the love factor
If your life is anything like mine, you have a hard time managing time! I want to live a creative, productive life while bringing in enough money to live on, eating and sleeping on a regular basis, and pursuing the Lord actively.
Easier said than done.
I thought about showing you my to-do list so you can see what I mean, but I won't. Instead, I'll say that I could write a book based on the last few years called 101 Ways to Burn Yourself Out. (Another book! Add it to the to-do list!)
As I strive for a schedule that mixes pursuit of excellence with sleep, I'm learning to pay attention to The Love Factor.
Do I love this topic? Do I really want to write about it? Do I really want to hunt down editors and magazines that will publish it, knowing that I'll likely face rejection before acceptance?
Do I love this book? So much that I'll write it, rewrite it, publish (or pursue publication through someone else) and market it?
Do I love this project/idea/Web site/hobby/cup of tea enough to make it worth the time I could spend on it?
Obviously, every love-worthy thing in life will have loads of little components that you don't love, but you have to do anyway. I don't love putting the kettle on, half-climbing into the cupboard to get the tea bags off the really high shelf where they reside, and waiting for the kettle to whistle. I DO love tea, so it's worth it.
For me, the key is whether the overall project is something I really, truly, whole-heartedly want to do. If not, my attention is probably better focused elsewhere.
Easier said than done.
I thought about showing you my to-do list so you can see what I mean, but I won't. Instead, I'll say that I could write a book based on the last few years called 101 Ways to Burn Yourself Out. (Another book! Add it to the to-do list!)
As I strive for a schedule that mixes pursuit of excellence with sleep, I'm learning to pay attention to The Love Factor.
Do I love this topic? Do I really want to write about it? Do I really want to hunt down editors and magazines that will publish it, knowing that I'll likely face rejection before acceptance?
Do I love this book? So much that I'll write it, rewrite it, publish (or pursue publication through someone else) and market it?
Do I love this project/idea/Web site/hobby/cup of tea enough to make it worth the time I could spend on it?
Obviously, every love-worthy thing in life will have loads of little components that you don't love, but you have to do anyway. I don't love putting the kettle on, half-climbing into the cupboard to get the tea bags off the really high shelf where they reside, and waiting for the kettle to whistle. I DO love tea, so it's worth it.
For me, the key is whether the overall project is something I really, truly, whole-heartedly want to do. If not, my attention is probably better focused elsewhere.
Labels: Writing
posted by Rachel Starr Thomson at 2:52 p.m.
1 Comments:
It is in some ways like Religious Life; our Rule is worked out over centuries to focus and prioritise, for the reasons you speak of. we all have to eat and sleep etc, and we all also have to work, for our own keep as well as for the children etc we support. The interesting thing is that after a while, if this is your calling, ( and this is one sure way to tell), the Rule becomes absorbed happily into your life so it seems it no longer is there. Because we follow the lessons of the centuries and Jesus. It then is no longer a struggle, but a resting place. Blessings this day.
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