I Must Stay Focused!

You know our family sometimes plays "Phone Stack" at dinner.  It's where we put all electronics to the side and actually have a conversation.  Our eyes are not looking at a screen and we're not typing or talking to someone else, but we're focused on what matters and having a real family conversation at our dinner table.  It's not the text messages that we did or didn't answer at the dinner table, but the REAL family conversations we had around our kitchen table that Justin, the kids, and I will most likely remember.

While I am writing (or typing) this, there are unanswered e-mails to read, a laundry basket full of laundry, and dinner to plan.  That is only to name a few things on my to-do list!  Life is busy!  With that being said, I must stay focused.

There are so many distractions in this world.  There's phone calls, e-mails, text messages, and the list goes on and on.  Sometimes there are good distractions and sometimes there are bad distractions that try to creep into life.  We must stay focused on what's important and keep our attention on what really matters.

I recently wrote about making good choices in life, about choosing the right path, which is so important!  We also need to manage our time wisely and in doing so, sometimes that doesn't mean multi-tasking to get more done.  Sometimes multi-tasking may possibly be a good thing, but there are times when things deserve our undivided attention and we are actually doing more by doing less.  For instance, with our family, one of the many times that deserve our full attention is at dinner.

Times that I choose to be fully focused on one thing are becoming more regular.  It's something I've tried to put into practice.  With today's world and society, the kind of world that expects the "here and now" instead of the patiently waiting crowd(s), it is sometimes hard to manage our time and stay focused on priorities.  There are some things during my day that I have come to realize deserve my undivided attention and that I do give my full attention to.  I actually try to give my full attention to most things that I do.  Sometimes that means me putting my cellphone down, sometimes that means me stepping away from the computer, sometimes that even means me tackling the laundry later, but when I feel that I need to step away from those things I can focus on the more important things.  I can focus on having conversations with my kids, evening walks with my family, and appreciate life without being distracted!  I've come to realize though, I've got to be focused and be really present though (not on my phone or computer), to really be there and in the moment.  I've come to appreciate life more that way and dinner conversations mean so much more!