Slow down. Pay attention. Have fun!

My goals for the new year? Slow down. Pay attention. Have fun!

I didn’t plan to use this six-word format until I read my blogmates’ inspiring posts. I began preparing for this post the same way I always do: by making a list of my good intentions. And, oh! What a list! Impossible stuff! Become a whole new (kinder, smarter, healthier, more productive, etc.) person. Tear my entire house apart and reorganize. Catch up with everything once and for all.

Right.

So I decided to simplify—not only this post but also my expectations. I think these six words encompass everything on my list: Slow down. Pay attention. Have fun! I’ve been giving this advice to my students for years. I need to follow it myself.

To me, slowing down means being conscious of priorities and recognizing the difference between urgent and important instead of getting sidetracked into tasks that eat up time without making real progress. As Esther says, putting my own work first not only gets it done faster but also enables me to enjoy the process and gives me the satisfaction of seeing a finished piece of writing. Slowing down gives ideas time to percolate, ripen, evolve. Slowing down means making time to plan ahead, striving for that elusive balance, and avoiding frantic last-minute scrambles before deadlines.

To pay attention is to open up to possibilities: ideas to ponder and write about, of course, and also opportunities to learn about people and places, the world with its wonders and intricacies, anyone and anything that could use my help. April’s touching New Year poem shows the kinds of specific, amazing details we notice when we pay attention. When I pay attention, I’m not only inspired but also grateful.

Having fun doesn’t—or shouldn’t—need any explanation. My own mother once called me too serious. My kids are always telling me to lighten up. I need to allow myself to let go once in awhile—to enjoy a well crafted book, a delicious meal, a movie, a walk in the woods, a crossword puzzle, and certainly my writing. As Jeanne Marie points out, filling the well is not only fun but necessary. I need to remember that not all writing is serious work—some of it has to be play. I vow to spend more time playing!

No one can make me laugh like my sisters do.

Here I am with five of the six. Our cousin Nancy is in the middle. 

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Remember to post your own six-word resolution and enter to win a copy of April Halprin Wayland’s award-winning picture book New Year at the Pier. (U.S. residents only, please.)

(1) Provide your e-mail address or a link to your blog in your comment so we can contact you.     

(2) Entries must be posted by 11 p.m. Wednesday, January 13, 2010 (Central Standard Time).

(3) The winner will be announced by 11 p.m., Friday, January 15, 2010.

Good Luck!