Friday, January 11, 2013

Focusing On Life - Week 2 - Discipline

Sally sent us the prompt for this week with this picture:

I didn't read the subject line, didn't read the rest of the post, just assumed that the prompt is 'Journey'.
Then she sent the email again since a lot more folks had joined after the initial email. This time, I read it. The prompt is not Journey. Its not Discipline either. It was hidden in her email (I bet it was not intentional on her part), it was simply supposed to be "My Word". Which, if you have read the post for week 1, is Discipline. You can see right away why I need focus and discipline in my life. 

Thankfully, I read the email properly before I went out photographing cars and their wheels.
Photographing discipline is difficult. There really is nothing that "depicts" it. Then I thought about "what" will help me achieve this goal. Which led me to realize that I lose track of time and continue doing one thing, neglecting all else. Or go from one thing to the other without paying attention to what time it is, without realizing that I have not finished the first thing I set out to do.

Minding time! Yup! That is what I needed. So that's what I was going to photograph. 

I stayed home from work today, and decided to do my photographs during my lunch break.
I decided to make me some fried rice. I put the rice in the microwave for 7 minutes. And decided to use these  minutes to click my pictures.

The subject was my watch collection! I love watches!


All these are very special to me.

First: my dad bought me during my wedding.
Second: my sister gave me.
Third: my father-in-law gave me when I went to their home for the first time after my wedding.
Fourth: is my mother's.
Fifth: ...I bought it.
Sixth: from my mother-in-law
Seventh and
Eigth: ...brown watches I bought after YEARS of searching
Ninth: birthday gift from hubby
Tenth and
Eleventh: from hubby too
Twelfth: I bought, and have gotten so many compliments. My sister tried to steal take it from me too!
Thirteenth, a handmade one, was supposed to be shared with a friend. She never got a turn ;-)
Fourteenth, custom made for me by Sherri Stokey of KnotJustMacrame!
The watch case: a gift from two of my very close friends

Since this is a photography challenge, and I still had time (7 minutes were not up yet!), I took some more pictures.



Just trying out focusing on different points on the box.
And then the 7 minutes were up, I went and stirred up the rice, put it in for 3 more minutes.
What to do for the 3 minutes? I looked at Annie. Poor girl was hidden again. I did well all week, until yesterday when I could not decide what to wear and she got all the cast-offs. So I figured lets see how much I can clean out in 3 minutes. Was done surprisingly quickly.
And then....I reached for my laptop to check if I had received a response I was waiting on at work. That was the end of my discipline spree! Once I got on the computer, there was SO much to explore. The response was there, I had to do a few things...which I did right away. Then of course, since I was on the computer, I had to go to FB, and god alone knows which other sites. The 3 minutes were up a while back. But stomach was growling, so I went to go fry my rice.

I set out the pan and the oil. Then realized I had just got the splatter screen I had ordered, and this was the perfect time to try it out. So while the oil was heating up, I opened up the big box from Amazon, got the screen out, etc. There was a very real possibility of me forgetting that there was oil on a burner turned on high. I didn't, whew, and finished cooking, and subsequently, eating.

This whole "minding time" made me realize that I actually do ok with activities that have a well defined "end". Like clicking the photos, putting away the clothes piled on Annie, cooking. Its the "mindless" things, which unfortunately exist in abundance in the world wide web, that are the biggest hog. There is no end!

Lesson learned: bind all activities with time...as much as possible!
Annie seems happy with that decision...see....she is not completely clutter free, but then I think she would be sad if she was ;-)


Annie says to go to Sally's blog to check out the rest of the "word of the year"s.
Go here....to The Studio Sublime

51 comments:

  1. A beautiful post, Kashmira, one I am sure many can relate to. Your word is a good one - I hope you can make it work (a timer would be perfect for my online 'encounters' :))

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    1. Haha, I thought it was more along the lines of quirky insane than beautiful.
      But what can I say, beauty in the eyes of the beholder and all that ;-)

      Thanks! I do hope I meet this goal. It is very frustrating at the end of the day when I realize what I have actually done with my time! Which is so precious!

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  2. Oh I love this post, Kashmira! Your talent at writing and your humor shine through. Funny, I just left a comment on Sally's post saying that one of my sons collects watches - like you! I'll have to show him your photos, which are fabulous! I hope you think of watermarking them because they'll end up on Pinterest! ;-) My son got a watch holder, similar to this, with his initials etched on the glass. Your collection is beautiful and I love how you labeled them all so we know where they came from (and boy do you have a good memory!). Do you wear a watch every day? I don't wear one at all.
    Discipline is a great word and will go along nicely with my guiding word - I should combine them!

