Category Archives: Zen

Getting and Maintaining Focus

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We all have those days. The ones where our energy just seems all over the place. You sit down to write a short something or other and the next thing you know you’re making a cup of coffee or playing on Facebook. You pick up a book to read and without realizing it your mind wanders to what you might eat for dinner.

My own energy has been a little scattered this weekend: it’s picked up a bunch of signals and rather than responding methodically to each one, I’ve been haphazardly jumping from task to task. Since this is just one weekend, I let it go. And truth be told, I did get a thing or two accomplished. Still, I prefer a more focused approach, and below are a few suggestions on how to get and maintain focus.

Passion: ”Passion is the genesis of genius.” —Tony Robbins * This is really the driving force. Without passion, the task at hand will never really hold your attention. Sometimes I start a blog post and three days later I haven’t finished it because every time I sit down to write it, I get distracted. If that’s the case, I delete the post and start over. Same goes for the novel: if I start writing a scene and several days later I still haven’t finished it, it gets consigned to the dust pile. Now, I know we can’t all be passionate all the time about everything we do. But when it comes to creativity and/or lifestyle, passion is the number one fire starter; the golden ticket; the key that unlocks every door. Cultivate passion as often as possible, about as many things as you can.  

Persistance:  And remember “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

Eliminate distractions: That’s just too obvious isn’t it? But how many of us actually take the time to eliminate our most pernicious distractions? First, identify them. I’m really, really prone to jumping onto the internet at any given moment. I finally learned just to turn my airport off while I’m writing. I encourage you to do the same, if you’re an internet junkie. There are also programs like Chrome Nanny which will block certain websites at certain times and display a clever little “Shouldn’t you be working?” message if you  attempt to distract yourself. Other distractions include: cute cats, telephone calls, small children, cocktail hour, shopping, eating, etc. If you’ve got a busy household, perhaps getting out of it and sitting at a cafe to work is the way to go. If you’ve got a partner, enlist their help for a silent hour or two. If being solo is a distraction in and of itself, get a creativity buddy to work with a few times a week (but no idle chatting, because that defeats the purpose).

Set goals: Nice, manageable, accomplishable goals. Goals like Write 500 words or Spend 1 hour drawing or Take 10 photographs. Choose goals you know you can make happen in one day. Success begets success, and if you set yourself up to succeed, you will continue to returning to the task.

Push, push: This is sort of the opposite of what I just said, but can be just as important. Create challenges for yourself. This weekend I decided to push myself out of my comfy, solitary writing zone and sign up for a writing workshop. Pushing at your edges a little bit can really stimulate focus.

Reward yourself: Eat an ice cream cone. Get a massage. Take a nap. Go for a walk. Whatever it is, just make sure you treat yourself for your hard work. All work and no play does not inspire passion. Don’t push yourself so hard that you stop enjoying whatever it is you enjoy. Focus will stick around if you use it wisely and then give it a nice rest.

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Recommended Reading: Leo Babauta’s Zen to Done

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Impermanence

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Like all humans, I have attachments—more or less than anyone else, I’m not sure.

We (me, you, everyone else) attach to people, emotions, physical objects, memories, ideas. For instance, I’m attached to my cats, I’m attached to my old journals (both the physical aspect and the memory aspect). I’m attached to a certain coffee mug I prefer to drink out of, and also a certain way in which I like the mugs to be arranged in the cabinet. I’m attached to Sasha and my family; I’m attached to the idea of myself as a writer. I’m not upset by or resistant to these attachments—they exist and I’m okay with them.

Minimalism has lessened some attachments, mostly those related to physical objects. I’m now probably more attached to empty space (the irony of this is not lost on me). But I also think a lot more about impermanence than I used to—how quickly things, ideas, emotions, people pass in and out of our lives. Maybe this is because 2011 was a year of many significant losses, maybe it’s because I’m getting more and more used to letting things go. Whatever it is, impermanence is lodged in my consciousness.

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The photo above was taken recently of the arm of one of our loveseats. This couch has been with me for almost 6 years. It was given to me by my mother, who bought it at an auction for $30. Recently the cats have taken to using it as one of their scratching posts. Those of you who own cats know that once a cat  begins clawing something, there is no saving it. This loveseat doesn’t stand a chance: it’s got 4 sets of claws on it pretty much daily.

The reason I bring this up is not because I seek to dissuade potential cat owners from owning cats, or to cast my own in a bad light. I bring it up because I think cats have a very healthy sense of impermanence. The couch does not hold any significance to them, nor do they have any emotional or mental reason to preserve it. It exists, and it satisfies a desire, and that’s really it. When this couch is eventually removed, they’ll move on to some other innocent piece of furniture, and they won’t pine over the couch that once was.

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I wonder if, in order to accept the fact of impermanence, one has to separate it from the idea of loss. That everything around us, including ourselves, is impermanent is pretty terrifying. That nothing exists forever. Even saying those four words is scary.

But, is there a sense of freedom in it too? That change is constant, that stagnancy is a mere figment of our imaginations, that attachment is an illusion. That we are truly free to inhabit the world as it moves from one moment to the next, and the only thing holding us back is our fear of impermanence.

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Reading this week: You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis

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In the Winter Sun

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I struggle with winter.

Each year I forget, until January is upon us, how very, very difficult I find these cold, short days. I’ve spent many years in New England: I was born here and have made my home here for the last 6 years. And yet, I am never quite prepared for this season.

It is a season of its own peculiar beauty, more fleeting, more sharp, more demanding than the other seasons.

And things are shifting, beneath this pale winter sun. Winter is a slow season: a time of little growth & little color.

This does not mean no growth or no color. It’s just more subtle.

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In the news today: I finished the first draft of my novel. Actually, this happened yesterday. I’ve been sitting with it over the last 24 hours, wondering if I should feel something more than I do. More excitement? More sense of accomplishment? I don’t know. What it does feel is normal.

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As hard as winter is for me, I recognize its place. Without it, the other 3 seasons would seem far less amazing. The strength of winter comes from what is stored deep below the surface, and now is the time to delve in and access it.

I am not always successful, though I am now old enough and smart enough to try.

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My own tips from last winter, on how to survive winter.

Now reading: The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman.