I work in an open space that used to be a midde school library, now converted to the District Office and divided with partitions into cubicles. The partitions don’t reach the ceiling, and there are no doors on the cubicles, so sometimes conversations make it challenging to stay focused and mind my own business.
A colleague suggested noise-cancelling ear buds – – said hers were “a game changer” for focus, especially when working with data and reporting.
I considered it. But it’s hard to have a pair of ear buds at home and a pair at work and feel like it’s worth springing for anything new that might be just a smidge better. Still, I checked my ear buds, hoping they had a noise cancelling feature I hadn’t yet figured out. They did not.
As I started looking at noise cancelling options, I came across a pair of headphones, not earbuds, on sale. I’d seen a good many passengers on a recent flight wearing these – in the airport and even as they boarded the plane, some even wearing them straight through the three hour flight. What was I missing?
I decided to take a chance and try a pair. If I didn’t like them, I could always send them back. They were over 50 percent off, and from a reputable brand. Most important, they were noise-cancelling, and they came in faint rose petal pink!
I’m not sure whether it’s their petal-pinkness or their noise-cancelling magic, but my colleague was right – – –these are 100% a game changer. As a bonus, I recently discovered Kate Baer’s writing playlist, so this is my go-to for sustaining focus. My work buddy has helped me find a way to enhance my work experience with calming music.
At the end of each month for the past decade plus a few years, I’ve reviewed my yearly goals and spent time reflecting on how I’m living the life I want to live ~ a way of becoming my own accountability partner and having frequent check-ins to evaluate my progress. The process I’ve been using has been helpful in guiding steps of intentionality and observable differences – – it has put teeth of quantifiable measure in the conversations I have with myself whenever I might attempt to believe that I’m making progress and provided a way to articulate exact progress so that I’m not merely shuffling things back and forth and deceiving myself. I make a table, establish goals, and keep an accountability log of accomplishments and action steps through month-end reflections. I learned this system somewhere in my early years of teaching and it was reinforced by my doctoral chair, Dr. Rachel Pienta, who assured me that it would get me to the diploma at the finish line with fewer tears and less frustration. 
She was absolutely right.
This year, though, I’m tweaking my process by a few degrees to get to the things in life I need to accomplish. Everything on my list is not an ongoing action goal – – some of these are aspirations, and I need to recognize the differences and prioritize my efforts. Weight loss is an action goal that needs quantifiable progress markers with a timeline. Downsizing and retirement planning needs quantifiable progress markers with a less strict timeline. But gardening and hobbies like knitting or quilting or canning fig preserves are not as high on the list of priorities, and they’ll fit in between the more challenging goals where time permits.
So this year, I’m using a different system. I’m evaluating my progress in bold areas monthly, and all other areas quarterly. 
I’m looking through a proverbial viewfinder for the big areas of life where I need the presence of some focal lenses, and I’m thinking of the smaller aspects of those larger lenses as I adjust the diopter lens and take snapshots of my journey. 
2024 underway, taking us on a new scenic journey. The conductor punched our tickets at midnight – – (and where we live in rural Georgia, our front door literally shook with a sonic boom from someone’s Tannerite explosion welcoming the new year). 
It’s here, folks! Welcome 2024, and cheers to you and yours!
The Viewfinder
Optical Lenses of Focus
Diopter Lenses of Possibility     
Snapshots of Success
Hobbies and Life Outside Work
Sewing, Knitting, Quilting Traveling and camping Gardening Birdwatching Monthly reading group with Sarah J. Donovan Writing with Ethicalela.com    5 times a month, and every day in April Writing with Two Writing Teachers at the Slice of Life     Blog every Tuesday and every day in March Writing with Spiritual Journey Blogging group on     Thursdays The Stafford Challenge – a poem every day starting     mid-January Writing group book proposals
These columns will be shared as progress occurs each month or quarter.
For starters, I am sharing my blog post on Slice of Life today. And just like that, I’ve taken a step into 2024 with a hobby that I enjoy. 
Weekly Dinners and game nights In Person Visits FaceTime Visits Group Texts Traveling together Celebrate Red Letter Days
Mental and Physical Health
Reach top of weight range (I know this number) by June 1 and maintain it throughout 2024
Walking
Hiking campsite trails
My Table of Plans for Focusing on Success
My One Little Word for 2024 is pray. Today’s diopter word is step. As I pray for 2024 to be a productive and fulfilling year, I must step into it with purpose, and take the steps necessary – to do my part – to make it a great year. 
Common Threads 