Kolz Blog

I was at a networking gathering - well, it was four women chatting about business, books, and the merits of cheap Trader Joe's champagne, but I digress - when I met an entrepreneur with a cool business called Ninth Moon. Her name is Laron Glover. Ninth Moon is an online store that specializes in gifts and tools for writers. But many of her products have lots of potential uses. One product in particular caught my attention - it is called the focus frame and it is a very cool thing indeed. Here's a pic from her website: Here's how Laron describes it: "

It’s a combination tool that embraces time-management (priority setting) and empowerment (you can do this!). It’s simple, and it works. Julia Childs claimed “anything is edible if chopped small enough.” Anne Lamott called it a one-inch frame (ours is a little bigger)--but in either case, the principle is the same: break whatever you need to do into manageable tasks and make a commitment to get it done. For writers (especially writers!) we’re often faced with huge projects with no end in sight. List one task, one scene, one whatever in the frame--and that’s your job for today. It provides focus, but also a sense of balance--you know when you’ve completed your task, you can move forward without guilt hanging over you. The bottom line is YOU CAN DO ANYTHING, JUST FOR TODAY. Uses I’ve heard about:

• planning entire books (to keep on target)
• jotting notes for the next scene/character sketch
• cure for writer’s block
• storyboarding/sketching
• marketing (write one query letter; list ten possible agents)
• weight loss (drink 8 glasses of water! take my vitamin!).
• studying (college entrance exams)
• other “life” goals (child adoption, going back to college, planning weddings, keeping a house clean, etc).

I love this thing! And I love it because it is functional, but it is also a high-quality piece. And I like that it is low tech. I have no more plugs for battery chargers! I think the focus frame would be a great tool to help you accomplish one great thing each day (something I recommend trying in Focus Like a Laser Beam). I think it is a cool frame and you can put anything in it to help you focus better. Brilliant! Check out the Focus Frame - a great gift for a friend or for you. hen you buy the focus frame it comes with a supply of cards so you will be all see to focus!