Prioritizing

“The quieter you become the more you are able to hear.” Rumi

Yup, this here is another blog post from none other than, ME. Aren’t you all so lucky!

I have been taking measures to change my online presence and that means prioritizing my time on the web. As you’ve read since the beginning of this month, I’ve been writing blog posts and enjoying writing again in general. So what does that have to do with cutting out certain things on the web?

Well allow me to tell you. First of all, I’m in no popularity contest. The fevered race to be all for everyone while selling myself short. I am me, being a writer, first and foremost. As a child I was never popular or had many friends and maybe that is why I began writing because all my friends were in my head just waiting to be ‘fleshed out’ in the written word.

I joined facebook because it touted, ‘Get connected with your friends from school’. “Wow!” I thought, “I wonder how everyone is doing?” This is to show you how popular I am, not one friend from school has EVER looked me up! So, I decided to ‘friend request’ people from my writing classes. Heck, even most of them don’t want to be seen knowing me.

Most accepted my friend request, only to delete me further down the line. After my attack a few years ago, I HAD to delete a few, to keep my sanity! I know I know, I’m not that sane anyway, but what little I had/have, I want to keep! So the second goal on my agenda is prioritizing whom and who isn’t a true friend, and well look around, their all lining up, don’t ya see?

What was the first goal on my agenda, you might ask? My first goal was getting back to writing. I felt it was sleeping for quite awhile and recently has been awakened with a new passion. But with the passion, along comes obstacles that were around before the break and by prioritizing, I’m hoping to keep the block out of my way so I can accomplish all my goals I’ve set for myself.

Goal #1 – Get back to writing.

Goal #2 – KNOW who your TRUE friends are.

Goal # 3 – Cut the social network time OFF!

Goal # 4 – Prioritize the web usage. Not for fun and popularity contests, for WORK! Writing!

Goal # 5 – This is the biggy!!! Write and submit! Yes, I said submit!!!

It looks to me like I’m on a roll. I’m accomplishing my goals by setting priorities. You do know that by prioritizing that goals are easier to achieve, right? Take me for example, I’m accomplishing four of the goals already, in motion, and I’m improving because of it. Now to tackle number five, and I’m good to go!!!

Godspeed!

NOTE: No PIC? Because blogger is not allowing me to post pics at this time.  No one else is having a problem, but on TWO computers here at home? Nothing. So we’ll see if we can find the bug causing this. Not a tech savvy woman…so wish me luck!

Prioritizing!

If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one. ~Cavett Robert
***

Yesterday’s procrastination post went over real well. I think I hit the nail on the head with what writer’s fear more than writer’s block, more than rejection, MORE than their mother saying, “I told you so!” and that is the Procrastination Bug.

It creeps up on you too, in an unsuspecting manner, like the tick I found on my leg this morning. It clung to my leg like I was a Thanksgiving feast. That’s what the procrastination bug does, finds unsuspecting victims and climbs aboard but once it bites you and has you under its control, you need the next step there is in fighting it and possibly finding a cure for the disease or at least a solution to help you muster through.

Okay, I’ll tell you since you twisted my arm. It is called PRIORITIZING! This is the bug that you WANT to bite you. I’ll call it a ‘friendly leech’ that’ll suck the procrastination venom right out of you and leak the prioritizing bug right into your veins directly!

Let’s see if I can nail this one in five steps:

1. The number one thing that you are going to put into action to deter Procrastination Bug, is SILENCE!
You are going to silence the outside world and stir your inner world into action. I live on a farm in the middle of basically nowhere so silence comes pretty easy. But I’m not just referring to noises that the OUTSIDE world brings in, I’m referring to the inside noises that have gripped you. Inside noises you say? Yes, the internet is inside noise!!! Silence it, just for an hour a day while you PRIORITIZE!

2.  SACRIFICE - Yes, you’re going to need to sacrifice a little time on facebook with your friends. Maybe sacrifice mowing the lawn or weeding the garden or running errands, but somewhere along the day towards PRIORITIZING you need to give up something in order to sit down and write!

3. IGNORE - Yup, that too. It may feel like you are ignoring your friends and they might wonder what happened to you while you’re not ‘active’ in their online events, but you show them this post and let them know, “I’m not ignoring you, I’m just prioritizing my time.” They’ll toss the old guilt trip at you and say, “What? I’m not a priority?” And you’ll answer, “Not when it comes to becoming a published writer and playing Farmville on facebook, no, sorry, you’re NOT.” 

4. FOCUS -  This is the hard part. This is where you are going to write until your fingers bleed, even if you have nothing to write. Sit and make something appear. The more you put into practice the art of prioritizing, words will flow and you’ll be banishing procrastination.

5. ACT -   This one is the hardest of the five! This is where you’re going to need to connect to the internet, and find a market for your work! No, LIKING everything on facebook is not searching markets, it’s not a priority to even glance at facebook. We need MARKETS!!! Now get to it!

Finally Friday

"You must write for yourself, above all. That is your only hope of creating something beautiful." ~Gustave Flaubert
***

It has been a long week. A good week, but unseemingly long to say the least. Adam finished up school on Tuesday, finally getting the year of being bullied behind him. He wrote a story for his English class, and was pretty successful in bringing home a complete story. It’s official, my kid can write! I’ve taught hime everything I know, except one thing you can’t teach, is writing. You’re either born with it or your work sounds forced. He is a natural! *happy momma*

He also won some ribbons for his art. I am pretty excited about that, so much so, I hung them all on his wall and surprised him when he came home on his last day, Tuesday. The teacher let him have them on Monday, but the one where he received Grand Prize was missing. I’m assuming someone liked it so much they wanted it for themselves, but the teacher still gave him the purple ribbon!

It has been cold and windy and yes, my heat was still churning on May 20th! I have to admit, weather wise, this has been one strange year. This week alone we received well over four inches of rain, throughout the week. An awesome downpour but I feel for the farmers whose fields look drenched solid.

As for writing, I’ve been focusing more on my writing and websites of writers. I can’t just stay in one place, as much as I love, adore, respect Writers Village University and F2K, there comes a time when one needs to expand their options. And this is one of those times in my life where I feel I’ve hit a roadblock, and need to see what is over the horizon of my journey.

I’m refocusing, prioritizing, and really just shaking up the normal routine of things, because you have to admit, eating oatmeal every single day for five or six years straight kind of becomes a boring and untastey ritual no matter what you add to it, thinking it will perk up. It doesn’t, it is still oatmeal.

I’m also realizing along the way, who my true friends are. It’s sad to see the ones whom I thought were, are not really ‘friends’ per se, and the ones whom I thought were just drifters are true friends. A strange world we live in. My advice on the writing trail: watch your back always. Protect your heart indefinitely. See through the hypocrisy and be yourself. Don’t try to be someone else, so that people will like you, because most of the time, people will see right through you.

Remember to watch your words carefully. Your words can cut wounds into the heart of someone, just as theirs can be like a knife, slicing down the skin and all the innards within falling on the floor.

Well folks...it has arrived. It is Finally Friday!!!