azcazandco

Maintaining Focus

August 14th, 2007

Life… what a broad topic, there are many aspects to it and maybe I will cover them all one day but the one I want to cover just now is maintaining focus. Over the last few months I have been a very busy man and this is a topic that is very close to my heart as it is not an easy task. How do you balance the equilibrium of life and also maintain focus? How do you make sure you do what you are supposed to do on all fronts, who do you turn to for support how do you know if you are going in the right directions?

I recently discovered an energy drink called Relentless and I love their ethos and taglines…

It’s goodbye to the shortcuts, Hello to the grind.
Nobody ever said it would be and easy ride. Suffer for your art.

Words that have rung hard in my ears quite heavily over the past few months. Last year I got made redundant which was a bit of a blow, first thing I did when I found out was hit the pub and started smoking again, but what I have done since then I am very proud of.

Things I have acheived… (the pros)

1. Become my own boss
2. Been around a lot more to see the kids growing up… but not as much as I would like!
3. Asserted myself
4. Maintained a positive attitude in the face of adversity
5. Run the first web standards conference in Scotland which I hope has helped a lot of people besides myself
6. Built my own office
7. Gained the respect of clients who I now work with on a regular basis
8. Contracted up and down the country
9. Helped people bring their businesses online and nurtured their understanding of the web
10. Actually managed to pay my mortgage
11. Got involved in some Stuff & Nonsense
12. Made some really good friends. The are more of you out there and I apologise for not adding you here but I am going to dedicate a post to friends very shortly… my apologies in the short term.

Some things I haven’t done

1. Spent as much time with the famlily as I would like
2. Gone home to see my friends more regularly… I moved 150 miles away 2 years ago.
3. Not blogged as much as I want to and let you guys down
4. Created a rainy day fund
5. Done up the rest of the house
6. My own business web site redesign
7. Tied up some loose ends I know I should have
8. Paid the bloody council tax when I should have
9. Tidied up properly when I moved into my office
10. Attend the 3rd @media conference (which I am still bummed about)

So… by now you might get an idea of how hectic my life has been, it hasn’t been easy but somehow I have managed to drive through it all. I’m not going to lie, some of it has been hard, some of it has been down right fun… most of it has been a combination of both but in order to survive, I have to maintain focus, set goals and strive for them.

How do you maintain focus? How do you set your goals?

I am in the process of trying to decide where I want to be going, I know that now I am (dare I say) established in what I do work wise, I need make sure I keep that going. Without work I cannot function and I guess this is where my dilema lies but where I also believe my solution is staring at me.

To have a true balance in my focus, I need to remember who I am and the things in life that enjoy.

Balance at work

I want to settle into a 9 to 5 routine with work, to do this I need to fine tune my business model, calander, working days and make sure that I make the time to do this in my schedule whilst keeping clients happy.

My problem is that there is always something that needs done, client work is not the only thing you do in business, I have my own projects that I want to get off the ground beyond my client work.. This blog for example used to be a key part of my online presence… in fact… it is my presence, it has been my heart and soul for the last couple of years and will continue to be.

The number one rule I am learning is that time waits for no man… be it’s master!.

I think something that is key and another valuable lesson that I am slowly learning is that switching off completely can be a very good thing and is something I plan to do a lot more of.

It’s goodbye to the shortcuts, Hello to the grind.
Nobody ever said it would be and easy ride. Suffer for your art.

I stand by this quote and this ethos but I am looking forward to embracing the other side of my life a little more.

Balance at home

Since I began working from home I have been a bit of a hermitt, not just to the outside world but also from my family to an extent, I POP over to read what Matt Brett is getting up to now and again and he seems to have the work / family thing dialed.

I became a step parent nearly 5 years ago now and it has not been the easiest of jobs, I have chosen not to write about the negatives in the past because they are not important, it is the good times that are. Part of the reason I continue to work from home is that I get to spend time (however limited) with the kids even if sometimes it can be heated.

Caroline is nearly finished training as a recruitment consultant and since she has been out at work, I have taken the role of errr… working house bloke… general all round batter, try to the best I can do. I personally think I am not doing too bad a job, I get Elsie to nursery in the mornings, pick her up at night and try to make sure we get to play on the swings on the way home. Charlotte is a slightly different kettle of fish, sometimes we get on fine (and I know there is more there) and sometimes we fight.

I guess when it comes to Charlotte I will be the enemy for at least another 10 years, I don’t know why but I am quite stern with her, I don’t think that is a bad thing to be honest but it has to be counter balanced with the good times. The look on her face when she succeeded at waterskiing was timeless and I want to see more looks like that, I want to take care of the work side so that ultimately I can do more fun things where I can actually be looked up to and asked for help.

Balance in heart

I have to give Caroline a special mention here as she is the other half of me, we work so bloody hard at the moment that we never really get that much time together and I miss it dearly, I know she does too. It is so easy to get get caught up in a routine and forget to take yourselves out of it, this one of my new primary goals… spend more time with the woman I am going to spend the rest of my life with!

It isn’t easy moving away from your friends to a strange city, buying a house in a town where you know anybody, doing nothing other than working, eating and mostly dealing with cabin fever. Don’t get me wrong, I have made some good friends as I have said earlier but we are somewhat missing the baby sitter network we once had so we don’t get out much any more and we are both quite social creatures.

I love the girl to bits and it is about time I showed her I am as passionate about her as I am about all the other things I get up to.

Balance for me

Work, my kids and the love of my life are the most important things in the world to me and if all the things I have talked about happen then I will be a happy man… but what about the selfish side?

In order for anyone to survive and be happy in life they need to do things that they enjoy, their personal hobbies and goals that they keep to that make them who they are. I have been playing EVE Online to unwind at nights but want something more, I want to take up a hobby that gets me out the house, keeps me fit, makes me friends and gives me something to do outside of work and family.

As you all know I am into my martial arts so have decided to go back to Judo, I was a green belt years ago and used to fight in competitions on a regular basis and did quite well. I like the idea of going back because it is a sport and not just combat, I will get a chance to compete at something again and get healthy in the process. Now that sounds constructive.

It’s goodbye to the shortcuts, Hello to the grind.
Nobody ever said it would be and easy ride. Suffer for your art.

I quote these words one more time in closure, I have talked about many aspects of my life in this article but they all hark back to maintaining focus. I like my life, I like the people around me, I miss the people that are no longer in my life on a daily basis but I look forward to the future.

By maintaining focus, anything is possible, it’s time to reach out and grab the future with both hands and see where it takes me, I hope you’ll continue to join me for the ride…