Stop looking forward to things, look inward instead. Kamand Kojouri
After spending almost 30 days with my word for 2019 I am more confident than ever that focus is the right word for me this year. But, wow – there is so much to unpack with this word!
I have spent much of the month looking inward and thinking about the whys of all the things I do. It has been a very good review process which is going to upset several habits, and while they are not necessarily bad, they don’t always help me stay focused on what is important. Habits are hard to break but I have become more mindful of things I am doing – and the things I am not doing.
- I am refraining from jumping on the “Make 9 in 2019” bandwagon – although I have thought about it! Rather, I started a more mindful list of things I need to finish and things in my Ravelry Library that I want to make.
- I have started a gift knitting list that I will work on all year long.
- I want to intentionally spend an hour each evening spinning while we watch the news and I have been able to “sit and spin” at least 3 times a week thus far!
- I am not going to let my desk become the black hole for papers and, honestly – this might be the hardest habit to break! This is really going to take some work, so I have added it to my “monthly focus list” in my planner to help me stay focused!
So as January draws to a close, I feel like I am off to a good start for the first time in a long!
Want to see what everyone else is doing with their word? Head on over to Juliann’s to see!
It sounds like your focus has been quite beneficial, and in only 30 days! I had to attend this time-saving seminar for work years ago, and while I often thought that those things were actually a stupid waste of time, I remember one thing from it that has worked for me: Handle paper once. It was kind of a revelation to me, and I still practice it. It’s actually served me very well in dealing with all the paperwork that goes along with my father’s will. I’m sure you’ll figure out what works for you!
You’re off to a great start, Kat. 🙂
Sounds like focus is really going to make a difference in your life and I think that’s awesome.
Good for you-I’m sure you will find the extra effort will be worth it.
Three cheers for focusing! I’ll admit I jumped on the Make 9 bandwagon this year for the first time, but really I did it as a way of focusing. I’m guilty of having a mental list of things I want to knit and then getting distracted by the new and shiny, so perhaps having these nine projects will help me stay focused.
Way to go ……….bandwagon jumping rarely works well for me. I rarely finish those projects.
I’m going to take your idea of gift knitting all year round. Way to go, Kat!
I love your shared goals, and you can do it!! I love to do paperwork so I do not have a desk that gets those piles. But then all that pesky filing takes away from doing something else on my list. I’ve been focusing on trying to sketch after dinner, really anything! I like that I’ve lowered my expectations and my perfectionism. Being perfect comes at a great cost.(ha ha)
I like this idea of looking inward. I am so easily pulled this way and that – not restful.
What a wonderful beginning, Kat! and it’s only January … just think what we’ll be able to do with 11 more months!! (I, too, am trying to be mindful about my makes this year … knitting and sewing!)
You are getting a handle on what focus means and how it best works for you. I foresee you honing it down and refining as the year goes on. You’re off to a great beginning!
I feel your pain over piles of paper. One of my new strategies is that if I need the content of something but not the physical piece of paper, I scan it and pitch the paper. Paper is my black hole, too.