"Scratch all that." Advice on focus

A black puppy sitting on the grass with a toy.

“Scratch all that; Shawn Desman needs to make music again.” Drake

I loved this quote when I heard it this morning. And the handsome guy in the picture is part of the reason.

Drake, in case you haven’t heard, is a 21st century motivational guru. It must be a side gig because he is DRAKE. But his advice resonated with me when CBC broadcast the story today.

We all pile life onto our plates. I’m juggling clients, students, a puppy (how do they take up so much time?), garlic bulbs and tulips to plant, volunteer work, spoken French, and old “stuff” in the basement. And this morning, our dryer stopped working.

 So Drake’s advice to Shawn Desman to clear the decks and focus on music again felt like a reminder we can all use: Stop juggling so many things and do what you NEED to do.

It helps from time to time to step back and see if the pile is working for us. I’ve been doing that this week.

Just as Shawn Desman hasn’t locked his kids in a closet to complete a project, I’m not locking up my puppy or firing my clients or students.

Instead, I’m cutting back the workload in my two courses: some assignments will be optional and I’m removing deadlines. I’m hiring a dog walker once a week so I have more time to support clients and students.

(I might also use those garlic bulbs in pasta sauce and feed the tulips to our local deer, who ate last fall’s work this summer.)

If you’re not doing your thing as well as you would like to (or at all), ask the question: What can you can remove from your plate?

Because something can go, even if you move it to next month’s plate (and then onto the floor—bye-bye unneeded thing!).