Especially after an extra-long weekend, I need the reminder:
Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
- Teddy Roosevelt
With the passing of Thanksgiving, it’s now time to begin decorating the house for Christmas. I’m only mostly joking with the reference in the title. I do love Christmas decorations. I’m no Clark Griswold, but it’s more because I can’t justify the budget than that I think he’s nuts. I love a tastefully decorated house only a little more than I love a crazy, over-the-top, covered-in-lights type house.
Strike that. I think it’s actually so bad that I’m not sure I can tell the difference between tasteful and over-the-top.
It’s a good thing I married well, or my neighbors might be getting ready to experience this:
It’s a good day to be thankful. Unless, you know, you’re a turkey. In which case, not such a great day. I’m spending the day surrounded by my family, enjoying the grace God delivers to us through each other.
I don’t claim to have it all figured out. I don’t understand the why behind it. But I am grateful for the ways God has chosen to bless me: a wife who loves me, some of the sweetest kids around, in-laws that are fun to be with, a comfortable house (that as I write this smells like Turkey), and more goodness and abundance than I can possibly detail.
Of course, I also get two Thanksgivings every year, so I guess you could say I’m doubly blessed. Happy thanksgiving everyone!
With tongue in cheek and much thanks to my recent writing soundtrack, SNL – the 1990s:
I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.
- Stuart Smalley (played by Al Franken, who is now a senator)
Way behind on writing blog posts… so for today, I’m taking advantage of the “it’s the internet, use a cat” principle. Be distracted.
Yep… signs of life. I’m still here. http://amplify.com/u/bxndt
My son comes up with creative ways to get his point across. One of my recent favorites is the word “Terrible.” As in,
“Dad, I’m terrible afraid my bandaid is going to fall off.” or
“Mom, it’s terrible hard for me to do that.”
He’s got a good point. Terrible is a good modifier. He’s using it like very, which is almost accurate. It’s certainly not a complete understanding, but he’s really pretty close. And he only uses it to communicate the most dreadful of circumstances. (The bandaid, after all, had Diego on it. Losing the bandaid would’ve been… well, terrible.)
There’s probably a lesson here for writers — one day, my little guy will be told stories about how he used to use terrible incorrectly. And he’ll be able to use it right. He’ll be shocked that he ever couldn’t use it right. Practice makes perfect. It works for writers too. Keep on writing. Always be learning. One day, you’ll be surprised at the mistakes you used to make.
I’m starting to think that this is the challenge of this particular period of history. We are simply inundated with different ways to be overwhelmed with content. I say that as I write this while listening to a gadget podcast. And worry about the email notification in my dock that says I have 33 new emails since 9:30pm last night. And watch my facebook stream in another window.
I wonder, though, how much of the issue is the changing environment? How much of it might be our inability to say no to ourselves? Sure, it’s easier to envision focus in a world without 2 phones (and three voice mail systems) on my desk, combined with 2 email accounts, 3 video capable devices, (etc., etc.,). But, it’s not like there weren’t still distractions. Different? Sure. But maybe the bigger deal is the ability to say, “No, that’s not a good idea,” or, “No, that won’t create an effective work environment.”
In fact, now that I think about it, that’s probably always been the difference between people who get things done and people who don’t… the ability to say no to things that detract from effectiveness.
I’d rather keep on blaming distraction on my gadgets and the white-noise they create, though.
Caffeine that is. At least, in my case. Caffeine is my favorite coping mechanism. I don’t think I was aware of how true it was until I started working with a new employee and realized how often I said, “I’m going to go fill my coffee cup and then we’ll…” It’s like my reset button, or something.
Once I noticed it, I realized that it tends to happen even more often in the midst of a creative task. It’s like I subconsciously reach the point of overload, and then I reset. I’m usually ready to roll once I get back to my desk.
What’s your coping mechanism? Or, am I just crazy?
Happy new year! We’ve made it through the holidays. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. Doubtful, but I still hope so. We had a blast around the Mackay household. Lots of playing games, building with new blocks, making things with playdough. And not a lot of Create!-ing going on. In fact, I encountered what may be one of the biggest roadblocks to creation in existence in a little iphone game called Angry Birds. It’s addictive. It’s silly. It’s fun. It keeps me from creating.
It’s helped me to realize that the environment in which I attempt to create is perhaps not as important as I thought. The reality is that in any environment, I’d find distractions. Creating has far more to do with putting down those distractions consciously and picking up your tool of choice. Lately mine has been a pen or a laptop, yours might be a hammer and a saw or a needle and thread.
In spite of the challenges, so far I’ve succeeded in at least pushing myself towards more creation. I’m not to the point of breaking-even on my consumption v creation challenge, but that’s the goal. I’d like to be creating with at least as much (if not more) time as I use consuming.
I’ll keep you posted.
