Focus on one thing at a time… I kind of laughed when I read this at first. I have been a self-proclaimed multitasker for longer than I care to remember. Sending emails, browsing webpages, doing some graphic design work, listening to music, writing lyrics for a song, updating Facebook and Twitter, etc. That looks like the very basic list of what I am usually doing all at the same time.

But does that kind of divided focus really help you move forward? Or do you just feel more accomplished because you can juggle multiple tasks at the same time. Take a look at what you try to accomplish at the same time and ask yourself if you could get each individual task done quicker if you focused on just one of those tasks for a short period of time.

This question is the one that is haunting me right now. My commitments jar is overflowing and my capabilities jar is depleting at a rapid pace.

Being spread thin is no fun. It wears you out when you look at all the commitments that you have in front of you and realize that you don’t have the time, energy, and resources to accomplish them. What do you do in a situation like that? Do you stress out and crumple into a tiny ball like I do? Or do you start to have a change of mind regarding responsibility to do what God has called you to do?  Let’s you and I start changing our minds. So now comes the fun part … what can you get rid of?

Parsing is by far the hardest, but most beneficial thing that you can do. Let go of the things that you don’t need to be doing and begin to focus more of your time and energy on the things that matter most. This will be different for everyone, but really examine what is most important to you and why.

I’ve noticed something here lately. Looking ahead I see all of these wonderful project that are possible, and begin to let my mind journey into those lands. The trees are beautiful and the road is smooth, wind gently whispers on my skin. The sun in his glory smiles proudly on the day that he has brightened. But my trek gets cut painfully short when I look at all the projects that I have obligated myself to complete.

That beautiful picture looks far off, perhaps just a painting on the wall. But.. here is the glimmer of hope. These debts, these tasks that I have committed my hands to accomplish are the training ground. Will I step up to the challenge and continue to grow in integrity and work hard to accomplish them?

Most of these are projects that I have agreed to do for free for friends and family. Will I brush them aside to continue my future hallucinations? Or will I buckle down and invest my love, time, and energy to making these projects the best that they can be? I am being taught a tremendous amount about myself as my Creator reveals these flaws in my thinking.  I am being challenged daily to grow.

Walking out a dream starts with the investment of love, time, and energy, because these are usually the only resources that you have. Are you giving your best to the projects that you have on your plate?

Are you making it a priority to finish these with excellence?

So it is time to strip down to the basics. Think about the list of all the things that you do in a given day to work on your music career and figure out what on that seemingly huge list is really moving you forward. So often I find myself doing mindless research that really doesn’t move me towards my career aspirations.

What are the things that are most productive for you? Are you concentrating on those things, and putting aside everything else. This is just a small nugget of information that I have found useful in a book that I have been meaning to read for a long time. The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss has some very interesting ideas that are useful for moving your dreams forward in a practical way.

I don’t agree with everything he says, but I love the idea that my frame of reference is being challenged by someone who is living out his dreams.