Marcus Lopés

LGTBQIA2S+ Author, Blogger, Runner

The Relentless Writer Series

Cultivate Commitment to Your Dreams

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I was in my late-teens/early-twenties when I realized I wanted to be a writer. I didn’t know, then, what it meant to be a writer. And when I thought about writing, and what a writing life looked like, I immediately thought about Stephen King, Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, and Iris Murdoch (among others). These writers defined writing for me because they were successful and had carved out a writing life for themselves. I was, however, still young and naïve, and I didn’t understand what had allowed them to reach the pinnacle of their careers: commitment. [Read more…] about Cultivate Commitment to Your Dreams

What Will You Sacrifice for Your Dreams?

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Tick-tock. Tick-tock. I keep looking at the clock, and the calendar, with now just 85 days left until my fiftieth birthday. I don’t mind getting older. And I’m not freaking out about turning fifty, either. A lot of people tell me it’s a big deal, and keep asking me how I plan to celebrate it. And then they’re left speechless when I tell them I have no plans. Because my focus is on today, this moment, and what I need to do to make my dreams come true.

Looking Back to Go Forward

Since the beginning of the year and even a little before that, I’ve been trying to clear away the clutter in my life to make more space for the things that matter. Time is limited and precious, so I’m a lot more conscious about how I spend it. Throughout my life, I’d done a decent job at writing—and being, in general, creative—around a day job. But with my current one, something has always been off that I haven’t been able to pinpoint. It’s just been, or feels, harder to get other things done. And when I took a closer look at how I was spending my time away from work, that was when I understood I was caught in a pattern that, if allowed to continue, would defeat me and my dreams. [Read more…] about What Will You Sacrifice for Your Dreams?

Defining Productivity

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On Saturday, 6 May 2023 (the day I sat down to finish writing this blog post), I started the day with three intentions. First, finish rewriting the chapter of a novella I started earlier in the week. Second, edit and schedule this blog post. And third, run at least five kilometres. And at the end of the day, I’d have to ask myself: “Did I accomplish what I set out to do?” The answer, which I’ll circle back to later, offers a glimpse into how I have come to define productivity.

Looking Back

When I started writing, I was always starting something—a short story, a poem, a novel—but struggled to finish anything. With lots of ideas popping into my head, I always ended up chasing the newest idea. And that meant I left a lot of thing started but unfinished. When it came to productivity, my first lesson learned was to build writing into my daily routine. That allowed me to finish something. Suddenly, the first draft of whatever I was working on was done. It might have been crap, but it was done. And as time went on, I finished more writing projects. What a great combination: writing daily and finishing things. Still, I didn’t feel productive. Writing around a full-time job and other commitments, I was constantly chastising myself for not doing more. All because I was defining productivity on someone else’s terms. [Read more…] about Defining Productivity

The Productivity Trap

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Over the years, I’ve read many books on productivity and focus. Because I’ve felt like I’ve struggled with both—to remain consistently productive and to stay focused on the task at hand. While some of the advice and tips have been helpful, a lot come across as aloof or unrealistic when you’re trying, like I’ve been, to achieve a goal while working a day job. And in a public-facing role like mine, I have little control over how I spend my time. Consequently, that leaves me with just a few hours to work on my passion projects—and I end up, inadvertently or not, in the productivity trap. [Read more…] about The Productivity Trap

Chasing Productivity

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As a kid, I thumbed my nose at a lot of things that society told me, as a boy, I should like. I didn’t like model cars, baseball, hockey, basketball or soccer. I hated Cubs and Beavers. My parents signed me up for baseball and basketball. After two seasons of me feeling ‘ill’ or purposely striking out so I’d be benched, they got the message. I found my footing in music, baking/cooking and writing—anything that kept me away from a team setting.

Because I’m more introverted than extroverted. I didn’t understand why, as a kid, being around other people left me exhausted.

But as I leaned more into my writing, and understood more about my introversion, I became interested in how to be more focused and increase productivity. [Read more…] about Chasing Productivity