On Focus, or the Lack of

June 15, 2011 — 365 noms, ours on ponce, the good graces

photo by staxnet on Flickr

I’ve never really wanted to admit this, but I’m finally coming clean. I have a very, very VERY hard time finishing anything I start.

In the past year or so, I’ve:

1. Started (and recently, it seems, abandoned) a food photo blog
2. Picked up a new hobby (but then put it on the back burner), documentary filmmaking
3. Talked about starting countless new businesses
4. Compiled a collection of half-written songs in my head
5. Read 3/4 of a handful of books (but finished none)

I’ve always been creative. And I’ve always found that I’m most creative at the beginning of a project. When ideas are fresh and exciting. But then as quickly as I jump in, I lose interest and move on to something else. I don’t like this. I told myself about a year ago, when I “retired” from music, that I was going to prioritize. Just work on things that are really important to me. But, I fall into the same trappings over and over again. The problem though, is that at the very beginning of such project, I’m so excited about it that it SEEMS really important. So I think, “Yes! This is it! I’m prioritizing! This is where I’ll put my energy!” But then I get bored, fast. Every new, exciting project gets trumped by a newer, more exciting project. Sigh. I exhaust myself sometimes.

So my question for all you creative types out there—What’s your secret for staying focused? Or do you? How do you keep that excitement and interest, even when something’s not new anymore? I look forward to your thoughts. And hey, look, I just finished this blog post, and in record time!