To Finish, or not to Finish? - Ruth L. Snyder

This month we are being asked to share whether we struggle with unfinished projects, and how we stay on task until projects are completed.

I am a finisher. In fact, not finishing something can make me very frustrated. Just before I started writing this post I was able to finish solving a problem on the InScribe website. After InScribe members elected the new executive at Fall Conference 2016, the names and contact information needed to be updated on the website. Most of the changes were easy to make. However, the InScribe website has a bottom banner or footer, that is on every page of the website. Information in this area needed to be updated. Every time I looked at the website, that out of date information irked me. (If you're not interested in things technical, you may want to skip the following description.) I knew from past experience that I needed to find the widget. However, when I brought up the widget page, the one I needed wasn't there. I asked our previous webmaster, other people familiar with Wordpress, and even our web host technical support. No one could figure it out. This morning I cried out to the Lord (for what seemed like the hundredth time) and asked Him to show me the solution. Then I went back to the website and updated a plugin. I noticed when I clicked on certain menu options that an error message popped up, pointing to one of our plugins. I disabled the plugin, and the widget I needed "magically" appeared. The changes took a matter of minutes to make. Solving problems and finishing things make me happy. I'm one of those list makers!

 

I may be a finisher at heart, but then many times life happens. One of the biggest adjustments I had as a parent was accepting the reality that I would rarely be able to work on projects to completion, especially at one sitting. I have learned to delay projects that take focus and concentration to times of the day when my children and husband are not around me. I don't want them to feel like interruptions. I have also chosen to focus on shorter writing projects for now, instead of books. Even then, my writing projects often take me way longer to complete than I would like. I have also requested an office space with a door I can close while I'm writing. Some day that will be a reality.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (KJV). I am often reminded that God's timing is different than mine. Instead of focusing on completing a project, I am learning to focus on the process and enjoy the ride. (My husband has helped me in this area, but not without loud protests on my part at times! Generally I am the planner, and he is the spontaneous one.)

I do have another unfinished project hiding in my desk - a novel that is about two-thirds completed. In the middle of working on the novel with an editor guiding me, God told me to put it away. Some day I'm trusting that the season will be right to finish the novel, but for now I know that I can trust God with it.

What about you? Do you have unfinished projects? Do unfinished projects bother you? What do you do to stay on track and finish?

Ruth L. Snyder serves God as a wife, mother, music teacher, writer, coach, and publisher. Her published works include articles, devotionals, short stories, and novellas. Connect with Ruth at http://ruthlsnyder.com

Time To Recharge by Bruce Atchison

The beginning of a new year might be the start of work for some but for authors such as myself, it's a time to rest and regroup. Because we work so hard to publicize our books during November and December, we need to rest a while and recharge our creative cells.

I've often found that I become more creative after taking a rest from writing. Going full blast at a project sometimes results in little being accomplished. The time I spent trying to bulldoze my way through the writing process could have been much better used to rest and recharge.

Even some of our machines need a break. At the beginning of each year, I shred my bills from two years ago. The problem is that the shredder gets too hot and shuts itself off before it catches fire. Sometimes we tend to run our brains like that. When our minds get mushy and easily distracted, we need to stop what we're doing and come back the next day with a rested brain.

I've noticed that when I spend time away from my blogs and my search for book promotion opportunities, my emotional energy soars. During the Christmas holidays, for example, I stayed home and watched DVDs. After New Year's Day, I felt like getting back to work.

We can all benefit from well-timed rests. A balanced approach to one's work is so much wiser than pressing the pedal to the metal non-stop. Even our Lord Jesus Christ had to take breaks from his ministry in order to speak with his father and replenish his strength. Our biology is also set up for resting one day out of seven. So the next time you feel emotionally and inspirationally drained, take a rest. It'll do you a world of good.


Bruce Atchison is a legally-blind freelance writer as well as the author of How I Was Razed, Deliverance from Jericho, and When a Man Loves a Rabbit. He lives in a small Alberta hamlet with his house rabbit, Deborah.