Your Screen Time is Killing Your Grindtime.

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Brian B Baker

There is one evaluation we must do in this society, how much time are you spending staring at your phone?

I’m not talking about the times your posting, grinding or working on your social media contacts; I’m talking about the times you’re sitting home, pick up your phone and time vanishes.

You can call it the missing hours, the Facebook zombie or whatever, but that screen time is taking away from the time you could be spending on working, really working.

I know you want to see what’s trending on Twitter, I know you want to see how your friend is doing on FB or see what someone’s kid did with the Snapchat filter, just stop, it’s taking away from the time you could be spending on work, real work.

You need to focus your time. You need to put your mind into a place where the screen doesn’t distract, put it away when you’re trying to work.

I know we all want to zone out, stare at our phones, tablets or laptops but you can’t get back that time and use if towards your goals. Once those minutes or hours are gone, they’re not coming back, they’re fucking gone.

Once those minutes or hours are gone, they’re not coming back, they’re fucking gone.

If you can’t decide whether your screen time is more important than your grind time, you need to reevaluate your goals and whether you’re working hard enough.

Your potential is only limited by how hard you work.

The limitations you put on yourself, like the quantity wrong screen time, limits you.

You need quality screen time not poor screen time and you need to know the difference between the two.

If you don’t see the time staring at Facebook as poor screen time you’re not being truthful to yourself and you’re not working as hard as you believe you are.

You must work harder.

Keep reaching, keep moving forward.

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Brian B Baker

We reach a point where we have to look around and wonder what we’re doing wrong.

We have to write down what we’re doing, narrow it down, and stare at them, analyzing them until what’s missing slaps us in the face.

For the last two year, my wife and I have been living in our hometown, we moved our kids here to get me away from a work environment I hated, get our kids into a better academic environment, and allow our kids to live in a place they could go outside in the summertime.

There have been hardships along the way.

I couldn’t find work for the first few months.

Now that we’re approaching the two-year anniversary or our move, I’ve been looking for work that’s closer to home.

In our previous life, I was a bartender in Las Vegas. In our hometown, it appears no one wants my experience.

In our hometown, it appears no one wants my experience. I’ve been busy feeling sorry for myself over it. It was then I realized, I am living a life that many of my friends in Vegas would envy.

I spend most of the summer with our kids, follow my dream of being published every day, and I’m able to enjoy the little things with my family.

I’m not sure why I haven’t found a bartending gig in my hometown. I do know that my current situation is something most people would give up things for.

I also became aware that I’m not working as hard as I should be in regards to my writing and maybe that’s part of the reason I haven’t found closer employment.

When you make a big life change, you’ll look back at it a few years afterward and forget why you did it.

Remember why you took a chance, why you work on something you’ve wanted all your life and the reasons for each will keep you going.

Don’t let the little things get you down, keep moving forward.

Brian

Summer Goals

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Brian B Baker

Fear debilitates you, belittles you, and takes away your mind.

I’ve always been fearful of something, spiders, my father, losing my kids or my wife, but last night I had one of those writing epiphanies.

I write Science Fiction, Fantasy, and horror because they’re what I feel comfortable with.

I write them because writing something literary or something that wouldn’t be considered popular fiction scares the shit out of me.

I have moments in my writing where the words flow like wine in Napa, moments where the words don’t tell you what’s going on in the story but you see the cloud formations, catch the protagonists eye and feel their pain, unfortunately, those are only moments.

For me, these moments are the glimmer of better writing, the shining example of where my writing could go if I were to allow it.

I have a book to finish this month, though it may push into June. I also have a second draft of another book to complete by June, that one will be done by June.

For the summer, I’ll be working on my craft. I won’t write a book this summer, I will improve my ability to craft them though.

This summer I’ll work on improving my craftsmanship.

Who’s down for doing this with me?

Quit making excuses, you have time.

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Brian B Baker

For the longest time, I made excuses about not having time to write. Now that I write full-time, I see all the moments I could’ve used to write when I was really just screwing off.

When you write full-time, you see all the time others aren’t using for their art. There are many instances when I’ll see a post on social media, ‘I didn’t have time to write today, but I got my hair done, I played ____ video game or I went out drinking with friends’.

I like to play video games, have drink with friends and go to the barber and get pampered, but I don’t let it interfere with my work, because honestly, that’s what I consider writing now, it took me longer than it should have, but it’s a job that I love that I haven’t been paid for, yet.

Quit saying you don’t have time, you do.

Quit making excuses, the only excuses you can use are these.

My spouse/partner/girlfriend/boyfriend got hurt or worse.
My kids got hurt or worse.
A very close family member got hurt or worse.

That’s it, those three are the only excuses. If you want it bad enough, you’ll give up sex, sleep, food and human interaction.

Otherwise, just quit.

Move Forward

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Brian B Baker

There’s a point in life when you’re tired of the bullshit, tired of talking about what’s happened and you must step forward and move on.

You must forgive, you must remember what got you to where you, are and find a new way forward.

It’s when this happens that freedom comes. It’s this moment that you’re available to get your head out of your ass

It’s this moment that you’re available to get your head out of your ass. You’ll stop and get past the bullshit, you’ll stop, look in the mirror and stare at the person you’ve become and then you can understand the truth of how you got to your current situation.

Hold on to this moment, write it down, work through it and do what is required to move on.

Your writing will push you forward, you must listen to it. You must listen to your heart and the breath coming from your lungs.

The voice inside is no longer a viable concept. If you listen to the voice in your head you’ll falter, you’ll fail and become on of those who gives up.

Don’t give up, it leads to misery. Misery leads to finality and you’ll never dig yourself out.

Get through it, put your head down, get the words out that you need.

If you push through to the other side you will thank yourself later.

Move forward, always…

Brian B Baker, Writer

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