Link Round-Up

Each week I read a ton of blogs and articles, and when I find something I like, I enjoy passing it along to all of you here. The following are the gems from this week:

• Tips to Achieve Sharp Focus – Jaymi McClusky for Click It Up a Notch. I think this may be exactly what I was looking for. This is one of the things I’ve been wanting to work on with my photography, so to have this article pop up today was awesome.
• It’s Not About the Photo – Vivienne McMaster. Another post that beautifully explains why self-portraiture. Not that I really think it needs to be defended. Just because.
• Capturing the Beauty of the Moment – Helena La Petite. Lots of food for thought here. I know that I don’t take my camera to concerts anymore because I spent so much time trying to get my shot right that I missed enjoying the concert. I’m also not taking as many pictures of gatherings of friends and families. For me it’s coming down to wanting to be a participant in those events instead of an observer/recorder of them. It’s a hard balance to strike, though.

I’m going to shift a bit away from photography and move on to writing for these next few:

• The Best Time to Write and Get Ideas – Kevan Lee. This was shared by Susannah Conway on her Something for the Weekend post, and it reinforces that I’ve got to get up and do my writing in the mornings. *sigh* I suppose I can only be hit in the head with it so many times before I believe it to be true, huh?
• April Moon Reflective Writing Challenge – Kat McNally at I Saw You Dancing. I love just about everything that Kat McNally does. And of course, I’m going to be participating in her April Moon challenge, albeit with a break next weekend for our anniversary trip.
• 10 Ways a Writer Can Find More Energy – First Draft Cafe. Goodness, I needed these. I’m dying with fatigue and usually the first things that go are the things that make it easier for me to deal with a difficult life. The biggest one on here that is a surprise for me #2:

Adopt the rule of three. List only three things you have to do today. If your list is any longer, you’ll feel overwhelmed, tired and it’ll have a negative effect on your writing. If you complete your tasks easily, then you can add more. Don’t let a long list hinder you, remember, less is definitely more, as you’ll become more productive with a shorter list.

To be honest, I don’t know exactly how to do this. There are so many things on my to-do list that I have no idea how I can just get by with three. Is this a thing where I can put three things on the list and when they are done, add three more? But then I’m thinking about all the things that have to be done anyway, so whether I write the list down, I’m keeping it in my head. Sooooooo…I’m going to need some help with that.

• 29 Ways to Stay Creative – 99U. Great video with some awesome tips.

And now for some general links:

• The (Almost) Lost Art of Polite – Quinn Creative. When I shared this link on my Facebook page earlier this week, there was almost a universal “Amen” among my friends. Several of them shared it as well. I try to teach this with my students each day, but I don’t know how successful I’m being.

Being polite means saying that an ugly baby is adorable, sending thank-you cards, and attending funerals of people you don’t know well. It’s saying “thank you” to a cashier who isn’t polite.  Not walking three abreast down a sidewalk and forcing other people to step into the street. If you are a bicyclist, it’s stopping at signs and lights instead of blowing through them or yelling “on your left” when someone is using the sidewalk for walking, then passing them at top speed, just nipping their elbow.

I don’t always succeed in being polite. I try. I remember the lessons of my youth, though, and I try to pass them on. I get frustrated by rudeness but I try not to respond with rudeness. In a fast paced world, it is harder to remember the niceties, but it’s ever more important to do so.

• Stop! Don’t Start Where You Are – Jamie Ridler Studios. Much like with politeness, in the hectic pace of today, I forget to dream big. I’m focused on making it through today and getting to tomorrow. It leaves no time for dreaming and possibility.

What if you gave yourself space and time for some serious daydreaming, imagining that anything was possible? In a world where you could do anything, what would you dream up for your project, your business, your life? Would you travel farther, reach higher, risk more, take more time, touch more people? Would you pursue the same thing at all or try something entirely different? What do you want to do?

What did you find this weekend that you loved? Let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for something else to read 😉