Oct 4, 2011

Time is a Commodity

By Leesa Ostrander
The recent LDS conference talk by Elder Ian Arden about time (http://lds.org/general-conference/watch/2011/10?lang=eng&vid=1194937424001&cid=6 ) has me thinking about my time.
When prioritizing goals, how many of the goals include tomorrow?

Is tomorrow when you will submit a query letter?

Is tomorrow when you begin your self-edit?

Is tomorrow when you apply for the class you have wanted to take?

Is tomorrow when you call a friend you have been thinking of?

Can tomorrow be today?
Making tomorrow today, much will be accomplished.

Time is a valuable commodity. We do not tend to throw away expensive jewelry. When a diamond earring is lost how many hours are spent on looking for it? Why do we then throw away time on being unproductive?

A creative path of writing involves many hours of daydreaming. Ah, I could get lost in where the story could go. Now, how can I make this productive?

By setting a goal that I can work on today. I can push aside distractions. I can push aside addictive social media (eek, sorry fb). I can take a stand and accomplish a step towards my obtainable goal.

In turn, I can find balance of time.

I set a goal to fill my writing practice notebook. I have two handwritten pages to write each day until Nov 3. This marks a huge date for me. On November 3rd I travel to Rosario Beach to the Northwest Round Tuit Retreat. Why this is important is because last year I felt I lost time. I had just lost a good friend to sudden reoccurrence of breast cancer and had to say the thoughts at her service.

This year I hope to take full advantage of my time with wonderful and inspirational friends, that I have the advantage to be with for two and a half days. I will use my time to practice a skill and gain insight to help me balance my path to being productive.

What do you do to keep focused?

4 comments:

  1. I'm guilty of the tomorrow thing myself.

    ReplyDelete
  2. yeah...about that tomorrow thing. I need to think about it...until tomorrow.

    Seriously though...I try to keep a planner and keep track of goals and progress in that. I try to set up little rewards for when I do meet a goal.
    thanks for reminding me to take a second look!

    hugs~

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am guilty guilty guilty of Scarlett o'Hara syndrome. Trying to do better.

    Can't WAIT for NWWR!

    ReplyDelete

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