Blogging is a lot of work, and it’s a pleasure too. I’m including my pictures, now, every chance I get. I may have to start shopping on Flickr or other image vendor site. More than likely though, it’ll finally push me to start to plan my photography shoots—to cover my posting needs. Lately, a bigger issue is my generally flagging FOCUS.
Focus Can be Hard Work
Although writing for my blogs is satisfying, several things must be present for me to generate accpetable posts. One of the most important for me is FOCUS. It comes to mind lately because I’ve been a bit distracted. To regain my focus, it’s important to know what’s blurring my vision.
Even for something that I enjoy, there are times when I’m just not fully present with it. In blogging everything starts to feel the same and there’s no newness to what I’m writing. It’s like smelling perfume; after you smell 4 I think, they all smell the same. And who wants posts that offer nothing new?
4 Things that Blur My Focus
- There are times when I don’t have a clear purpose or point for my post. I have trouble writing just to be writing, when it comes to posting.
- Getting ahead of myself is another problem I sometimes run into. I want to put everything out there in one epic post. Clearly, that’s not the best choice to make.
- When I allow intrusions of random thoughts and concerns to intrude on my writing sessions, I can lose track in mid-thought.
- I have trouble sleeping right now, because I have so many things on my mind to get done. The lack of sleep can make me a little fuzzy, which defeats the reason I’m awake. Often times it makes the other reasons worse, if it doesn’t precipitate them.
If I stop blogging tomorrow, I will appreciate the experience forever. Right now I’m staying awake to write and there’s no way that I need to be awake right now. There’s also no way that I’m going to press the publish button tonight because I know that what’s here may scare me when I’m fully alert. I know who’s in charge, but still I fight.
In a post, Problogger author Darren Rowse asked his readers how long they take to write a post. I saw answers that ranged from 10 minutes to days. I fall in there, as another responder said, depending on my focus. Lately, I’m near the slower publishing times.
Being Well-Rested can Fix Focus
I want to be one of the faster blog writers. Things that hang me up are all surmountable. I have a few tactics that I use to get the job done. Some of the things that help me are meditation and journal writing. Gratitude is a key salve in the process of sharpening my focus. These all help me to calm my thoughts. And the main thing that I do, before anything, is to rest more.
You need more than sleep. Usually, when I get blurred it’s because I’ve stopped resting, too. A rested mind is one that can easily clear thoughts. The ability to quiet your mind is how you prepare sleep. Sometimes, a simple word I use before I go to bed is “tomorrow,” to dismiss my thoughts so that I can sleep.
I have a schedule, but many times I want to go longer. When I notice my focus is not so sharp, I rely on discipline to stop when I’m scheduled and rest. In my resting times I do different things to clear my head to be rejuvenated.
So, why do all this for blogging? Really, I won’t be declared a master blog writer this week. But I work at it just the same because I know that improvement comes with effort over time. And as long as I can take joy in and appreciate what I’m doing, it’s worth my effort to see it through.
What do you do to regain your focus? How do you know when you’ve lost it? If any of this sounds familiar to you, please share your experiences.
