Shifting focus

I hope Mr. Escher was right, because right now I've got a big, chaotic pileup of things that I've had on "hold" for weeks on end, and now it's time to deal with them. So far, producing order hasn't been all that lovely a task.

Why the pileup? Because something had to give. For these last many weeks, my primary focus had to be consistently, obsessively, compulsively, on One Important Thing.

I spent the weeks between Fourth of July and Labor Day this year embarked on a massive push to fix all the myriad little oopses, flaws, continuity issues, and plot holes large and small that had beset my science fiction novel What's Bred in the Bone as it went through multiple drafts.

It was daunting, challenging, and ultimately quite exhilarating to see it all come together at last. It helped that I had that wonderfully clarifying imperative, a deadline.

Actually, I try to focus on what matters, as a matter of principle, as much as possible. The exercise of seeking out the most important things and focusing on those can be quite rewarding, and it can make your life amazing.

But practical reality will take its pound of flesh eventually. Every once in a while you simply have to stop and do the dishes. Or feed the kids. Or get up and move your body around. Or pay bills. Everybody's got something.

My family, it must be said, is amazingly supportive. They've stayed busy with their own things and gone off in their own orbits, certainly. But they also covered for me A LOT.

Now it's payback time.

Shifting my focus is proving to be a bit like turning a battleship, in no small part because I really got used to writing all the time with no other responsibilities, and a large part of me just doesn't wanna "adult" today. What I really want is to go back to Rana Station.

Soon, I'll get my chance. But not yet, dang it!

IMAGES: Many thanks to Brainy Quote for several of the quote images used in today's post: M. C. Escher's hopeful quote about bringing order to chaos; Alexander Graham Bell's thoughts on focus, and Abraham Lincoln's advice on the hazards of evading one's responsibilities. I also appreciate the 101 Inspirational Quotes for Designers post from Web Designer Depot, where I found the "Focus on what matters" graphic. I love you all!