I’m a little bit of this and a little bit of that kind of person. I paint when the mood hits me, dig myself in books for days at times, go on a nature-clicking spree or cook up a storm in my kitchen. You get the gist? However, an intricate scuffle arises when two or more of these pursuits coincide with the responsibilities of a mother, blogger and influencer. What do I do? Who do I put first? I find myself grappling with these questions often. Hence, the word of the year this time for me can be nothing other than: FOCUS.

Focus on myself

My fitness has improved significantly this year, thanks to my rigid workout routine. I ran two marathons and have another one lined up this Sunday. I can understand my body and its signals better. That said, this year my attention on myself will include mental health too. Last year was mentally exhausting and emotionally draining which made me lose out on a lot of work and opportunities. With better focus I’m hoping to avoid it henceforth.

Focus on the now

I may lay down ambitious long term goals but to make them a reality I must focus on the now. What am I doing today to ensure that tomorrow will turn out the way I want it to? One cannot publish a 500-page book in a few months’ time if they don’t write a few hundred words everyday. Neither can someone expect to knock off a couple of kgs in a month if he/she doesn’t put in daily efforts. My now needs focus for anything I’m planning tomorrow!

Focus on work

Social media can be a vile place. The venom people spew on it can be extremely disturbing and it affected me too to some extent. There was a time when I would not say a word or disappear from all platforms for days, even months. Given the nature of my work though, that’s practically unfeasible now. I’m highly apolitical and non-judgmental online anyway and will remind myself to log in for work. Well, mostly. There’s always some harmless clandestine venting out to be done. 😀

Focus on people

Continuing on the point above, people are more important than their political inclinations and religious beliefs. Agreeing to disagree on a certain issue is the best way to not break ties with people we’ve known and held dear for years. I won’t be drawn into pointless arguments and hopefully they’ll understand. If not, we can part ways as friends at least. I know some wonderful people online and offline who’ll agree with this.

Focus on being a better person

Everyone is fighting a battle of their own. There’s so much negativity and hatred around us that it scares me to think about the kind of world we’re welcoming our children in. Is it really so hard to feel compassion and show some love? It is amazingly easy to make someone smile with a simple Sorry and Thank you. I intend to be more available, more giving, more receptive and openly expressive about my feelings. Let someone know something good about them!

I call myself a Jill of all trades and don’t think that it is a bad thing. However, with some focus I hope I’ll be able to streamline my life this year and be a master of something. I wrote this post today despite being slammed, so guess its working already. 🙂

Do you agree that a word of the year can make a difference? Have one? Please do share with me.