Marcus Lopés

LGTBQIA2S+ Author, Blogger, Runner

inspiration

Defining Productivity

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define productivity

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

The Art of Not Giving Up

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When you see someone else achieve their goal and you hear their story, it sometimes (not always) seems like they did it effortlessly. Because you don’t see the long hours of practice the swimmer put in the pool so that she stood in first place on the Olympic podium. You don’t see the writer getting up early, staying up late, or writing on their lunch break to write the book that goes on to hit all the bestseller lists. What we don’t see is that they’ve perfected the art of not giving up. [Read more…] about The Art of Not Giving Up

A Call to Rest

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Even before the COVD-19 pandemic, I rolled out of bed somewhere between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. Now, on what I call a ‘good day,’ I wake up consistently around 3:00 a.m., give or take ten minutes. No alarm clock. I’ve never needed one. Perhaps because I’ve been dealing with insomnia for most of my adult life. It’s during the quiet of those early morning hours when I am able to focus, uninterrupted, on my creativity. Getting up that early makes for long days. But with my fiftieth birthday on the horizon, I’m thinking more about how I spend my time. And, more specifically, I’m thinking about how to ensure I am getting enough rest.

An Example Not to Follow

I’ve never been good at rest/relaxation. Whenever I’ve travelled, spending a day at the beach was never high on my to-do list. If you wanted to leave the resort and explore the nearby towns and villages, I was in. (Getting lost in a foreign country at night, where I didn’t speak the language, was a little scary!) As a flight attendant, I often worked the overnight flights to London, Copenhagen, Dublin or Paris. Unlike most of my colleagues, I never went straight to bed. I showered, changed, and headed to a museum or for a run—dodging the curious looks the hotel staff threw at me as I crossed the lobby. And a lot of times, when I use my vacation days (like I will this week), I’m taking time off to write and move my creative projects forward. [Read more…] about A Call to Rest