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  3. I love your post! Time is such an appropriate word for this year! And I love your Annie (I still need to show you the pics of my collection of Annie and Andy's that I have to save from the antique stores each time we visit!) I'm really liking all your watches and that fabulous case you have them in! Oh how lovely!

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    1. Thank you :)
      Maybe you can make your Annie and Andy a subject for your post in one of the challenges :)

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  4. I've got a thing for watches too, and you have a wonderful collection of beautiful, meaningful mementoes!
    Good luck with the 'discipline'...
    I'm no. 21 on the list btw :)

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  5. What a wonderful post! I love your watches and the history that goes with each one. How wonderful. Discipline is such a great word and so applicable! ( I struggle with that as well...) I am looking forward to following our journey's this year.

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    1. Thanks Courtney!
      I do love them all do dearly.
      And discipline...I have actually become quite aware of what I am doing with my time since writing this post. Am not doing everything I should be doing, but at least I am aware. Which is really something for me!

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  6. Great post! We'll have to swap pictures on our watch collections! Sadly my many watches ... not a one is working at the moment. I went out to get a watch repair kit so I can change the batteries myself (last time I brought them in I spent almost $100 getting them all changed!) - ha! and now I'm off topic. You've started off well with your word for the year ... :)

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    1. Yeah, the batteries are expensive! Thankfully they last long. I used to "stop" them to save the battery life, something i saw one of my very meticulous aunt do. but then it got frustrating to reset the time every time I wanted to wear it.

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  7. Wow, I love your watches, makes me want to organize mine in a nice box. Great photos and a well written post!!!

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  8. Love your watch collection picture and knowing how you got each one. I mostly have some watches that don't work but they are not a collection. To value your watches is so cool. Each photo was a pleasure to view!!

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    1. Thanks Mary! I guess I have them so well preserved because they all hold such sentimental value :)

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  9. What a beautiful way to show your word! The photos are gorgeous, and I loved reading the history of each beautiful watch. I seriously need to use your word, and then maybe all the things that make me fall behind would be taken care of. Thanks so much for sharing the process of how you accomplished this goal while making rice!!! So fun to read!!!

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    1. Hahaha, yeah, and while I was making the rice, and doing everything I documented in my post, I also had a separate thread in my head saying, "yes, write down this in the post, and this, and that".
      You can imagine how exhausting it is to be me...even when I don't actually do anything ;)

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  10. Great essay, love your watches! We all lack discipline at times, but time still ticks away.

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    1. I know! That cruel, heartless time! Wouldn't wait for me, ever!

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  11. Your photos are gorgeous and your word is a great one. We all need the discipline to achieve our goals. Like you, I waste entirely too much time. A bit of discipline would be helpful. :)

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    1. Discipline and "will" go hand in hand I think! One comes with the other :)

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  12. I agree that "discipline" would be a difficult word to "capture" but you did it beautifully. And quite a funny post, too. It's very easy to get distracted, isn't it! Especially on the computer. I agree with Alicia on using a timer. Might have to do that myself.

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    1. Oh, I have been known to cheat with the timer....and snooze!

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  13. Quite a convicting post! I also, need to put an end time to my activities. It's easy to do with "work", but not so easy to do with my computer. I can spend all day roaming the internet and never get anything I should done. Your example can help me achieve my word of the year! Thanks for the inspiration! And good luck with your goal!

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    1. Thanks Lisha! Just read your post, and yes, you're going to need discipline too in achieving your word. But that "end time" concept, I am realizing is going to be my life saver!

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  14. What a cute post! I saw myself in your daily routine - endless multi-tasking! Love your watches by the way!!!

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    1. Thanks Patti! I wouldn't be bothered so much by my multi-tasking if it was not full of useless activities. By watching what I am doing and for how long, I am just a little short of being embarrassed by the way I have been doing things so far!

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  15. I had a smile on my face throughout this whole post - this is my mom to a "T". I love your differnt points of the watch box you took - fantastic!

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    1. Thank you! I am so hoping to conquer this erratic behavior this year!

      Yeah, the box was big and had so many things I could focus on for my little experiment :)

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  16. Thank you for sharing the link ;-) I do not own not even one watch, but I have a friend who loves them as well. I especially like the one in red!!!

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    1. Thanks Ana! That red one has gotten me SO many compliments. My sister tried swiping it (good naturedly of course) and then asked me to get one for her too. Unfortunately they don't have one with the charms anymore. So she is going to demonstrate some extreme yoga moves as a bet. If she can do them, she gets the watch, haha :)

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  17. Your post just made me smile!

    I bought a watch to wear for the first time in literally years in December. We were on vacation and I wanted to go internet free - including no cellphone even to tempt me as that's yet another gateway to the internet. But there were some places I needed to be at certain times, so I bought a watch. I thought I'd feel tied down, having time on my wrist, but it was amazing how freeing it was, leaving the smart phone in my hotel room.

