I don't make many resolutions because I don't like to set myself up for failure. Last year, I set two goals/resolutions and achieved them both. I learned that, for me, it's much healthier to set reasonable goals, versus more suffocating resolutions that allow no room for grace.(Exercise every day. Read the Bible in a year ... which really shouldn't mean breathlessly zipping through Revelation in the final hours of December 31.)

 

So this year, I've set a few more broad goals for myself. I've centered my goals around the word focus. Too often I allow myself to be distracted, to flit from one thing or another, to follow one rabbit trail on the Internet after another which leads me far away from my original intent and results in much wasted time. Focus. I need more of it.

 

One of the primary areas I'm going to be focusing on this year is my writing. There will still be the writing/editing/proofreading I do for income and on a volunteer basis, but there are also the stories I have inside that need to be written. Thus, my focus on writing this year will be a combination of professional and personal:

• Figure out what to do with blogging. Is this something I want to do more seriously or is it just here for whoever stumbles upon it? If I pursue it, I need to set up a better template with links and tags and other bells and whistles.
• Consider setting up a website. Should its focus be my professional writing services? Examples of essays? A combination? What is the cost/benefit ratio? I have no idea how to do this, so another new horizon to conquer. It's ironic to me to be a writer who doesn't have a website, but I've managed thus far without one. Perhaps it's time.
• Update my LinkedIn page. If nothing else, use this as a mini-website to promote professional services. A good start would be to log on and figure out how to even use the site beyond the basic name, education and occupation information. Oh, and a photo. That would be good. 
• Make a list of topics and write regularly. I have several essay ideas, so I need to make a list and start writing. I know if I write consistently, the procrastination will wane and I'll find my voice and improve my craft.
• Use fewer exclamation points. This is harder than you think (join me in trying to reduce their usage?). Originally, I set out to eliminate them from my writing completely, but that seemed like one of those suffocating, graceless type of goals and sometimes I think exuberance is warranted. But, progress: I believe you'll only find two exclamation points in this post.  
• Take at least one writing course. Woohoo! I can check this off my list. I signed up for a Writing for Magazines online course and it starts tomorrow. I don't know where it will lead, if anywhere, but it's a start. I've always wanted to be published in a magazine. Technically, I have been published in several local/regional publications, but perhaps there's a place for my words in other publications. We'll see how this course goes; I think the next one will be writing for the Internet.
• Write Pam's story. This is the hardest goal I've set for myself, but honestly, it's the most important one I have. I shared this goal with a friend and she affirmed me, but said she thinks it will be an emotional ordeal. She's absolutely right. Just talking about delving into Pam's story scares me and brings me to tears and causes fear of emotional pain to well up inside, but it is time. Now is the time. Every life is a story and I am so blessed to have been part of hers.

So here's to the 11.5 months left in 2014 and my intention to focus. Let's see where the journey goes.