Focusing on things
I’m not a person who focuses on one thing. I’m constantly scanning the horizon, looking for the next shiny thing to occupy me.
This is good and bad. Good: I’m always experimenting and trying new things. I’m always learning and always progressing. It keeps my mind always working.
Bad: I don’t finish very many things. I have to work hard to finish anything because finishing things — polishing things up and focusing on the detail — just doesn’t interest me.
But, you need both kinds of people. You need the doers and dreamers. You need the detail people and the finishers. I think if you’ve got the other types of people surrounding you it can be a good thing. I’m lucky that I have.
Over the years though, I have focused on a few things and managed to stick with them. I have focused intensely on a few things:
- Learning and practicing design
- Learning and practicing web development
- Teaching
- More recently, a hobby. Jiu Jitsu.
Funnily enough, when I’ve focused intensely on those 4 things I’ve gotten pretty good at them.
3 of them I make a living from. Not so bad really.
So what’s the lesson?
Figuring out whether you’re a finisher or a doer is vital to doing your best work. If you’re a doer, you need a finisher. If you’re a finisher, you need a doer.
Sometimes though, you can be both if you find the right thing to get passionate about.