    Your watch collection, display and photographs are so beautiful. And I'm so glad lunch didn't result in a disaster. :)

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    1. Oh man, the internet, and now the smart phones, are really going to be the end of "society" as we know it. I got my first smart phone a few months back. Installed FB on it, and uninstalled it last week because it was SO distracting. I found myself constantly reaching for it, even when I am with company, or stopped at a traffic light. Bad behaviour, so I got rid of the app. I do have some withdrawal symptoms, but I will make it I think :)

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  18. Hi Kashmira,
    Discipline is a great word and one that I am sure you will find a way to live up to even if you have to put a time limit on everything you do. Beautiful watches too.
    Therese

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    1. Thanks Therese! Putting a limit, of time or maybe quantity (finish 5 pages and put the book away, for example)or seems to be the only way I can achieve this.

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  19. Wow, that is a great watch collection. I don't think I've worn a watch for 20 years! Love your post, isn't it amazing the things you can get done in just a few minutes, maybe you should add a stop watch to your collection ;)

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    1. Thanks Karen!
      Oh I do have a stop watch, a timer and all that in my phone. I should try to use it, but I have been known to cheat with timers and alarms in the past. The "snooze" button is my sworn enemy, lol!

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  20. Kashmira, your post is so similar to mine! It is all about time and discipline and I need to get better control of it! I too fall into the time suck of Facebook, Twitter, etc and end up wasting to much time. Thank you for sharing your watch collection, it is beautiful!

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    1. Thank you, Sally!
      And thank you for starting this series. The first two posts have already helped me gain so much insight into what I can do to get where I want with my overall goals. So...a BIG thank you!

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  21. I guess a girl can't have too many watches. I have none. For a little while I had the most perfect Timex ring watch that had a wide stretch band, an ice blue crystal and just 4 dots (ok hands too). Anyway I took it off to wash my hands after some lab in university and forgot it on the ledge. I realized only 5 minutes later and ran back but no one left had seen it :( thanks for letting me see how your mind works! You sure are quick with getting photos done

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    1. Yeah, watches, or shoes, or handbags, or belts! Have closets full of those too!

      A big groan about your ring watch! But now I think I would like a ring watch :)

      About the photos...yeah, once I know what I want to do, and I actually get myself to do it, things get done quickly. Just starting off is a huge hiccup for me :(

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  22. I lose so much time to the internet! A timer doesn't work for me because I reset it for "just 5 more minutes"! You have a wonderful collection of watches and I love the different angles you photographed it from.

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    1. Yeah! WHoever invented that snooze button needs to be punished!

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  23. I love your post Kashmira!

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  24. Ah yes, discipline. Something I think everyone needs a bit of (or a lot of), but few have the courage to acknowledge it! I too need more discipline and focus (focus is my 2013 word). It all boils down to time and how it is spent. Time is my worst enemy! Some days, I swear the earth is rotating faster as time seems to go by in the blink of an eye. It sounds like we are on a similar path for 2013!

    Beautiful collection of watches by the way-love them and the stories that go with them!

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    1. Oh poor time, don't call it your enemy :) I am just going to try to get along with it better this year, haha!
      And while doing it, so far, I am realizing, that the more mindful I am of what I do with it, the more time I have on my hands to do more!

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  25. Such a wise word Miss Kashmira! I think that each second needs to be thought of as precious, never to be repeated. There are so many things we do in a day that are just mindless, not focused, not going forward or backward. Time keeps marching and so must we! I wish you joy in the journey this year! Enjoy the day. Erin

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    1. Thanks Erin! I am realizing now that going with the flow might not necessarily always be a good thing, some times I need to stay focused on a chosen course!

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  26. I love this post so much, so so much! I can't put my finger on why I like it so much. I think it's a little glimpse into your day and what you've done to move to some discipline. The whole post started a little chaotic with the misunderstanding and by the end of it you had done so much in such a little span of time. Now that's discipline! Girl, you're doing it!

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    1. Hey there...sorry for the late response, i get so whiny and more like a child with even a small head cold :(

      Discipline, yes! I have realized I can do it, but it is exhausting in the beginning to pay attention and stay focused. But I am slowly getting there...very very slowly...poor Annie is yet again under a heap of clothes, but am going to blame being sick for that!

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  27. Scary, isn't it, how we can't really stay mindful of one thing. Multi-tasking, I am realizing, is not a good thing for me.
    And I know I can stay focused if I try. I was tested for ADD and I did very well on it, total focus and attention to one thing. If only I could, or rather, would treat everything like that ADD test. Maybe I should!

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