The Farmer's Five by Sharon Heagy

 

    Distractions. When it comes to discussing things that distract me, I could probably write several volumes. When it comes to dealing with the distractions and getting back on track, I probably couldn’t compose a pamphlet. If I am honest with myself, I am more like the dog from the movie ‘Up’ than I care to admit. (“Squirrel!”) But I do want to share what has been a significant distraction for me for about the past 4 decades. I call it, the Farmer’s Five.

            When you find yourself blessed enough to be married to a fabulous guy who is also a farmer, like my husband, you may be subject at any moment to the Farmer’s Five. Gazing out of the kitchen window you may espy a handsome, overall clad fellow taking purposeful strides towards the house. You may gasp as the realization kicks in that you are about to be subject to the Farmer’s Five. (Dun dun dunn) 

            Time freezes for an instant and suddenly there he is, filling the back entry with his presence, and then, he speaks. “Hey there, good lookin’, do you think you could come and give me a hand for five minutes?”

            Everything you have been working on comes to a halt as your don the appropriate attire and follow the farmer out the back door. Steam rises from a pot of potatoes, half boiled, now turned off. Supper remains half made. A sentence you have been working on remains half written. Or the living room has a tell-tale pattern of the cleaned and uncleaned. The dog’s coat is glossy and smooth on one side and resembles the hair of Einstein on the other. The garden is half weeded; the grass half mowed. Such is the fallout from the Farmer’s Five.

            But the reality of the Farmer’s Five is it may only be 5 minutes but it is much more often multiples of 5 even up to 5 hours and can include a trip to town for parts. Though it is a non-entity it seems to have an unpredictable life of its own. You wonder if there is actually an end in sight then POW. Just as suddenly as it started it’s over and you must try and get your bearings and recall what on earth you were doing before the Farmer’s Five occurred. Sometimes the activity in progress is called on account of darkness or exhaustion and sometimes, every so often, the task you were working on gets completed.

            But the truth is that even though you have been distracted whatever jobs you were doing eventually get done once you return your focus, and I think that’s key. Often we need some assistance, at least I know I do, and the first place to find peace, focus and direction is in God’s presence. “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2)

            There is another distraction that can occur in life, a Holy distraction if you will. A Father’s Five. When we are off track, following a path we should not go down, God our Father will distract us, break our focus and help us turn our eyes to Him. He will help us to turn around and walk in His way. Some of us are not always responsive to the first Father’s Five we receive as we are not all that spiritually smart or we have a high dose of stubborn or “we all, like sheep, have gone astray.” (Isaiah 53:6) We are trying to accomplish ‘our will be done’ instead of His so it may take 5 minutes, 5 hours  or 5 years of His holy distractions to get us back on His holy path.

            Whether we need focus from distraction or distraction from wrong focus, our Source is still the same. If we are called for a purpose, He will enable us to complete it. He will give us the skills, the gifts – both natural and supernatural, the freedom and all that we need. We have but to ask. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

Praise God.

Oo, Shiny! by Steph Beth Nickel

This month we're discussing Fighting the Distractions.

I may have to approach the subject as Papa Bear taught his son to ride a bicycle in the Berenstain book The Bike Lesson.

The theme of the book can be summed up as follows: Small Bear, watch everything I, Papa Bear, do ... and do the opposite.

How do I fight distractions? 

Not well!

And just what are my distractions, the Oo, Shiny! objects in my life that grab and hold my attention?

Binge watching episodes on my favourite streaming services. Grabbing coffee with a friend. The responsibilities I've taken on for others.

These distractions may not hold any sway over your life, but I'm certain you face your own shiny objects, at least some of the time.

Self-awareness need not become self-absorption. There are things I had to become aware of about myself before I could begin to fight the distractions.

First, I need to feel connected with people daily, whether that's by getting together with them or listening to podcasts, YouTube videos, or TV shows with familiar characters. 

Overcoming the distraction means learning the value of silence. The more I work in silence, the more I enjoy it.

Second, I believe I can effectively split my attention between the task at hand and listening to a podcast or music with lyrics.

Overcoming the distraction means admitting it just isn't the case. I know single-minded focus is important, but I have to remind myself of this fact REPEATEDLY.

Third, I tell myself I'll magically do better tomorrow.

Overcoming this distraction means facing reality. Stephanie, you're 61. SIXTY-ONE! You still have plenty of time to accomplish what God has planned and purposed for you, but you won't accomplish those things by vegging on the couch.

Your distractions are bound to be different than mine. Therefore, overcoming those distractions will also look different. However, here are five tips that will help all of us:

1. Prioritize your To-Do List and, as much as possible, begin each day with Priority #1 and go from there.

2. Limit the things on your Must Do List each day to increase the chance of success.

3. As much as possible, schedule your top priorities at the time of day when you function best.

4. Allow for flexibility. We all know that unforeseen circumstances crop up.

5. Celebrate victories...even the little ones.

And lastly...

Set time aside to watch that favourite TV show or listen to a favourite podcast.

Those things in our lives that can become distractions aren't necessarily bad. They simply have to be put in their place.

Then, the Oo Shiny! can bring us joy rather than distracting us.

