Prolonged Focus

The Back Story

It was a Sunday afternoon.  The day was not unlike most Sunday afternoons for this Dad and CEO.  I had been woken up early by one of my youngest two boys.  Breakfast included coffee and a Lean1 protein shake.  The dog was walked.  A shower was taken.  The boys even had time for a swim before church.  Church was wonderful.  The sermon was fantastic and the storytelling was great.  We left out of there on a high.

Lunch went really well.  We ate at a local bar and grill (Tanner’s).  I had the chicken strips, fries, and two sides of gravy.  This combination is a very common occurrence for my meals.

Where Things Get Interesting

So then I get home.  I change out of my church clothes and change into my clothes for working around the house.  Those same clothes will double as my softball uniform when my softball games come around later in the evening.  All of this is fine and good.

My youngest son headed to bed for a nap.  He was (not) super excited to take his nap, but he took one anyway.  So this left a gap.

What in the world should I do with the gap?  My other son was busy with some “cool down” time watching T.V. My wife cracked open her Bible study and sat down for some time with God, His book, and a workbook.  That just left me.  Perfect.  I had two options.

Option 1

I am lumping one huge group into Option 1.  That option, Option 1, was to get something done around the house.  I have a wood pile that needs to be cut, hauled off, and burned.  I have a garage that needs to be cleaned.  I have a garage door that needs to be repaired.  I have a lock to fix.  I have a salt water purifier for my pool that needs to be addressed.  I have… well, you get the picture.  It’s much better just to call all of that Option 1.

Option 2

Option 2 was simply to take the time to sit down and write.  You should have seen a blog post from last week that said that writing is difficult.  If you didn’t, then you should apologize and read it right now.  Well, in that post I noted that I am working on a book.  My goal is to write 500 simple words a day.  How hard can that be?  Surely it can’t take that much effort.  Surely I won’t procrastinate on that.  It is especially likely to happen since I have no real economic reason for it, no due date, no assignment that is driving me forward, or really any reason to complete it other than I want to do it.  Side note: That is often all it takes.  Know what I mean?

So I decide to take Option 2.  I make a coffee, a mushroom coffee, and I sit down to write.  Off I go with words spilling out everywhere.  They, as usual, seemly run all over the place feeling like the literary equivalent of a spilled coffee.  Most of the words touch, but they are really just everywhere and some of them are dripping off of the counter and hitting the floor.

The Rub

Here is today’s rub.  Obviously the difficulty in writing, for me, is ever present.  Today’s issue is a wandering mind and a strong internal desire to keep checking my word count.  The word count then makes me feel like I’ve done enough.  The sense of accomplishment is there, but so is the available time.  Simply, I still have quite a bit more time I can use to write.

And that’s what brings us to the title of this post, “Prolonged Focus”.  This has always felt like the specialty of others, but not of myself.  I have looked at prolonged focus.  I have lifted it off of the shelf and have admired it for its brilliance and its beauty and the way it sparkles in the light.  Then it feels like someone gently taps me on the shoulder and says “Jason, you need to put that back.  That’s not yours.”  Then I say “But I want that.  I really like it.”  The voice then says softly, “I’m sure you would, but that’s not for you.”

It’s about that time that I slide the focus back on the shelf, give it one last look, and then head off down the aisle where all the other little easily distracted people are playing.  I say to myself that I will get some of that some day.  I will save up.  I will make it happen.  I know today is not the day, but that day will come and I will love it and treasure it as my own.

For those of you out there with this ability, maybe you can teach the rest of us the secret.  Maybe you don’t feel like it and you just want to keep your toys to yourself.  Not nice, but I get it.  If you are so kind as to just let me borrow it, I promise I will bring it back.  I just want to use it for a little while.  I won’t overdo it.  I promise.

So what now?

Well obviously Option 2 has morphed into writing this blog post, not my book.  Option 1 is starting to look like the obvious choice, but then again, there’s this whole issue of focus.