I’m a bit of a procrastinator by nature – if something can be put off until tomorrow, then generally that’s what I do. This, though, is not to be confused with laziness. I prefer to think of it as prioritisation. I like to prioritise things that interest and stimulate me. In very general terms, if something interests me, then I like to do it now. If something interests me less, then I prefer to put that off until another day. Very often we hear people say they don’t have time to do this or that. In reality what they are saying is – “it is not a priority for me right now”. In other words, they are saying it is not as important as whatever it is they are doing instead of it.
2012 was a good year for me in terms of doing what interests and stimulates me. My passions, as many of you know, are music and photography. Musically, our Folk Group undertook a number of really interesting and successful ventures – the high point of which was a major concert which raised over €5,000 for cancer support services in our locality. Photographically, I took over 8,000 pictures. While most of these were rubbish, they were interspersed by a sufficient number of decent shots to encourage me to keep learning and trying new things.
But what about 2013 – what do I want to achieve this year? Well, in no particular order:
- Finish my edits. Yes, I need to finish off the photo book that I promised I would do with the best shots from 2012. It is 90% complete – and I am definitely procrastinating over the last 10%. Need to fix that!
- Take more photos. Ok – it might be difficult to take more than 8,000 photos but the key point is to keep shooting. If I’m honest, though, my real aim is to take better photos!
- Get a new camera. My current camera (my first one, in fact, if you discount the camera in my phone) is a high-end compact. I now feel I am ready to experiment with different lenses and for that I am going to need a D-SLR camera. This is something I can put off for a while as it is important to choose the right camera for me. So no immediate rush to part with hard-earned cash, but it is something I need to do at some stage.
- Start a new musical challenge. This plan has already been laid and will begin during March. More about that anon.
- Write more. I started this blog with a view to developing my writing skills and to marry those with my photography. This is definitely something I procrastinated about in 2012. I lost count of the number of times I had an idea for a blog post but didn’t follow through on it. To be honest, writing scares me a little but that’s part of the challenge – to overcome that fear and do it anyway.
* The photo above is one of the very first I took this year, just after midnight at the New Year’s fireworks on Dun Laoghaire east pier.