Fighting Distraction Through Purpose by Christine Smith (Guest Post)

We won’t be distracted by comparison if we’re captivated with purpose. – Bob Goff

Almost a year ago I came across the above quote in my Twitter feed. Each time I saw it, I paused because at that time I was indeed distracted by comparison. Too often I had allowed myself to go down a rabbit trail in my mind where I named myself as being less than others. Less successful, less beautiful, less popular, having less time with friends, or fewer achievements under my belt. Comparison is not the only thief of joy that distracts me from what God is calling me to do. In the last few months, I have noticed that I am often distracted from meaningful tasks by becoming too focused on my negative feelings. This could be when I feel tired, sad about a difficult situation, or even restless and bored. Dwelling on the worries of tomorrow is also a distraction for me.

Since reading this quote, I have been reflecting a lot on the word purpose. This word has become like a beacon of light in moments of foggy confusion. Purpose has many synonyms (which I have highlighted in italics below) that can lead us out of downward spirals of distraction. In order to stay focused on our writing and other meaningful activities in our lives, we must know what direction God is calling us to. We should have a vision for what we aspire to become and accomplish.

Lastly, we need to be determined to follow through in chasing these desires. One post I read said that the opposite of distraction is traction, which is defined as an action that moves us towards what we really want. Do you know what you really want? What is God calling you to that will help shape who He wants you to be and guide your to-do list?

Recently, I made a list on my phone that I have for now called “Purposeful Activities”. My list has fourteen items on it, everything from giving loving actions to people in my life to reading my Bible to writing and even having a nap! (Sometimes we are distracted simply because we are tired. Never forget that Jesus took naps so we can unashamedly do so too.) Each activity aligns with the goals God has led me to pursue. When I feel my sense of direction is lost and I am likely to get pulled into whatever distraction is in front of me, I pull up my list and know that if I choose one of those endeavours I will be following God’s plans for me. I have also learned that if I am distracted by feeling overwhelmed from having too much to do, I must try to simply choose one task to get started. The last piece of advice I learned recently in a writing course is to “start where you can”. If one task is too difficult, try another one. Sometimes I have planned to do a certain activity at a pre-assigned time, but when I get to that time my mood does not match up to my plan. I have learned it works well to sometimes adjust to choose a different purposeful activity that still allows me to accomplish a meaningful goal.

Ephesians 2:10 states that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God has many purposeful activities in mind for each of us every day of our lives. As Bob Goff states in his timely new book entitled Undistracted, “we need to realign, refine, and reconnect with the greater purposes of our lives rather than be distracted by the lesser ones.” It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will lead you to discern what He is calling you to focus on and that you will delight each day in the good work He is doing in and through you.

Christine Smith is a teacher who is just beginning to write for audiences other than herself or her students' parents. She is currently exploring the world of beginning a writing website. Christine lives in Langley, B.C. and enjoys coffee, reading, being outside, and making memories with her husband and four kids.

FOCUS by Joylene M Bailey

 

During the first year of the pandemic, I was more prolific in my writing than at any other time in my life. There were no pressures from the world to DO something, and no expectations to BE anywhere. We were forced to stay home, and there was time, time, and more time to be completely focussed. And I was indeed focussed.

It was a lesson for me. I mean, I've always known I need time, space, and quiet for the creativity and focus to write. But I had no idea how creative I could actually be when given that time in large chunks.

I think I've been looking for that kind of scenario ever since.

However, the thing about a pandemic is that it's not usual. In real life - dare I say normal life? - distractions are a given. But not all distractions are the same.

The doorbell rings, dinner needs to be made, and Grandma! Grandma! Grandma! in my ears if I'm trying to write while spending time with my favourite small people, are little distractions that niggle and interrupt.

For about a year now, The Cowboy and I have been dealing with the big distraction of moving: sorting, purging, packing, repairing, and staging one house to sell, while designing, building, furnishing, moving, and unpacking into the new house.

Pretty tough to concentrate on what writing projects make my heart sing when I'm consumed with whether our wall corners should be rounded, squared, or chamfer, or what to do with all the doilies Grandma made me over the years. These seem like small decisions. But hundreds of small decisions like these add up to thousands and, well ... that's a lot for one brain to process. Not a lot of room for writerly creativity.

In all the busyness and what seemed like too many things to do at once, I found me scolding myself on many occasions. Focus, girl! Just focus. Getting one job done at a time eventually gets them all done.

My ideal writing day would be to get up early - 6 a.m. - and head straight to my desk, with my coffee, to write for a couple of hours before breakfast. I'm most creative first thing in the morning, and my new library, with the big windows that look out on the sunrise, fosters creativity. I can be focussed then while the house is still quiet.

That would be my ideal. But as we all know, real life won't always be like that. I hope I'll be disciplined enough to leave my devices in another room and keep computer notifications turned off. I hope others in my house will honour the rule that when my library door is closed that means I can't be interrupted.

This new home in a new place inspires me to start a new routine with regular rituals and specific hours to focus on writing. It's a new season. What better time to simply begin.

~~~~~

Photo by Alexa at Pixabay

Joy is loving her new home in the country with The Cowboy, where distractions still live but somehow seem not so threatening. Find more of her joy-infused writing at Scraps of Joy.