Northwest Texas: Adjusting the Focus

I am a woman that has a hard time staying 'on task'~ seriously. I rarely go from a figurative point A to point B without one or more detours. Let me give you an example. I have very high maintenance hair, thus a very time intensive morning routine. What that means is that I wash and blow my hair dry every single day. This has been my daily habit since my mother stopped putting it in pin curls each night before bed (and that was a very long time ago).

Why is it that if I have a morning appointment, let's say 9ish, I have to set my alarm for 6:00, even if the appointment is only in town; 8 miles from home? And even with three hours to prep, why am I rarely on time? The answer is that I am so easily distracted. I get in and out of the shower in a timely way but beyond that I can't seem to keep moving in the same direction. I'm just not terribly sequential-- Like a perennial in my garden, I never stay planted in one spot for very long.

I will provide an illustration. I can't dry my hair without a cup of coffee. So I take a break to brew a second cup. While I'm waiting for the coffee to brew I remember something I've been wanting to search on Google; most likely something trivial. I head for the computer. But while en route something catches my eye that needs attention. I once again change direction. Finally, coffee in hand, I head back to the bathroom vanity with a renewed commitment to my hair. But wait! I suddenly remember the aborted Google search! And away I go. By the time I finely pick up my blow dryer, my hair is so dry I have to wet it again! Do you catch my drift? Or should I ask, do you see how prone I am to drift?

On February 12th I am hostessing a baby shower for quite a large number of women from my church. One of our younger moms is expecting her fourth child. Yikes! As you know, I am a mother of one.

Anyway, on yesterday's to-do list was to make Save The Date cards to distribute to each lady attending church this morning. I had a busy day and so my project was delayed until after dinner. All day I had been thinking about my circuitousness; about how easily I am 'called away'. I decided to practice being different-- to work at better focus.

Here is a pictorial step-by-step of my effort~

First I formatted my invitation using Word. I actually formatted 4 invitations per 8.5 X 11 page.
By doing this I was able to get 4 invitations per sheet of card stock.

I printed them all out without leaving the room even once. And then I cut them out~ all of them!

You see, my normal MO would be to cut a few, punch a few holes, tie a few bows, cut a few more... in a very inefficient manner. I would probably have left the crafts table a few times in the process as well; to chat with Larry, get a drink of water, check out Facebook, whatever. If you can imagine some lively circus music playing at this point, you will understand the speed at which the carousel in my mind normally spins. But last night? I made myself stay seated.

TA-DA!

I cut all the ribbon without a pause.

And then punched all of the holes! Without leaving the room.

P*R*O*G*R*E*S*S !

And finally I embellished each card with a pretty bow~

OK, so I stayed on track. I took a baby step. But I will tell you, this change is going to take some practice. Old habits truly die hard. I've been wondering though. How essential is it that I change? I mean our uniqueness, our essence, is made up of many traits; or perhaps quirks; pixels if you will. Could there be something about the way I approach projects that positively impacts the outcome?

Maybe some folks travel life with great success on a very straight path and maybe others, like I, tend to zig-zag. After all, life isn't about the destination, right? Maybe the fun is in the getting there. And I really do have fun.

Well, I successfully completed my Save-The-Date cards and I even remembered to take them with me this morning (that in and of itself is worth celebrating). And I must say, they were a huge hit among the ladies at church.

Well, many thanks for reading through my ramblings. I hope I've given you a few fun things to ponder. I have many fun baby shower ideas competing for time in my head. I plan to share more of them with you as I directly or not-so-directly proceed through the party preparations.